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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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The portrait is from a. flutoynipti Jl represents the Author with pencil and pprt t'i'lw in liand
in the ftrf cfskettkauj /hw Nuturr -Vie likeness will /v» rffi'tinr/s/1 l>\- nituiv in veaioltt fwfa.'pf
n/ir f'fw/fry. wht> ,ww him trhilf on /«<• tour ttuvuqh the West . collecting materials and taking
Sketches for Qie Enqravmys in t/u.f werk.
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" "
ALL THE WESTERN STATES
AND
TERRITORIES,
FROM THE ALLEGHANIES TO THE PACIFIC,
AND
FROM THE LAKES TO THE GULF,
CONTAINING
Tlieir History from the Earliest Times, tvitl? Local
History, Incidents of Pioneer Life, Military/ Events,
Biographical Sketches; combined with full Geograph-
ical Descriptions of the different States, Territories,
Cities, and Towns; the whole being illustrated by
24:0 EIVGMfc^VIlVOS,
presenting views of the Cities and Principal Towns,
Public Buildings and Monuments, Battle Fields, His-
toric Localities, Natural Curiosities, etc., principally
from drawings taken on the spot by the Authors*
JOHN W.N\BARBER,
AUTHOR OP HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS O* CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSETTS, *C.,
HENRY HOWE,
AUTHOR OP HIST. COL'S OP VIRGINIA, OHIO, THE GREAT WEST, *C.
CINCINNATI, 0.
3M"o. Ill Main. Street,
HOWE'S SUBSCRIPTION BOOK CONCERN,
ESTABLISHED BY HENKT HOWE IN 1847.
F. A. HOWE, Proprietor. HENRY HOWE, Manager.
1867.
373
Entered according to Act of Congress in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-seven^
By F. A. HOWE,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of Ohio.
<
INTRODUCTORY.
DURING the sad, tragic years of the Rebellion, a large two-
volume work, by the authors of this, was published under the
title of "Our Whole Country." It was modeled on the same
general plan with the Historical Collections of Massachusetts and
of Connecticut, by John W. Barber, and the Historical Collections
of Virginia and of Ohio, by Henry Howe. That work was issued
at great expense, consequent upon years of labor, extensive
travel, and the drawing and engraving of many hundred original
views of objects of interest in all parts of our land. This ex-
pense was full fifteen thousand dollars before the first sheet of
paper was bought upon which it was printed, and was an undi-
vided enterprise of our own.
The changed condition of a part of our country, united to the
double expense of book publishing, compels us to alter the plan,
and to issue the original work in two independent, separate
books, with such changes in the materials as are demanded by
the lapse of time and events. By, this means a choice of either
will be given to such limited finances as can not grasp both.
The one book will comprise "The Atlantic States, North,
and South 5" the other is the present volume, "The Whole
"West." The first-named will be preceded by an introduction
giving the general history of the country, when will follow, in
order, all the sea-board States, originally British colonies, and
the old Spanish colony of Florida, the most ancient of them all,
but of feeble nursing and of trivial growth. The book you hold
comprises all of that immense territory comprehended under the
term " The Great West."
The six States of the South-west are herein grouped by them-
selves; and the articles upon them, and the views of places
192435
therein, are especially interesting, as showing their condition
and appearance at the outbreak of the late terrible struggle.
From chaos may new and more graceful forms arise, and that
unhappy people, whose valor and endurance have been so extra-
ordinary, be soon lifted into clearer skies and to more pleasing
visions.
For obvious reasons, the events of the late intestine war have
no place here. Their introduction would swell the work to
too extensive proportions. Besides, it is to be expected that
every family will possess volumes solely devoted to that topic
which has entered so largely and thrillingly into the general
experience of us all.
Our frontispiece is a life-like portrait of Mr. John W. Barber.
He is the principal author of this work, our part having been
mainly to add to the materials collected by him through years
of labor and travel. The picture is faithful, photographed from
the original, and true to every article of costume, even to the
antique carpet-bag on the sward at his feet. He is represented
with pencil and portfolio in hand, in the act of sketching from
nature. For the information of those unfamiliar with book pub-
lishing, we here describe the process by which the pictures in
this work were produced.
1st. They were drawn on the spot by the eye, in outline with
pencil on paper, on a large scale.
2d. Reduced in outline on paper to the smaller scale of the
engraving.
3d. These outlines again traced on wood, and shaded by an
artist.
4th. Engraved ; a labor of several years, had only one engraver
been employed.
5th. Stereotyped on the page with the type, ready for the
printer.
Owing to the position of many places, only a partial view
could be given. To recognize any scene, the reader must be
familiar with it from the point from whence the drawing was
taken. As a general thing, they have been rendered with that
care that any one with book in hand can readily place himself
within a yard or two of the precise spot on which Mr. Barber
stood. In our rapid growth and Aladdin-like changes, these
views will soon pass into history, and be of even higher value
than now as showing our country at the era of the great rebellion.
INTRODUCTORY. 5
Mr. Barber, whom we have thus introduced to the reader,
deserves so to be. He is a plain, unobtrusive old gentleman,
who began life with only iLe solid education Connecticut gives
all her sons — born at the close of the administration of George
Washington, in the century that is past — with no especial pride,
except in being a descendant of the Pilgrims, of whom he is a
genuine, honest, and most unmistakable offshoot. His life has
been one of untiring and useful industry, chiefly passed in com-
piling books, every page of which has been created with a view
to benefit the public. No man living in the Union has taken so
many views of places in it as he, in making drawings for this
and his various State work?. His books have gratified cli classes;
the learned and unlearned, the old and young. A personal anec-
dote is proper here. On a time, in the years now gone, we were
rattled over the paving-stones of Broadway in an omnibus, and
holding the first bound volume of a State work, the result of the
joint labor of Mr. Barber and ourself. An elderly gentleman, in
neat, and, as we thought, somewhat humble attire, leaned over
to look at our book: then putting an inquiry, which we an-
swered, he rejoined: "I have Mr. Barber's Connecticut and Mas-
sachusetts, and I shall want that." A moment later, the vehicle
stopped, and our questioner left us. "Do you know who that
old gentleman is that spoke to you?" asked a fellow-passenger,
also a stranger. "No sir." "That," added he, "is Chancellor
Rent!"
It is now thirty years since Mr. Barber published his first State
work, that on Connecticut. It was the model on which others
were formed, and a surprise to the public, for its plan was
original and quaint. The venerable Noah Webster, a towns-
man of Mr. Barber, was especially gratified. The venerable,
slender form of Webster, in the garb of a gentleman of the old
school, with broad-brimmed hat, shading a benignant, scholarly
face, with Quaker-like cut coat, short breeches, and buckle
shoes, was, at that period, a pleasant and daily object to be met
moving modestly along under the proudly arching elms of New
Haven.
We then knew them both "as a boy knows a man." Mrs.
Barber, as Miss Ruth Greene, had, only a few years before,
pointed out to us the mysteries of A B C from Webster's spell-
ing-book. It was in the printing-office at the time, or, perhaps,
a little later, owned by our father, Hezekiah Howe, and attached
6 INTRODUCTORY.
to his book-store, that the first edition of Webster's great quarto
dictionary was printed. It was several years in going through
the press, for it was a day of slow coaches ; when, as we recol-
lect, our geographies told us the American people had no
" particular character ! " The nation was then too young.
The issue of this dictionary was a great event. When fin-
ished, Mr. Webster gave a generous supper at his house to the
compositors and pressmen— some twenty in number — who had
labored upon it. He took the occasion to bless the young
men in good, fatherly talk upon the practical matters of life.
Among the topics introduced was that of runaway horses. He
had for years kept a record of accidents. Almost all fatal
results to life and limb had arisen from parties endeavoring to
save themselves by springing from the whirling vehicle. His
advice was to those present, whenever placed in such peril,
to stick to the wagon. The word "stick," though in that con-
nection, Webster did not probably use; for he, in common
with those Yale men generally, spoke English so "pure and
undeflled," that a slang word, or a coarse one, gave a greater
shock to his delicate sensibilities than a full, round, swelling
oath gives to common ears. This anecdote, living until now
only in memory, is fastened in here, as a pleasing reminis-
cence of the calm, wise man who caused us all to drop the
II from that brightest of words— Honor.
Many years— perhaps an entire generation— must elapse before
another book will be issued upon the West involving so much
of labor and expense as this. More of both were given before
the first sheet was printed than to most volumes of the same
size and price completed for the market. We design this as a
standard work upon the West, and, in successive editions, to
enhance its value by such modifications and additions as may
seem desirable. We trust it will become a Household book for
the Western people; and not only this, but to add to the evi-
dence, if it were necessary, what a mighty empire, under the
influence of our good government, has grown up here on the
sunset side of the Alleghanies since many among us first looked
upon the beautiful things of life in the simple, trusting faith of
childhood.
CINCINNATI, 111 Main Street.
't/j
ENGRAVINGS.*
THE WESTERN STATES, PACIFIC STATES, AND
UNITED STATES TERRITORIES. '
List of Engravings in the STATES of the SOUTHWEST, see p. 12."|
Portrait of J. W. Barber, FRONTIS-
PIECE.
Map, All the West, March 4, 1803,
FRONTISPIECE.
WEST VIRGINIA.
Arms of West Virginia, 33
Wheeling, 40
Tray Run Viaduct, 43
KENTUCKY.
Arms of Kentucky, 45
Frankfort, 48
State House, Frankfort, 49
Military Monument,. 49
Grave of Daniel Boone, 51
Louisville, 53
Medical and Law Colleges, 54
Green River Bridge, 56
View in the Mammoth Cave, 56
United States Barracks and Sus-
pension Bridge, Newport,... 58
Public Square, Lexington, 64
Ashland, Seat of Henry Clay,... 65
Monument of Henry Clay, 67
Old Fort at Boonesboro' 68
Landing at Paducah, 70
A Tobacco Plantation, 71
A Religious Encampment, 77
Signature of Daniel Boone, 78
Signature of Geo. Rogers Clark, 79
Signature of Isaac Shelby, 82
Signature of Henry Clay, 82
OHIO.
Arms of Ohio, 85
Ancient Mound, Marietta, 90
Campus Martins, Marietta, 91
A Pioneer Dwelling, 93
Gallipolis, in 1791, 95
Outline View of Cincinnati, 98
First Church in Cincinnati, 100
Cincinnati in 1802, 101
View in Fourth St., Cincinnati, 103
Pike's Building, 105
Longworth's Vineyard, 107
Harrison House, North Bend,.. 109
Old Block House, near N. Bend, 110
Monument of J. C. Symmes,... 110
Court House, Chillicothe, Ill
Old State Capitol, 112
Portsmouth, 115
State Capitol, Columbus, 116
Ohio White Sulphur Springs,.. 117
Court House, Zanesville, 119
Market Street, Steubenville,.... 125
Superior Street, Cleveland, 127
Ancient Map, Cleveland, 128
Toledo, 130
Wayne's Battle-ground, 133
Public Square, Sandusky, 138
Ancient Map, Sandusky, 138
Fort Sandusky, 139
Wyandot Mission Church, 141
View in Dayton, - 142
Old Court House in Greene Co.. 143
Plan of St. Glair's Battlefield,.. 145
* The engravings original to this work can not be copied by other publishers with-
ont infringement of copyright.
(Vii)
via
ENGRAVINGS.
Birth-place of Tecumseh, 148
Signature of Presid't Harrison, 149
Swiss Emigrant's Cottage, 149
Grave of Simon Kenton, 151
Brady's Pond, 152
Statue of Com. Perry, Cleveland, 153
INDIANA.
Arms of Indiana, 155
The Harrison House, Vincennes, 159
State Capitol, Indianapolis, 164
Union Depot, 165
View rh Terre Haute 168
Friends' Board. Sch., Richm'd, 169
Evans ville, 171
Rapp's Church, New Harmony, 172
Calhoun Street, Fort Wayne,... 175
Old Fort Wayne, 177
Lafayette, 180
Tippecanoe Battle-ground, , 181
Map of do 185
Madison, 186
New Albany, 188
Military Monument, 189
University of Indiana, 191
Old State" Capitol. Corydon,.... 191
The Jug Rock,...' 192
The Mill Stream Cave, 192
ILLINOIS.
Arms of Illinois, 195
Chicago in 1831, 200
Court House Square, Chicago,.. 202
Block Raising, Chicago, 204
Grain Houses, etc., Chicago,... 205
State House Square, Springfi'd, 211
Lincoln Residence, Springfield, 213
Illinois College, Jacksonville,.. 218
Bloomington, 221
Peoria, 222
Quincy, 226
Alton, 228
Map of Levee at Cairo, 232
June. Ohio and Miss., Cairo,... 232
Gulciu 233
The Lead Region, 235
Rock Island City, 236
Fort Armstrong, Rock Island, 237
Nauvoo, 239
Mt. Joliet, 243
Cavc-in-the-Rock, 249
MICHIGAN. .
Arms of Michigan, 251
Detroit, 257
Woodward Avenue, Detroit, ... 259
State House, Lansing, 265
State Penitentiary, Jackson,. — 267
State University, Ann Arbor,... 268
Winchester's Head-q's, Monroe, 269
Site of Stockade on the Raisin, 272
Deaf and Dumb Assylum, Flint, 277
Monroe Street, Grand Rapids,.. 279
Lumberman's Camp,..., 281
Mackinaw Island, 285
The Arched Rock, 286
Ruins of Old Fort Mackinaw,.. 287
Map of Mackinaw and Vicinity, 290
Falls of St. Mary, 292
Map of Copper & Iron Region, 294
The Minnesota Mine, 296
WISCONSIN.
Arms of Wisconsin, 305
Harbor of Milwaukie, 311
The Portage 321
Voyageurs' Camp, 322
Madison, 323
Map of the Four Lakes, 327
Ft. Crawford, Prairie du Chien, 329
Racine, 334
The Maiden's Rock, 338
Fort Wiunebago, ifi 1831, 341
MINNESOTA.
Arms of Minnesota, 349
St. Paul, 351
Fort Snelling, 356 •
Minne-ha-ha Falls, 357
Lake Itasca, 361
Dacotah Dog Dance (music),... 363
Ojibway Scalp Dance (music),. 363
IOWA.
Arms of Iowa, 367
Dubuque, 372
Ruins of Cauianche, 379
Davenport, 383
Attack on Bellevue Hotel, 387
Burlington 391
Judge Rorer's House, 392
Keokuk, , 393
Prairie Scenery, 395
ENGRAVINGS.
<&hr*L< IX
State Capitol, Des Moines, 398
Muscatine, , 399
State University, Iowa City,.... 401
MISSOURI.
Arms of Missouri, 405
Levee at St. Louis, 409
Court House, St. Louis, 411
Biddle Monument, 417
Jefferson City, 418
Lexington Landing, *. 423
Kansas City, 424
A Santa Fe Train, 426
St. Joseph, 428
Hannibal, 429
Pilot Knob, 438
KANSAS.
Arms of Kansas, 441
Fort Leavenworth, 446
Leaven worth, 447
Lawrence, 449
Lecompton, 451
Topeka Bridge, 453
Kansas Indian Village, 455
CALIFORNIA.
Arms of California, 459
Harbor of San Francisco, 469
Execution by Vigilance Com... 474
Sutler's Mill,.. .. 479
Washing Gold with Long Tom, 480
Hydraulic Mining, 482
Fremont's Ranch, 483
Mammoth Tree Grove, 485
OREGON.
Arms of Oregon, 501
Valley of the Willamette, 506
Giant Pines, 507
COLORADO.
View in Denver, 516
Street in Denver, 517
UTAH;
View in Salt Lake City, 538
Mammon Harem, 540
NEW MEXICO.
Giant Cactus, 551
Pueblo, or town of Zuni, 553
Ancient Pueblo, 537
do. Plan, 537
Canon of Chilly, 559
do. Pueblo in, 559
Inscription Rock, 561
ARIZONA.
Church at Tucson, 565
Silver Mine Works, 566
STATES.
California, 459 Kentucky, 45 Nevada, 489
Illinois, 195 Michigan, 271 Ohio, 85
Indiana, 155 Minnesota, 349 Oregon, 501
Iowa, 367 Missouri, 405 West Virginia, .... 33
Kansas, 441 Nebraska, 509 Wisconsin, 305
U. S. TERRITORIES.
Arizona, 563 Idaho, 529 New Mexico. 545
Colorado, 515 Indian, 532 Utah, 535
Dacotah, 531 Montana, 525 Washington, 533
CITIES AND TOWNS.
Abingdon, 245
Acoina, 555
Adrian, 268
Alburquerque, 555
Allegan, 284
Almont, 284
Acton, 227
Ann Arbor, 268
Aehtabula, 147
Astoria, 508
Atchison, 448
Aurora, 193-495"
Austin, 495
Bannock City, 526
Bardstown, 70
Batavia, 245
Battle Creek, 283
Beloit, 335
Bel 1 efon tain e, 147
Bellville, 245
Bellvue, 386, 559
Belvidere, 245
Benicia, 488
Bloomington,
191, 221
Boonville, 433
Bowling Green, 68
Bucyrus, 147
Burlington, 390
Cairo, 231.
Cambridge, 148
Cambridge City,
"456
Cannelton, 148
Canton, 147
Carrolton, 70
Carson City, 492
Cedar Falls, 403
Cedar Rapids, 403
Charleston, 42
* Chicago, 199
Chillicothe, 111
Cincinnati, 99
Circleville, 104
Clarksburg, 43
Cleveland, 127
Col 1 water, 283
Colorado City, 518
Colo ma, 478
Columbus,
70,116,193
Conneaut, 125
(x)
Connersville, 193
Corydon, 191
Coulterville, 489
Council Bluffs, 399
Oovington, 58
Crawfordsville,191
Crescent City, .488
Cvnthiana, 70
Davenport, 382
Danville, 69
Dayton, 141
Decatur, 245
Delaware, 147
Delphi, 193
Denver, 516
Des Moines, 398
Detroit, 257
Dixon, 244
Dubuque, 372
Dunleith, 244
Eaton, 148
Elgin, 245
Elyria, 147
Evansville, 170
Fill more City, 544
Flint, 277
Fond du Lac, 339
Fort Dodge, 402
Fort Snelling, 356
Fort Wayne, 175
Fort Yuma, 488
Frankfort, 48
Franklin, 193
Fremont, 139
Freeport, 233
Galena, 233
Galesburg, 233
Gallipolis, 94
Georgetown, 70
Germantown, 148
Golden City, 518
Goshen, 193
Grand Haven, 284
Grand Rapids, 278
Grasshopper
Falls, 454
Green Bay, 316
Greencastle, 191
Greenfield, 148
Greensburg, 193
Grinnell, 403
Guyandotte, 51
Hamilton, 110
Hannibal, 429
Harrodsburg. 51
Hastings, 359
Henderson, 70
Hernmnn, 434
Hickman, 70
Hillsdale, 283
Hillsboro, 148
Hopkinsville, 70
Hudson, 338
Humboldt City,
488
Huntington, 193
Independence, 429
Indianapolis, 163
Iowa City, 401
Iron ton, 148,433
Janesville, 335
Jackson, 267
Jacksonville, 217
Jefferson City, 417
Jeffersonville, 190
Joliet, 243
Kalamazoo, 283
Kankakee City,
244
Kansas City, 424
Kaskaskia, 213
Kenosha, 334
Keokuk, 393
Keosaugua, 403
Klamath, 488
La Crosse, 337
La Fayette, 179
Lake City, 359
Laguana, 555
Lancaster, 148
Lansing, 265
La Pointe, 348
La Porte, 190
La Salle, 344
Lawrence, 448
Lawrenceburg 190
Leaven worth
City, 447
Lebanon, 14S
Lecompton, 451
Le Sueur, 359
Louisburg, 42
Lewistown, 529
Lexington, 64, 422
Lima, 147
Logan, 148
Logansport, 189
Los Angelos, 488
Louisville, 52
M'Connelsvillel48
Mackinaw, 284
Macombe, 245
Madison, 186, 323
Manhattan, 454
Manitowoc, 348
Mansfield, 147
Marietta, 89
Mariposa, 487
Marshall, 283
Marquette, 299
Marysville, 483
Massillon, 147
Mays vi lie, 57
Mendota, 359
Michigan City, 190
Milwaukie, 311
Mineapolis, 358
Mineral Point, 335
Mishawaka, 193
Moline, 245
Monroe, 268
Monterey, 488
Morgantown. 43
Mt. Clemens, 284
Mt. Pleasant, 403
Mt. Veri\on,
147, 193
Muncie, 1 93
Muscatine, 399
Napierville, 245
Nauvoo, 239
Nebraska City,51 1
NemahaCity, 511
New Albany, 189
Newark, 118
New Harmony, 172
New Lisbon, 148
New Madrid, 419
Newport, 58
Nicolet, 359
Niles, 283
Newark, 147
Oberlin, 147
Olympia, 535
Omaha City, 511
Ontonagon, 299
CITIES TOWNS.
Oregon City,
508
Red Wing, 359
Shakopee,
359
Upper Sanduskv.
Oskaloosa,
403
Richmond, 169
Sheboygan,
348
139
Ossawatomie,
454
Ripley, 148
Shelbyville,
Urban a, 147,
245
Ottawa,
245
Rising Sun, 193
70, 193
Vallejo,
488
fd/~~/ it. , t,
Owens boro,
70
Rocklbrd, 233
Sidney,
147
Vandalia,
245
Ozaukee,
348
Rock Island
Silver City,
491
Versailles,
70
^ff^^Ay^d-^o ,
Paducah.
70
City, 286
Sioux City,
403
Vevay,
191
o^v*
Painesville,
147
Rockville, 193
Smithland,
70
Vincennes,
158
& &Cr~v
Paris,
Parkersburg,
70
39
Romeo, 284
Russelville, 70
Sonora,
South Bend,
484
190
Virginia City,
Wabashaw, "
491
359
g &*-t*~4i^- *****
Pembina,
Peoria,
531
222
Sacram. City, 478
Saginaw, 282
Springfield,
142,
211
Warren,
Watertown,
147
328
o Hslr^ty^j*—
Peru,
193
Salem, 508
Sterling,
245
Waubonsee,
454
Piqua,
147
St Anne, 402
Steubenville,
124
Waukegan,
245
,
Plattesmouth,
511
St. Anthony, 357
Still water,
359
Wellsburg,
41
Jr-e»-
Pomeroy,
148
St. Charles,245,432
Stockton,
483
Wellsville,
148
-j
Pontiac,
2H2
St. Genevieve, 434
Superior City,
348
Weston, 43, 428
\J ^-<A ^^ r\S y?*+&44t
Portage City,
340
St. Joseph, 435, 427
Sycamore,
245
Wheeling,
39
*~Ai*~r-9
Portland,
588
St. Paul, 409
Taos,
554
White Sulphur ^ ^ <*Jtl^_
Port Huron,
282
Salt Lake City, 538
Tecumseh,
283
Springs,
43
jft
Portsmouth,
113
San Diego, 488
Terre Haute,
167
Wilmington,
148
0*kras*if(Trr*J
Potosi,
433
Sandoval, 245
Tiffin,
147
Winona,
350
c^
Prairie du Chien,
Sandusky, 137
Toledo,
130
Wooster,
147
^*^-W^,
328
San Francisco, 468
Topeka,
452
Wyandot,
448
'
Prescott, 338,
Princeton,
563
193
San Jose, 488
SantaBarbara,488
Trinidad,
Troy,
488
147
Xenia,
Youngstown,
143
147
***rtrW^
Quincy,
226
Santa Fe. 552
Tubac,
565
Ypsilanti,
283
$*J-*4«s-+&JtM
Racine,
333
Sault de Ste.
Tucson,
565
Zanesville.
119
vLt_A£-L-/zrr
Ravenna,
147
Marie, 291
Two Rivers,
348
Zuni.
555
<T\JZL'^£C»*
STATES OF THE SOUTHWEST,
ALABAMA.
Arms of Alabama, 571
St. Louis Wharf, Mobile,
575
Fort Morgan, Mobile
Point, 576
Central View in Mont-
gomery, 576
Landing at Selma, 580
University of Alabama,
Tuscaloosa, 582
Public Square, Hunts-
ville, 583
MISSISSIPPI.
Arms of Mississippi, 585
Central View of Jack-
son, 588
Natchez, 588
Vickeburg, 593
Observatory of the State
University, 594
Harvesting Cotton, 597
LOUISIANA.
Arms of Louisiana, 599
Jackson Square, New
Orleans, 602
Levee in New Orleans,602
St. Charles street in
New Orleans, 603
ENGRAVINGS.
Lafayette Square, New
Orleans, 605
Outline View of New
Orleans, 605
Battle-field, New Orleans,
607
French Cemetery, in
New Orleans, 613
Baton Rouge, 674
Gen. Taylor's Residence,
674
GatheringSugarCane,617
TENNESSEE.
Arms of Tennessee, 623
Nashville, 627
State House, Nashville,
628
President Folk's Resi-
dence, 529
Memphis, 6.'$0
Knoxville, 632
Signature of Andrew
Jackson, 635
Residence of Andrew
Jackson, 636
Tomb of Andrew Jack-
son, 638
David Crockett's Cabin,
640
Brainerd, Missionary
Station, 642
STATES.
ARKANSAS.
Arms of Arkansas, 645
Little Rock, 648
Helena, 549
Napoleon, 649
Scene on the Arkansas,
650
TEXAS.
Arms of Texas, 653
Galveston, 661
View of the Main Plaza,
San Antonio, 662
Church of the Alamo,
663
Mission of San Jose, 666
The Alamo, 667
Plan of the Alamo, 669
Landing at Houston, 673
Ancient Capitol, Houston,
674
Ruins at Goliad, 675
State Capitol, Austin, 678
The Alamo Monument,
679
San Jacinto Battle-
ground, 685
Soldiers' Grave, San Ja-
cinto Battle-ground, 687
A night Scene on the
Buffalo Bayou, 691
Alabama,
Arkansas
571 Louisiana,
645 Mississippi,
599 Tennessee,
585 Texas,
523
653
CITIES— TOWNS.
Aberdeen,
593
Fort Smith,
650
Marion,
581
Paris,
695
Alexandria,
621
Galveston,
6rtl
Marshall,
695
Pine Bluff,
650
Arkansas Post,
649
Goliad,
674
Matagorda,
695
Port Lavacea,
695
Athens,
633
Gallatin,
533
Memphis,
630
San Antonio,
661
Austin,
678
Gonzules,
505
Mobile,
575
San Augustine,
695
Batesville,
648
Greenville,
633
Montgomery,
576
Selma,
580
Baton Rouge,
674
Helena,
649
Murfreesboro,
632
Shelbyville,
633
Brownsville,
691
Holly Springs,
599
Nacogdoches,
694
Shreveport,
621
Canton,
593
Hot Springs,
650
Napoleon,
649
Tusealoosa,
583
Castorvillo,
683
Houston,
673
Natchez,
587
Tuacumbia,
583
Clarksville,
633
Huntsville,
583
Natchetoches,
621
Van Buren,
650
Cleveland,
633
Jackson, 587,
633
Nashville,
627
Vickeburg,
593
Columbia,
633
Jonesboro,
632
New Braunfels,
680
Victoria,
695
Columbus,
593
Knoxville,
631
New Orleans,
fi02
Wetumpka,
583
Chattanooga,
632
Lebanon,
633
Opclousas^
621
Winchester,
633
Payetteville,633,651
Little Rook,
648
Oxford.
593
Yasoo City,
593
Florence,
583
McMinnville,
633
HISTORICAL SKETCH
WEST
TWENTY years after the great event occurred, which has immor-
talized the name of Christopher Columbus, Florida was discovered
by Juan Ponce de Leon, ex-governor of Porto Rico. Sailing from
that island in March, 1512, he discovered an unknown country,
which he named Florida, from the abundance of its flowers, the
trees being covered with blossoms, and its first being seen on
Easter Sunday, a day called by the Spaniards Pascua Florida;
the name imports the country of flowers. Other explorers soon
visited the same coast. In May, 1539, Ferdinand de Soto, the
Governor of Cuba, landed at Tampa Bay, with six hundred fol-
lowers. He marched into the interior; arid on the 1st of May,
1541, discovered the Mississippi; being the first European who
had ever beheld that mighty river.
Spain for many years claimed the whole of the country — bounded
by the Atlantic to the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the north, all of
which bore the name of Florida. About twenty years after the
discovery of the Mississippi, some Catholic missionaries attempted
to form settlements at St. Augustine, and its vicinity ; and a few
years later a colony of French Calvinists had been established on
the St. Mary's, near the coast. In 1565, this settlement was anni-
hilated by an expedition from Spain, under Pedro Melendez de
Aviles; and about nine hundred French, men, women and children,
cruelly massacred. The bodies of many of the slain were hung
from trees, with the inscription, '''•Not as Frenchmen, but as
heretics.'1'' Having accomplished his bloody errand, Melendez
founded St. Augustine, the oldest town by half a century of any
now in the Union. Four years after, Dominic de Gourges, burn-
ing to avenge his countrymen, fitted out an expedition at his own
expense, and surprised the Spanish colonists on the St. Mary's;
destroying the ports, burning the houses, and ravaging the settle-
ments with fire and sword ; finishing the work by also suspending
some of the corpses of his enemies from trees, with the inscription,
14 OUTLINE HISTORY.
"Not as Spaniards, but as murderers." Unable to hold possession
of the country, de Gourges retired to his fleet. Florida, excepting
for a few years, remained under the Spanish crown, suffering much
in its early history, from the vicissitudes of war and piratical
incursions, until 1819, when, vastly diminished from its original
boundaries, it was ceded to the United States, and in 1845 became
a State.
In 1535, James Cartier, a distinguished French mariner, sailed
with an exploring expedition up the St. Lawrence, and taking pos-
session of the country in the name of his king, called it "New
France." In 1608, the energetic Champlain created a nucleus for
the settlement of Canada, by founding Quebec. This was the
same year with the settlement of Jamestown, Virginia, and twelve
years previous to that on which the Puritans first stepped upon the
rocks of Plymouth.
To strengthen the establishment of French dominion, the genius
of Champlain saw that it was essential to establish missions among
the Indians. Up to this period "the far west" had been untrod
by the foot of the white man. In 1616, a French Franciscan,
named Le Caron, passed through the Iroqnois and "Wyandot
nations — to streams running into Lake Huron ; and in> 1634, two
Jesuits founded the first mission in that region. But just a century
elapsed from the discovery of the Mississippi, ere the first Canadian
envoys met the savage nations of the northwest at the falls of St.
Mary's, below the outlet of Lake Superior. It was not until 1659
that any of the adventurous fur-traders wintered on the shores of
this vast lake, nor until 1660 that Rene Mesnard founded the first
missionary station upon its rocky and inhospitable coast. Perish-
ing soon after in the forest, it was left to Father Claude Allouez,
five years subsequent, to build the first permanent habitation of
white men among the Northwestern Indians. In 1668, the mission
was founded at the falls of St. Mary's, by Dablon and Marquette;
in 1670, Nicholas Perrot, agent for the intendant of Canada,
explored Lake Michigan to near its southern termination. Formal
possession was taken of the northwest by the French in 1671, and
Marquette established a missionary station at Point St. Ignace, on
the mainland north of Mackinac, which was the first settlement in
Michigan.
Until late in this century, owing to the enmity of the Indians
bordering the Lakes Ontario and Erie, the adventurous mission-
aries, on their route west, on pain of death, were compelled to
pass far to the north, through ua region horrible with forests," by
the Ottawa and French Rivers of Canada.
As yet no Frenchman had advanced beyond Fox River, of
Winnebago Lake, in Wisconsin ; but in May, 1673, the missionary
Marquette, with a few companions, left Mackinac in canoes;
passed up Green Bay, entered Fox River, crossed the country to
the Wisconsin, and, following its current, passed into and dis-
covered the Mississippi; down which they sailed several hundred
OUTLINE HISTORY. 15
miles, and returned in the Autumn. The discovery of this great
river gave great joy to New France, it being "a pet idea" of that
age that some of its western tributaries would afford a direct route
to the South Sea, and thence to China. Monsieur La Salle, a man
of indefatigable enterprise, having been several years engaged in
the preparation, in 1082, explored the Mississippi to the sea, and
took formal possession of the country in the name of the King of
France, in honor of whom he called it Louisiana. In 1685, he
also took formal possession of Texas, and founded a colony on the
Colorado; but La Salle was assassinated, and the colony dispersed.
The descriptions of the beauty and magnificence of the Valley
of the Mississippi, given by these explorers, led many adventurers
from the cold climate of Canada to follow the same route, and
commence settlements. About the year 1680, Kaskaskia and
Cahokia, the oldest towns in the Mississippi Valley, were founded.
Kaskaskia became the capital of the Illinois country, and in 1721,
a Jesuit college and monastery were founded there.
A peace with the Iroquois, Hurons and Ottawas, in 1700, gave
the French facilities for settling the western part of Canada. In
June, 1701, De la Motte Cadillac, with a Jesuit missionary and a
hundred men, laid tha foundation of Detroit. All of the extensive
region south of the lakes was now claimed by the French, under
the name of Canada, or New France. This excited the jealousy
of the English, and the New York legislature passed a law for
hanging every Popish priest that should come voluntarily into the
province. The French, chiefly through the mild and conciliating
course of their missionaries, had gained so much influence over
the western Indians, that, when a war broke out with England, in
1711, the most powerful of the tribes became their allies; and the
latter unsuccessfully attempted to restrict their claims to the country
south of the lakes. The Fox nation, allies of the English, in 1713,
made an attack upon Detroit; but were defeated by the French
and their Indian allies. The treaty of Utrecht, this year, ended
this war.
By the year 1720, a profitable trade had arisen in furs and agri-
cultural products — between the French of Louisiana and those of
Illinois; and settlements had been made on the Mississippi, below
the junction of the Illinois. To confine the English to the Atlan-
tic coast, the French adopted the plan of forming a line of military
posts, to extend from the great northern lakes to the Mexican Gulf,
and as one of the links of the chain, Fort Chartres was built on the
Mississippi, near Kaskaskia; and in its vicinity soon flourished
the villages of Cahokia and Prairie du Rocher.
The Ohio at this time was but little known to the French, and
on their early maps was but an insignificant stream. Early in this
century their missionaries had penetrated to the sources of the Al-
leghany. In 1721, Joncaire, a French agent and trader, estab-
lished himself among the Senecas at Lewistown, and Fort Niagara
was erected, near the falls, five years subsequent. In 1735, accord-
16 OUTLINE HISTORY.
ing to some authorities, Post St. Yincent was erected on the
Wabash. Almost coeval with this, was the military post of Presque
Isle, on the site of Erie, Pennsylvania, and from thence a cordon
of posts extended on the Alleghauy to Pittsburgh; and from thence
down the Ohio to the "Wabash.
A map, published at London in 1755, gives the following list of
French posts, as then existing in the west: Two on French Creek,
in the vicinity of Erie, Pennsylvania; Duquesne, on the site of
Pittsburgh ; Miarnis, on the Maumee, near the site of Toledo ; San-
dusky, on Sandusky Bay; St. Joseph's, on St. Joseph's River,
Michigan; Ponchartrain, site of Detroit; Massillirnacinac; one on
Fox River, Green Bay; Crevecoaur, on the Illinois; Rockfort, or
Fort St. Louis, on the Illinois; Yincennes; Cahokia; Kaskaskia,
and one at each of the mouths of the Wabash, Ohio, and Missouri.
Other posts, not named, were built about that time. On the Ohio,
just below Portsmouth, are ruins, supposed to be those of a French
fort; as they had a post there during Braddock's war.
In 1749, the French regularly explored the Ohio, and formed
alliances with the Indians in Western New York, Pennsylvania,
and Virginia. The English, who claimed the whole west to the
Pacific, but whose settlements were confined to the comparatively
narrow strip east of the mountains, were jealous of the rapidly
increasing power of the French in the west. Not content with
exciting the savages to hostilities against them, they stimulated
private enterprise by granting six hundred thousand acres of choice
land on the Ohio, to the "Ohio Company."
By the year 1751, there were in the Illinois country, the settle-
ments of Cahokia, live miles below the site of St. Louis ; St. Philip's,
forty-five miles farther down the river; St. Genevieve, a little lower
still, and on the east side of the Mississippi, Fort Chartres, Kas-
kaskia and Prairie du Rocher. The largest of these was Kaskas-
kia, which at one time contained nearly three thousand souls.
In 1748, the Ohio Company, composed mainly of wealthy Vir-
ginians, dispatched Christopher Gist to explore the country, gain
the good-will of the Indians, and ascertain the plans of the French.
Crossing overland to the Ohio, he proceeded down it to the Great
Miami, up which he passed to the towns of the Miamies, about
fifty miles north of the site of Dayton. The next year the com-
pany established a trading post in that vicinity, on Loramies Creek,
the first point of English settlement in the western country; it was
soon after broken up by the French.
In the year 1753, Dinwiddie, Governor of Virginia, sent George
Washington, then twenty-one years of age, as commissioner, to
remonstrate with the French commandant who was at Fort le
Bceuf, near the site of Erie, Pennsylvania, against encroachments
of the French. The English claimed the country by virtue of her
first royal charters; the French by the stronger title of discovery
and possession. The result of the mission proving unsatisfactory,
the English, although it was a time of peace, raised a force to
OUTLINE HISTORY. 17
expel the invaders from the Ohio and its tributaries. A detachment
under Lieut. Ward erected a fort on the site of Pittsburgh ; but it
was surrendered shortly after, in April, 1754, to a superior force
of French and Indians under Contrecoeur, and its garrison peace-
ably permitted to retire to the frontier post of Cumberland. Con-
trecoeur then erected a strong fortification at "the fork," under the
name of Fort Duquesne.
Measures were now taken by both nations for the struggle that
was to ensue. On the 28th of May, a strong detachment of Vir-
ginia troops, under Washington, surprised a small body of French
from Fort Duquesne, killed its commander, M. Jumonville, and
ten men, and took nearly all the rest prisoners. He then fell back
and erected Fort Necessity, near the site of Uniontown. In July
he was attacked by a large body of French and Indians, com-
manded by M. Villiers, and after a gallant resistance, compelled to
capitulate with permission to retire unmolested, and under the ex-
press stipulation that farther settlements or forts should not be
founded by the English, west of the mountains, for one year.
On the 9th of July, 1755, Gen. Braddock was defeated within
ten miles of Fort Duquesne. His army, composed mainly of vete-
ran English troops, passed into an ambuscade formed by a far
inferior body of French and Indians, who, lying concealed in two
deep ravines, each side of his line of march, poured in upon the
compact body of their enemy vollies of musketry, with almost per-
fect safety to themselves. The Virginia provincials, under Wash-
ington, by their knowledge of border warfare and cool bravery,
alone saved the army from complete ruin. Braddock was himself
mortally wounded by a provincial named Fausett. A brother of
the latter had disobeyed the silly orders of the general, that the
troops should not take positions behind the trees, when Braddock
rode up and struck him down. Fausett, who saw the whole trans-
action, immediately drew up his rifle and shot him through the
lungs; partly from revenge, and partly as a measure of salvation
to the army which was being sacrificed to his headstrong obstinacy
and inexperience.
The result of this battle gave the French and Indians a complete
ascendancy on the Ohio, and put a check to the operations of the
English, west of the mountains, for two or three years. In July.
1758, Gen. Forbes, with seven thousand men, left Carlisle, Fenn..
for the west. A corps in advance, principally of Highland Scotch,
under Major Grant, were on the 13th of September defeated in the
vicinity of Fort Duquesne, on the site of Pittsburgh. A short
time alter, the French and Indians, under Col. Boquet, made an
unsuccessful attack upon the advanced guard.
In November, the commandant of Fort Duquesne, unable to
cope with the superior force approaching under Forbes, abandoned
the fortress, arid descended to Ne^y Orleans. On his route, he
erected Fort Massac, so called in htrnor of M. Massac, who super-
intended its construction. It vas upon the Ohio, within forty
2
18 OUTLINE HISTORY.
miles of its mouth — and within the limits of Illinois. Forbes re-
paired Fort Duquesne, and changed its name-to Fort Pitt, in honor
of the English Prime Minister.
The English were now for the first time in possession of the
upper Ohio. In the spring, they established several posts in that
region, prominent among which was Fort Bnrd, or Redstone Old
Fort, on the site of Brownsville.
Ovdng to the treachery of Gov. Lyttleton, in 1760, by which,
twenty-two Cherokee chiefs on an embassy of peace were made
prisoners at Fort George, on the Savannah, that nation flew to
arms, and for a while desolated the frontiers of Virginia and the
Carolinas. Fort Loudon, in East Tennessee, having bean besieged
by the Indians, the garrison capitulated on the 7th of August, and
on the day afterward, while on the route to Fort George, were
attacked, and the greater part massacred. In the summer of 1761,
Col. Grant invaded their country, and compelled them to sue for
peace. On the north the most brilliant success had attended the
British arms. Ticonderoga, Crown Point, and Fort Niagara, and
Quebec were taken in 1759, and the next year Montreal fell, and
with it all of Canada.
By the treaty of Paris, in 1763, France gave up her claim to
New France and Canada; embracing all the country east of the
Mississippi, from its source to the Bayou Iberville. The remainder
of her Mississippi possessions, embracing Louisiana west of the
Mississippi, and the Island of Orleans, she soon after secretly ceded
to Spain, which terminated the dominion of France on this con-
tinent, and her vast plans for empire.
At this period Lower Louisiana had become of considerable im-
portance. The explorations of La Salle in the Lower Mississippi
country, were renewed in 1697, by Lemoine D'Iberville, a brave
French naval officer. Sailing with two vessels, he entered the
Mississippi in March 1698, by the Bayou Iberville. He built forts
on the Bay of Biloxi, and at Mobile, both of which were deserted
for the Island of Dauphine. which for years was the headquarters
of the colony. He also erected Fort Balise, at the mouth of the
river, and fixed on the site of Fort Rosalie ; which latter became
the scene of a bloody Indian war.
After his death, in 1706, Louisiana was but little more than a
wilderness, and a vain search for gold, and trading in furs, rather
than the substantial pursuits of agriculture, allured the colonists ;
and much time was lost in journeys of discovery, and in collecting
furs among distant tribes. Of the occupied lands, Biloxi was a
barren sand, and the soil of the Isle of Dauphine poor. Bienville,
the brother and successor of D'Iberville, was at the fort on the
Delta of the Mississippi, where he and his soldiers were liable to
inundations, and held joint possession with mosquitoes, frogs,
snakes and alligators.
In 1712, Antoine de Crozat, an East India merchant, of vast
ealth, purchased a grant of the entire country, with the exclusive
OUTLINE HISTORY. 19
right of commerce for sixteen years. But in 1717, the speculation
having resulted in his ruin, and to the injury of the colonists, he
surrendered Ins privileges. Soon after, a number of other adven-
turers, under the name of the Mississippi Company, obtained from
the French government a charter, which gave them all the rights
of sovereignty, except the bare title, including a complete mono-
poly of the trade, and the mines. Their expectations were chiefly
from the mines ; and on the strength of a former traveler, .Nicholas
Perrot, having discovered a copper mine in the valley of St. Peters,
the directors of the company assigned to the soil of Louisiana,
silver and gold ; and to the mud of the Mississippi, diamonds and
pearls. The notorious Law, who then resided at Paris, was the
secret agent of the company. To form its capital, its shares were
sold at five hundred livres each; and such was the speculating
mania of the times, that in a short time more thai.' a hundred mil
lions were realized. Although this proved ruinous to individuals,
yet the colony was greatly benefited by the consequent emigration,
and agriculture and commerce flourished.
In 1719, Renault, an agent of the Mississippi Company, left
France with about two hundred miners and emigrants, to carry out
the mining schemes of the company. He bought five hundred
slaves at St. Domingo, to work the mines, which he conveyed to
Illinois in 1720. He established himself a few miles above Kas-
kasia, and founded there the village of St. Philips. Extravagant
expectations existed in France, of his probable success in obtaining
gold and silver. He sent out exploring parties in various sections of
Illinois and Missouri. His explorations extended to the banks of
the Ohio and Kentucky rivers, and even to the Cumberland valley
in Tennessee, where at " French Lick," on the site of Nashville, the
French established a trading post. Although Renault was woe-
fully disappointed in not discovering extensive mines of gold or
silver, yet he made various discoveries of lead; among which
were the mines north of Potosi, and those on the St. Francois.
He eventually turned his whole attention to the smelting of lead,
of which he made considerable quantities, and shipped to France.
He remained in the country until 17-M. Nothing of consequence
was again done in mining, until after the American Revolution.
In 1718, Bienville laid out the town of New Orleans, on the
plan of Rochefort, France. Some four years after, the bankruptcy
of Law threw the colony into the greatest confusion, and occasioned
wide-spread ruin in France, where speculation had been carried to
an extreme unknown before.
The expenditures for Louisiana, were consequently stopped, but
the colony had now gained strength to struggle for herself. Louisi-
ana was then divided into nine cantons, of which Arkansas and
Illinois formed each one.
About this time, the colony had considerable difficulty with the
Indian tribes, and were involved in wars with the Chickasaws and
the Natchez. This Jitter named tribe were finally completely con-
20 OUTLINE HISTORY.
quered. The remnant of them dispersed among other Indians, so
that, that once powerful people, as a distinct race, was entirely
lost. Their name alone survives, as that of a flourishing city.
Tradition related singular stories of the Natchez. It was believed
that they emigrated from Mexico, and were kindred to the Incas
of Peru. The Natchez alone, of all the Indian tribes, had a con-
secrated temple, where a perpetual fire was maintained by ap-
pointed guardians. Near the temple, on an artificial mound,
stood the dwelling of their chief — called the Great Sun; who was
supposed to be descended from that luminary, and all around were
grouped the dwellings of the tribe. His power was absolute ; the
dignity was hereditary, and transmitted exclusively through the
female line; and the race of nobles was so distinct, that usage had
moulded language into the forms of reverence.
In 1732, the Mississippi Company relinquished their charter to
the king, after holding possession fourteen years. At this period,
Louisiana had five thousand whites, and twenty-five hundred
blacks. Agriculture was improving in all the nine cantons, par-
ticularly in Illinois, which was considered the granary of the
colony. Louisiana continued to advance until the war broke out
with England in 1775, which resulted in the overthrow of French
dominion.
Immediatel}7 after the peace of 1763, all the old French forts in
the west, as far as Green Bay, were repaired and garrisoned with
British troops. Agents and surveyors too, were making examina-
tions of the finest lands east and northeast of the Ohio. Judging
from the past, the Indians were satisfied that the British intended
to possess the whole country. The celebrated Ottowa chief. Pon-
tiac, burning with hatred against the English, in that year formed
a general league with the western tribes, and by the middle of May
all the western posts had fallen — or were closely besieged by the
Indians, and the whole frontier, for almost a thousand miles, suf-
fered from the merciless fury of savage warfare. Treaties of peace
were made with the different tribes of Indians, in the year follow-
ing, at Niagara, by Sir William Johnson ; at Detroit or vicinity
by General Bradstreet, and, in what is now Coshocton county,
Ohio, by Col. Boquet ; at the German Flats, on the Mohawk, with
the Six Nations and their confederates. By these treaties, exten-
sive tracts were ceded by the Indians in New York and Pennsyl-
vania, and south of Lake Erie.
Peace having been concluded, the excitable frontier population
began to cross the mountains. Small settlements were formed on
the main routes, extending north toward Fort Pitt, and south to
the head waters of the Holston and Clinch, in the vicinity of South-
western Virginia. In 1766, a town was laid out in the vicinity of
Fort Pitt. Military land warrants had been issued in great num-
bers, and a perfect mania for western land had taken possession of
the people of the middle colonies. The treaty made by Sir William
ohnson, at Fort Stanwix, on the site of Utica, New York, in
OUTLINE HISTORY. 21
October, 1768, with the Six Nations and their confederates, and those
of Hard Labor and Lochaber, made with the Cherokees, afforded
a pretext under which the settlements were advanced. It was now
falsely claimed that the Indian title was extinguished east and sjouth
of the Ohio, to an indefinite extent, and the spirit of emigration
and speculation in land greatly increased. • Among the land com-
panies formed at this time was the " Mississippi Company," of
which George Washington was an active member.
Up to this period very little was known by the English of the
country south of the Ohio. In 1754, James M. Bride, with some
others, had passed down the Ohio in canoes; and landing at the
mouth of the Kentucky River, marked the initials of their names,
and the date on the barks of trees. On their return, they were the
first to give a particular account of the beauty and richness of the
country to the inhabitants of the British settlements. No -farther
notice seems to have been taken of Kentucky until the year 1767,
when John Finlay, an Indian trader, with others, passed through
a part of the rich lands of Kentucky — then called by the Indians
" the Dark and Bloody Ground" Finlay, returning to North
Carolina, fired the curiosity of his neighbors by the reports of the
discoveries he had made. In consequence of this information, Col.
Daniel Boonc, in company with Finlay, Stewart, Holden, Monay,
and Cool, set out from their residence on the Zadkin, in North
Carolina, May 1st, 1769 ; and after a long and fatiguing march,
over a mountainous and pathless wilderness, arrived on the lied
River. Here, from the top of an eminence, Boone and his com-
panions first beheld a distant view of the beautiful lands of Kentucky.
The plains and forests abounded with wild beasts of every kind ;
deer and elk were common ; the buffalo were seen in herds, and
the plains covered with the richest verdure. The glowing descrip-
tions of these adventurers inflamed the imaginations of the border-
ers, and their own sterile mountains beyond lost their charms, when
compared to the fertile plains of this newly-discovered Paradise in
the West.
In 1770, Ebenezer Silas and Jonathan Zane settled Wheeling.
In 1771, such was the rush of emigration to Western Pennsylvania
and Western Virginia, in the region of the Upper Ohio, that every
kind of breadstuff became so scarce, that, for several months, a great
part of the population were obliged to subsist entirely on meats,
roots, vegetables, and milk, to the entire exclusion of all bread-
stuffs ; and hence that period was long alter known as "the starving
year.'1'' Settlers, enticed by the beauty of the Cherokee country,
emigrated to East Tennessee, and hundreds of families also, moved
farther south to thy mild climate of West Florida, which at this
period extended to the Mississippi. In the summer of 1773, Frank-
fort and Louisville, Kentucky, were laid out. The next year was
signalized by " Dunmore's war," which temporarily checked the
settlements.
In the summer of 177-t, several other parties of surveyors and
22 OUTLINE HISTORY.
hnnters entered Kentucky, and James Harrod erected a dwelling —
the first erected by whites in the country — on or near the site of
Harrodsburg, around which afterward arose " Harrod Station."
In the year 1775, Col. Richard Henderson, a native of North Car-
olina, in behalf of himself and his associates, purchased of the Cher-
okees all the country lying between the Cumberland River and
Cumberland Mountains and Kentucky River, and south of the
Ohio, which now comprises more than half of the State of Ken-
tucky. The new country he named Transylvania. The first
legislature sat at Boonsborough, and formed an independent gov-
ernment, on liberal and rational principles. Henderson was very
active in granting lands to new settlers. The legislature of Vir-
ginia subsequently crushed his schemes ; they claimed the sole
right to purchase lands from the Indians, and declared his purchase
null and void. But as some compensation for the services re-n-
dered in opening the wilderness, the legislature granted to the pro-
prietors a tract of land, twelve miles square, on the Ohio, below
the mouth of Green River.
In 1775, Daniel Boone, in the employment of Henderson, laid
out the town and fort afterward called Boonsborough. From this
time Boonsborough and Harrodsburg became the nucleus and sup-
port of emigration and settlement in Kentucky. In May, another
fort was also built, which was under the command of Col. Benja-
min Logan, and named Logan's Fort. It stood on the site of Stan-
ford, in Lincoln county, and became an important post.
In 1776, the jurisdiction of Virginia was formally extended over
the colony of Transylvania, which was organized into a county
named Kentucky, and the first court was held at Harrodsburg in
the spring of 17S7. At this time the war of the Revolution was
in full progress, and the early settlers of Kentucky were particu-
larly exposed to the incursions of the Indian allies of Great Britain;
a detailed account of which is elsewhere given in this volume. The
early French settlements in the Illinois country now being in pos-
session of that power, formed important points around which the
British assembled the Indians and instigated them to murderous
incursions against the pioneer population.
The year 1779 was marked in Kentucky by the passage of the
Virginia Land Laws. At this time there existed claims of various
kinds to the western lands. Commissioners were appointed to ex-
amine and give judgment upon these various claims, as they might
be presented. These having been provided for, the residue of the
the rich lands of Kentucky were in the market. As a consequence
of the passage of these laws, a vast number of emigrants crossed
the mountains into Kentucky to locate land warrants: and in the
years 1779-'SO and '81, the great and absorbing topic in Kentucky
was to enter, survey and obtain patents for the richest lands,
and this, too, in the lace of all the horrors and dangers of an In-
dian war.
Although the main features of the Virginia land laws were just
OUTLINE HISTORY. 23
and liberal, yet a great detect existed in their not providing for a
general survey of the country by the parent State, and its subdi-
vision into sections and parts of sections. Each warrant-holder
being required to make his own survey, and having the privilege
of locating according to his pleasure, interminable confusion arose
from want of precision in the boundaries. In unskillful hands,
entries, surveys, and patents were piled upon each other, overlap-
ping and crossing in inextricable confusion ; hence, when the
country became densely populated, arose vexatious lawsuits and
perplexities. Such men as Kenton and Boone, who had done so
much for the welfare of Kentucky in its early days of trial, found
their indefinite entries declared null and void, and were dispos-
sessed, in their old age, of any claim upon that soil for which they
had periled their all.
The close of the revolutionary war, for a time only, suspended
Indian hostilities, when the Indian war was again carried on with
renewed energy. This arose from the failure of both countries in
fully executing the terms of the treaty. By it, England was obli-
gated to surrender the northwestern posts within the boundaries
of the Union, and to return slaves taken during the war. The
United States, on tlreir part had agreed to offer no legal obstacles
to the collection of debts due from her citizens to those of Great
Britain. Virginia, indignant at the removal of her slaves by the
British fleet, by law prohibited the collection of British debts,
while England, in consequence, refused to deliver up the posts, so
that they were held by her more than ten years, until Jay's treaty
was concluded.
Settlements rapidly advanced. Simon Kenton having, in 1784,
erected a blockhouse on the site of Maysville — then called Lime-
stone— that became the point from whence the stream of emigra;
tion, from down its way on the Ohio, turned into the interior.
In the spring of 1783, the first court in Kentucky was held at
Harrodsburg. At this period, the establishment of a government,
independent of Virginia, appeared to be of paramount necessity,
in consequence of troubles with the Indians. For this object, the
first convention in Kentucky was held at Danville, in December,
1784; but it was not consummated until eight separate conventions
had been held, running through a term of six years. The last was
assembled in July, 1790; on the 4th of February, 1791, Congress
passed the act admitting Kentucky into the Union, and in the
April following she adopted a State Constitution.
Prior to this, unfavorable impressions prevailed in Kentucky
against the Union, in consequence of the inability ot% Congress to
compel a surrender of the northwest posts, and the apparent dis-
position of the Northern States to yield to Spain, for twenty years,
the sole right to navigate the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico,
the exclusive right to which was claimed by that power as being
within her dominions. Kentucky was suffering under the horrors
of Indian warfare, and having no government of her own, she saw
24 OUTLINE HISTORY.
that that beyond the mountains was unable to afford them protec-
tion. When, in the year 1786, several States in Congress showed
a disposition to yield the right of navigating the Mississippi to
Spain tor certain commercial advantages, which would inure to
their benefit, but not in the least to that of Kentucky, there arose
a universal voice of dissatisfaction; and many were in favor of de-
claring the independence of Kentucky and erecting an independent
government west of the mountains.
Spain was then an immense landholder in the West. She claimed
all east of the Mississippi lying south or the 31st degree of north
latitude, and all west of that river to the ocean.
In May, 1787, a convention was assembled at Danville to remon-
strate with Congress against the proposition of ceding the naviga-
tion of the Mississippi to Spain ; but it having been ascertained
that Congress, through the influence of Virginia and the other
Southern States, would not permit this, the convention had no occa-
sion to act upon the subject.
In the year 1787, quite a sensation arose in Kentucky in conse-
quence of a profitable trade having been opened with New Orleans
by General Wilkinson, who descended thither in June, with a boat
load of tobacco and other productions of Kentucky. Pjeviously,
all those who ventured down the river within the Spanish settle-
ments, had their property seized. The lure was then held out by
the Spanish Minister, that if Kentucky would declare her indepen-
dence of the United States, the navigation of the Mississippi should
be opened to her; but that, never would this privilege be extended
while she was a part of the Union, in consequence of existing com-
mercial treaties between Spain and other European powers.
In the winter of 1788-9, the notorious Dr. Connolly, a secret
British agent from Canada, arrived in Kentucky. His object ap-
peared to be to sound the temper of her people, and ascertain if
they were willing to unite with British troops from Canada, and
seize upon and hold New Orleans and the Spanish settlements on
the Mississippi. He dwelt upon the advantages which it must be
to the people of the West to hold and possess the right of navigat-
ing the Mississippi ; but his overtures were not accepted.
At this time settlements had been commenced within the present
limits of Ohio. Before giving a sketch of these, we glance at the
western land claims.
The claim of the English monarch to the Northwestern Territory
was ceded to the United States by the treaty of peace signed at
Paris, September 3, 1783. During the pendency of this negotia-
tion, Mr. Oswald, the British commissioner, proposed the River
Ohio as the western boundary of the United States, and but for the
indomitable persevering opposition of John Adams, one of the
American commissioners, who insisted upon the Mississippi as the
boundary, this proposition would have probably been acceded to.
The States who owned western unappropriated lands under their
original charters from British monarchs, with a single exception.
OUTLINE HISTORY. 25
ceded them to the United States. In March, 1784, Virginia ceded
the soil and jurisdiction of her lands northwest of the Ohio. In
September, 1786, Connecticut ceded her claim to the soil and juris-
diction of her western lands, excepting that part of Ohio known as
the "Western Reserve," and to that she ceded her jnrisdictional
claims in 1800. Massachusetts and New York ceded all their
claims. Beside these were the Indian claims asserted by the right
of possession. These have been extinguished by various treaties,
from time to time, as the inroads of emigration rendered necessary.
The Indan title to a large part of the territory of Ohio having
become extinguished, Congress, before settlements were com-
menced, found it necessary to pass ordinances for the survey and
sale of the lands in the Northwest Territory. In October, 1787,"
Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargeaut, agents of the New Eng-
land Ohio Company, made a large purchase of land, bounded south
by the Ohio, and west by the Scioto river. Its settlement was com-
menced at Marietta in the spring of 1788, which was the first made
by the Americans within Ohio. A settlement had been attempted
within the limits of Ohio, on the site of Portsmouth, in April,
1785, by four families from Redstone, Pennsylvania, but difficul-
ties with the Indians compelled its abandonment.
About the time of the settlement of Marietta, Congress appointed
General Arthur St. Glair, Governor; Winthrop Sargeant, Secre-
tary; and Samuel Holden Parsons, James M. Yarnum and John
Cloves Symmes, Judges in and over the Territory. They organ-
ized its government and passed laws, and the governor erected the
county of Washington, embracing nearly the whole of the eastern
half of the present limits of Ohio.
In November, 1788, the second settlement within the limits of
Ohio was commenced at Columbia, on the Ohio, five miles above
the site of Cincinnati, and within the purchase and under the
auspices of John Cleves Symmes and associates. Shortly after,
settlements were commenced at Cincinnati and at North Bend,
sixteen miles below, both within Symmes' purchase. In 1790,
another settlement was made at Galliopolis by a colony from
France — the name signifying City of the French.
On the 9th of January, 1789, a treaty was concluded at Fort
Harmer, at the mouth of the Muskingum, opposite Marietta, by
Governor St. Glair, in which the treaty which had been made four
years previous at Fort M'Intosh, on the site of Beaver, Pennsyl-
vania, was renewed and coniirmed. It did not, however, produce
the favorable results anticipated. The Indians, the same year,
committed numerous murders, which occasioned the alarmed set-
tlers to erect block-houses in each of the new settlements. In
June, Major Doughty, with one hundred and forty men, commenced
•the erection of Fort Washington, on the site of Cincinnati. In the
course of the summer, Gen. Harmer arrived at the fort with three
hundred men.
Negotiations with the Indians proving unfavorable, Gen. Harmer
26 OUTLINE HISTORY.
marched, in September, 1790, from Cincinnati with thirteen hundred
men, less than one-fourth of whom were regulars, to attack their
towns on the Mauinee. He succeeded in burning their towns; but
in an engagement with the Indians, part of his troops met with a
severe loss. The next year a larger army was assembled at Cin-
cinnati, under Gen. St. Clair, composed of about three thousand
men. With this force he commenced his march toward the Indian
towns on the Maumee. Early in the morning of the 4th of Nov.,
1791, his army, while in camp on what is now the line of Darke
and Mercer counties, within three miles of the Indiana line, and
about seventy north from Cincinnati, were surprised by a large
body of Indians, and defeated with terrible slaughter. A third
army, under Gen. Anthony Wayne, was organized. On the 20th
of August, 1794, they met and completely defeated the Indians,
on the Maumee River, about twelve miles south of the site of
Toledo. The Indians at length, becoming convinced of their
inability to Desist the American arms, sued for peace. On the 3d
of August, 1795, Gen. Wayne concluded a treaty at Greenville,
sixty miles north of Cincinnati, with eleven of the most powerful
northwestern tribes in grand council. This gave peace to the
West of several years' duration, during which the settlements pro-
gressed with great rapidity. Jay's Treaty, concluded November
19th, 1794, was a most important event to the prosperity of the
West. It provided for the withdrawal of all the British troops
from the northwestern posts. In 1796, the Northwestern Territory
was divided into five counties. Marietta was the seat of justice
of Hamilton and Washington counties; Viucennes, of Knox
county ; Kaskaskia, of St. Clair county ; and Detroit, of Wayne
county. The settlers, out of the limits of Ohio, were Canadian or
Creole French. The headquarters of the northwest army we.re
removed to Detroit, at which point a fort had been built, by
De la Motte Cadillac, as early as 1701.
Originally Virginia claimed jurisdiction over a large part of
Western Pennsylvania as being within her dominions, yet it was
not^until after the close of the Revolution that the boundary line
was permanently established. Then this tract was divided into
two counties. The one, Westmoreland, extended from the moun-
tains west of the Alleghany River, including Pittsburgh and all
the country between the Kishkeminitas and the Youghiogheny.
The other, Washington, comprised all south and west of Pittsburgh,
inclusive of all the country east and west of the Monongahela
River. At this period Fort Pitt was a frontier post, around which
had sprung up the village of Pittsburgh, which was not regularly
laid out into a town until 1784. The settlement on the Monon-
gahela at u Redstone Old Fort," or 41 Fort Burd," as it originally
was called, having become an important point of embarkation for
western emigrants, was the next year laid olF into a town under
the name of Brownsville. Regular forwarding houses were soon
established here, by whose lines goods were systematically wagoned
OUTLINE HISTORY. 27
over the mountains, thus superseding the slow and tedious mode
of transportation by pack-horses, to which the emigrants had
previously been obliged to resort.
In July, 1786, " The Pittsburgh Gazette," the first newspaper
issued in the west, was published; the second being the "Ken-
tucky Gazette,'1 established at Lexington, in August of the next
year. As la*e as 1791, the Alleghany River was the frontier
limit of the settlements of Pennsylvania, the Indians holding
possession of the region around its northwestern tributaries, with
the exception of a few scattering settlements, which were all
simultaneously broken up and exterminated in one night, in
February of this year, by a band of one hundred and fifty Indians.
During the campaigns of Harmer, St. Clair and "Wayne, Pitts-
burgh was the great depot for the armies.
By this time agriculture and manufactures had begun to flourish
in Western Pennsylvania and Virginia, and an extensive trade
was carried on with the settlements on the Ohio and on the Lower
Mississippi, with New Orleans and the rich Spanish settlements in
its vicinity. Mouongahela whisky, horses, cattle, and agricultural
and mechanical implements of iron were the principal articles of
export. The Spanish government soon after much embarrassed
this trade by imposing heavy duties.
The first settlements in Tennessee were made in the vicinity of
Fort London, on the Little Tennessee, in what is now Monroe
county, East Tennessee, about the year 1758. Forts London and
Chissel were built at that time by Colonel Byrd, who marched into
the Cherokee country with a regiment from Virginia. The next
year war broke out with the Cherokees. In 1760, the Cherokees
besieged Fort Loudon, into which the settlers had gathered their
families, numbering nearly three hundred persons. The latter
were obliged to surrender for want of provisions, but agreeably to
the terms of capitulation were to retreat unmolested beyond the
Blue Ridge. When they had proceeded about twenty miles on
their route, the savages fell upon them and massacred all but nine,
not even sparing the women and children.
The only settlements were thus broken up .by this war. The
next year the celebrated Daniel Boone made an excursion from
North Carolina to the waters of the Holston. In 1766, Colonel
James Smith, with five others, traversed a great portion of Middle
and West Tennessee. At the mouth of the Tennessee, Smith's
companions left him to make farther explorations in Illinois, while
he, in company with a negro lad, returned home through the
wilderness, after an absence of eleven months, d.uring which he
saw "neither bread, money, women, nor spirituous liquors."
Other explorations soon succeeded, and permanent settlements
first made in 1768 and '69, by emigrants from Virginia and North
Carolina, who were scattered along the branches of the Holston,
French Broad and Watauga. The jurisdiction of North Carolina
was, in 1777, extended over the Western District, which was
28] OUTLINE HISTORY.
organized as the county of Washington, and extending nominally
westward to the Mississippi. Soon after, some of the more daring
pioneers made a settlement at Bledsoe's Station, in Middle Tennes-
see, in the heart of the Chickasaw nation, and separated several
hundred miles, by the usual traveled route, from their kinsmen on
the Holston. A number of French traders had previously estab-
lished a trading post and erected a few cabins at the t; Bluff" n ;ir
the site of Nashville. To the same vicinity Colonel James
Robertson, in the fall of 1780, emigrated with forty families from
North Carolina, who were driven from their homes by the maraud-
ing incursions of Tarleton's cavalry, and established "• Robertson's
Station," which formed the nucleus around which gathered the
settlements on the Cumberland. The Cherokees having com-
menced hostilities upon the frontier inhabitants about the com-
mencement of the year 1781, Colonel Campbell, of Virginia, with
seven hundred mounted riflemen, invaded their country and defeated
them. At the close of the Revolution, settlers moved in in large
numbers from Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.
Nashville was laid out in the summer of 1784, and named from
General Francis Nash, who fell at Brandywine.
The people of this district, in common with those of Kentucky,
and on the upper Ohio, were deeply interested iri the navigation of
the Mississippi, and under the tempting offers of the Spanish gov-
ernor of Louisiana, many were lured to emigrate to West Florida
and become subjects of the Spanish king.
North Carolina having ceded her claims to her western lands,
Congress, in May, 1790, erected this 'into a territory under the
name of the " Southwestern Territory," according- to the provi-
sions of the ordinance of 1787, excepting the article prohibiting
slavery.
The territorial government was organized with a legislature, a
legislative council, with William Blount as their first Governor.
Knoxville was made the seat of government. A fort was erected
to intimidate the Indians, by the United States, in the Indian
country, on the site of Kingston. From this period until the final
overthrow of the northwestern Indians by Wayne, this territory
suffered from the hostilities of the Creeks and Cherokees, who were
secretly supplied with arms and ammunition by the Spanish agents,
with the hope that they would exterminate! the Cumberland settle-
ments. In 1795 the territory contained a population of seventy-
seven thousand two hundred and sixty-two, of whom about ten
thousand were slaves. On the first 6f June, 1796, it was admitted
into the Union as the State of Tennessee.
By the treaty of October 27, 1795, with Spain, the old sore, the
right of navigating the Mississippi, was closed, that power ceding
to the United States the right of free navigation.
The Territory of Mississippi was organized in 179S, and Win-
throp Sargeant appointed Governor. By the ordinance of 1787,
the people of the Northwest Territory were entitled to elect Repre-
OUTLINE HISTORY. 29
sentatives to a Territorial Legislature whenever it contained 5000
males of full age. Before the close of the year 1798 the Territory
had this number, and members to a Territorial Legislature weie
soon after chosen. In the year 1799, William H. Harrison was
chosen the first delegate to Congress from the Northwest Territory.
In 1800, the Territory of Indiana was formed, and the next year,
William H. Harrison appointed Governor. This Territory com-
prised the present States of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, and
Michigan, which vast country then had less than 6000 whites, and
those mainly of French origin. On the 30th of April, 1802, Con-
gress passed an act authorizing a convention to form a constitution
for Ohio. This convention met at Chillicothe in the succeeding
November, and on the 29th of -that month, a constitution of State
Government was ratified and signed, by which act Ohio became
one of the States of the Federal Union. In October, 1802, the
whole western country was thrown into a ferment by the suspension
of the American right of depositing goods and produce at New
Orleans, guaranteed by the treaty of 1795, with Spain. The whole
commerce of the West was struck at in a vital point, and the treaty
evidently violated. On the 25th of February, 1803, the port was
opened to provisions, on paying a duty, and in April following, by
orders of the King of Spain, the right of deposit was restored.
After the treaty of 1763, Louisiana remained in possession of
Spain until 1803, when it was again restored to France by the
terms of a secret article in the treaty of St. Ildefonso concluded
with Spain in 1800. France held but brief possession ; on the 30th
of April she sold her claim to the United States for the considera-
tion of fifteen millions of dollars. On the 20th of the succeeding
December, General Wilkinson and Claiborne took possession of the
country for the United States, and entered New Orleans at the head
of the American troops.
On the llth of January, 1805, Congress established the Terri-
tory of Michigan, and appointed William Hull, Governor. This
same year Detroit was destroyed by fire. The town occupied only
about two acres, completely covered with buildings and cumbusti-
ble materials, excepting the narrow intervals of fourteen or fifteen
feet used as streets or lanes, and the whole was environed with a
very strong and secure defense of tall and solid pickets.
At this period the conspiracy of Aaron Burr began to agitate
the western country. In December, 1806, a fleet of boats with
arms, provisions, and ammunition, belonging to the confederates
of Burr, were seized upon the Muskingum, by agents fit' the United
States, which proved a fatal blow to the project. In 1809, the Ter-
ritory of Illinois was formed from the western part of the Indiana
Territory, and named from the powerful tribe which once had
occupied its soil.
The Indians, who, since the treaty of Greenville, had been at
peace, about the year 1810, began to. commit aggressions upon the
inhabitants of the West, under the leadership of Tecumseh. The
30 OUTLINE HISTORY.
next year they were defeated by General Harrison, at the battle of
Tippecanoe, in Indiana. This year was also distinguished by the
voyage from Pittsburgh to New Orleans, of the steamboat l* New
Orleans," the first steamer ever launched upon the western waters.
In June, 1812, the United States declared war against Great
Britain. Of this war, the West was the principal theater. Its
opening scenes were as gloomy and disastrous to the American
arms as its close was brilliant and triumphant.
At the close of the war, the population of the Territories of In-
diana, Illinois, and Michigan was less than 50,000. But from that
time onward, the tide of emigration again went forward with un-
precedented rapidity. On the 19th of April, 1816, Indiana was
admitted into the Union, and Illinois on the 3d of December, 1818.
The remainder of the Northwest Territory, as then organized, was
included in the Territory of Michigan, of which that section west
of Lake Michigan bore the name ot the Huron District. This part
of the West increased so slowly that, by the census of 1830, the
Territory of Michigan contained, exclusive of the Huron District,
but 28,000 souls, while that had only a population of 3,640. Em-
igration began to set in more strongly to the Territory of Michigan
in consequence of steam navigation having been successfully intro-
duced upon the great lakes of the West. The first' steamboat upon
these immense inland seas was the " Walk-in-the-Water," which,
in 1819, went as far as Mackinaw; yet it was not until 1826 that a
steamer rode the waters of Lake Michigan, and six years more had
elapsed ere one had penetrated as far as Chicago.
The year 1832 was signalized by three important events in the
history of the West, viz: the first appearance of the Asiatic
Cholera, the Great Flood in the Ohio, and the war with Black
Hawk.
The West has suffered serious drawbacks, in its progress, from
inefficient systems of banking. One bank frequently was made
the basis of another, and that of a third, and so on throughout the
country. Some three or four shrewd agents or directors, in estab-
lishing a bank, would collect a few thousands in specie, that had
been honestly paid in, and then make up the remainder of the
capital with the bills or stock from some neighboring bank. Thus
so intimate was the connection of each bank with others, that
when one or two gave way, they all went down together in one
common ruin.
In 1804, the year preceding the purchase of Louisiana, Congress
formed, from part of it, the "Territory of Orleans," which was
admitted into the Union, in 1812, as the State of Louisiana. In
1805, after the Territory of Orleans was erected, the remaining
part of the purchase from the French was formed into the Territory
of Louisiana, of which the old French town of St. Louis was the
capital. This town, the oldest in the Territory, had been founded
in 1764, by M. Laclede, agent for a trading association, to whom
had been given, by the French government of Louisiana, a mono-
OUTLINE HISTORY. 31
poly of the commerce in furs and peltries with the Indian tribes
of the Missouri and Upper Mississippi. The population of the
Territory in 1805 was trifling, and consisted mainly of French
Creoles and traders, who were scattered along the banks of the
Mississippi and the Arkansas. Upon the admission of Louisiana
as a State, the name of the Territory of Louisiana was changed to
that of Missouri. From the southern part of this, in 1819, was
erected the Territory of Arkansas, -which then contained but a few
thousand inhabitants, who were mainly in detached settlements on
the Mississippi and on the Arkansas, in the vicinity of the "Post
of Arkansas." The first settlement in Arkansas was made on the
Arkansas River, about the year 1723, upon the grant of the noto-
rious John Law; but, being unsuccessful, was soon after aban-
doned. In 1820, Missouri was admitted into the Union, and
Arkansas in 1836.
Michigan was admitted as a State in 183T. The Huron District
was organized as the Wisconsin Territory in 18 i6, and was admitted
into the Union as a State in 1848. The first settlement in Wis-
consin was made in 1665, when Father Claude Allouez established
a mission at La Pointe, at the western end of Lake Superior.
Four years after, a mission was permanently established at Green
Bay; and, eventually, the French also established themselves at
Prairie du Chien. In 1819. an expedition, under Governor Cass,
explored the Territory, and found it to be little more than the
abode of a few Indian traders, scattered here and there. About
this time, the Government established military posts at Green Bay
and Prairie du Chien. About the year 1825, some farmers settled
in the vicinity of Galena, which had then become a noted mineral
region. Immediately after the war with Black Hawk, emigrants
flowed in from New York, Ohio, and Michigan, and the flourishing
towns of Milwaukie, Shebovgan, Racine, and Southport were laid
out on the borders of Lake Michigan. At the conclusion of the
same war, the lands west of the Mississippi were thrown open to
emigrants, who commenced settlements in the vicinity of Fort
Madison and Burlington in 1833. Dubnque had long before been
a trading post, and was the first settlement in Iowa. It derived its
name from Julian Dubuque, an enterprising French Canadian,
who, in 1788, obtained a grant of one hundred and forty thousand
acres from the Indians, upon which he resided until his death in
1810, when he had accumulated immense wealth by lead-mining
and trading. In June, 1838, Iowa was erected into a Territory,
and in 1846 became a State.
In 1849, Minnesota Territory was organized ; it then contained
a little less than five thousand souls. The first American estab-
lishment in the Territory was Fort Snclling, at the mouth of St
Peter's or Minnesota River, which was founded in 1819. The
French, and afterward the English, occupied this country with
their fur-trading forts. Pembina, on the northern boundary, is the
oldest village, having been established in 1812 by Lord Selkirk, a
32 OUTLINE HISTORY.
Scottish nobleman, under a grant from the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany.
There were not until near the close of the war with Mexico, any
American settlements on the Pacific side of the continent. At the
beginning of the century not a single white man had ever been known
to have crossed the continent north of the latitude of St. Louis.
The geography of the greater part of the Pacific slope was almost
wholly unknown, until the explorations of Fremont, between the
years 1842 and 1848. That region had formerly been penetrated
only by fur traders and trappers. The Mexican war of 1846-'48,
gave to the Union an immense tract of country, the large original
provinces of Upper California and New Mexico. The discovery of
gold in Upper California in 1848, at once directed emigration to that
part of the continent. From that period settlements were rapid and
territories formed in quick succession. In 1848, the Mormons, ex-
pelled from Missouri, settled in Utah, which was erected into a ter-
ritory in 1850. In 1848, Oregon became an organized territory, and
California, then conquered from Mexico, in 1850, was ddmitted as a
State, and Oregon in 1859. The emigration to California was im-
mense for the first few years : in the years 1852 and 1853, her pro-
duct in gold reached the enormous value of one hundred and sixty
millions of dollars.
In 1854, after the first excitement in regard to California had
somewhat subsided, the territories of Kansas and Nebraska were
organized. Kansas became for a time a favorite country for emi-
grants ; and at last a bloody arena between the free soil and pro-
slavery parties for mastery. The overwhelming preponderance of
the focmer, resulted in its success, and Kansas was admitted as a
free State in 1861.
The formation of territories from the close of the Mexican War to
the close of the Southern Rebellion, was rapid without precedent, as
the following summary exhibits. This was consequent upon the dis-
covery of vast mineral wealth in the mountain country :
CALIFORNIA, ceded by treaty with Mexico in 1848; admitted as a STATE in
1850.
NEW MEXICO, ceded by treaty with Mexico, and organized as a Territory in
1848.
MINNESOTA, organized as a Territory in 1849 ; admitted as a STATE in 1858.
UTAH, organized as a Territory in 1850.
ARIZONA, purchased of Mexico in 1854; organized as a Territory in 1863.
OREGON, organized as a Territory in 1848; admitted as a STATE in 1859.
WASHINGTON, organized as a Territory in 1853.
KANSAS, organized as a Territory in 1854; admitted as a STATE in 1861.
NUBRASKA, organized as a Territory in 1854.
NEVADA, organized as a Territory in 1861 ; admitted aa a STATE in 1864.
DACOTAH, organized as a Territory in 1861.
COLORADO, organized as a Territory in 1861.
IDAHO, organized as a Territory in 1863.
MONTANA, organized as a Territory in 1864.
WEST VIRGINIA.
WEST VIRGINIA owes her existence to the Great Rebellion ; or rather
to the patriotism of her people, who, when the mother State, Virginia,
plunged into the vortex of seces-
sion, resolved to stand by the Union.
The wisdom of their loyalty has
been signally shown by its saving
them from the sore desolation that
fell upon most parts of the Old Do-
minion.
The seal of the state is remarka-
bly appropriate. It has the motto.
"Montani semper liberi" — mov.nl am-
eers always free. In the center is a
rock, with ivy, emblematic of sta-
bility and continuance; the face
of the rock bears the inscription.
"June 20, 1863," the date of found-
ation, as if "graved with a pen of
iron in the rock forever." On the
right stands a farmer clothed in the
tounta-net-rs ahvay* free, traditional hunting-shirt peculiar to
this region; his right arm resting on the plow handles, and his left
supporting a woodman's ax — indicating that while the territory is par-
tially cultivated it is still in process of being cleared of the original
forest. At his right is a sheaf of wheat and corn growing. On the left
of the rock stands a miner, indicated by a pickax on his shoulder,
with barrels and lumps of mineral at his feet. On his left is an anvil
partly seen, on which rests a sledge hammer, typical of the mechanic
arts — the whole indicating the principal pursuits and resources of the
^tate. In front .of the rocks and figures, as if just laid down by the
latter, and ready to be resumed at a moment's notice, are two hunter's
rifles, crossed and surmounted at the place of contact by the Phrygian
cap, or cap of Liberty — indicating that the freedom and independence
of the state were won and will be maintained by arms.
In the spring of 1861, when the question of secession was submitted
to the people, those of Eastern Virginia voted almost unanimously in
its favor, but in the northwestern counties quite as strongly against it.
l:i fact, the desire for a separate state government had for a quarter
of a century prevailed in this section, where the slaveholding interest
was slight, and the habits of the people diverse. The reasons for this
^3 (33)
34 WEST VIRGINIA
were, that they were in a measure cut off from intercourse with East-
ern Virginia by chains of mountains, and that state legislation had
been unfavorable to the development of their resources. The break-
ing out of the rebellion was a favorable moment to initiate measures
for the accomplishment of this long-desired separation. As the move-
ment was one of grave importance, we must give it more than a pass-
ing notice, from a pen familiar with the subject.
"It has passed into history, that for many years, while the western
counties of Virginia had the preponderance of white population and
taxable property, the eastern counties controlled the legislation of the
state, by maintaining an iniquitous basis of representation. It is
enough to say, that the western counties, with few slaves, were a mere
dependency of the eastern, with many slaves ; and the many revenues
of the state were expended for the benefit mainly of the tide-water re-
gion, while the west paid an unjust proportion of the taxes. This was
always a cause of dissatisfaction. Besides, there was no homogeniety
of population or interest, and the Alleghany Mountains were a natu-
ral barrier to commercial and social intercourse. There were much
closer relations in these respects with Ohio and Pennsylvania, than
with the tide-water region, growing as well out of the substantial sim-
ilarity of society, as the short-sighted policy of having no great public
improvement in the direction of Richmond. The construction of the
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and its connections, intensified the isolation
of the west from the rest of the state.
"When the ordinance of secession was submitted to the people, the
western counties, with great unanimity, voted against it. This was
on the 23d of May, 1861. The traitors never waited the result of the
popular vote, for as soon as the ordinance passed the convention, Vir-
ginia was practically hitched on to the Confederacy; and while at
Richmond the state authorities were busy in the military seizure of
the state, the people of Virginia, who were still loyal, met at Wheeling
immediately alter the vote on the ordinance and called a convention,
the members of which should be duly elected, to assemble at that city
on the llth of June. The loyal people of the whole state were invited
to join in this movement. There was nothing in the state constitu-
tion against it, on the contrary, it provided for it by just this method.
There happened to be, also, a notable precedent for this action, in the
history of the state. In 1774, Lord Dunmore, the colonial governor
of Virginia, dissolved the house of burgesses; and for the purpose of
preventing legislation in any event, retired with his council on board
a British man-of-war. The* assembly being thus deprived of a gov-
ernment, met together in convention, as private citizens, and assumed
the powers of the state. They issued an invitation, without any leg-
islative authority, for the several counties or districts to send delegates
to a convention. There was no legal or authorized act calling this
convention, or for the choice of delegates; but it was the spontaneous
act of the people, who were in favor of a free government. The con-
vention met in 1775, and declared 'the necessity of immediately put-
ting the country in a posture of defense, for the better protection of
our lives, liberties and property.' And after enumerating the acts by
which the colonial authorities had subverted government, asserted
that ' we are driven to the necessity of supplying the present want of
WEST VIRGINIA. 35
government, by appointing proper guardians of the lives and liberties
of our country.' And thereupon they elected state officers and re-
stored the government.
"Mark, these Virginians, when they restored the government thug
abandoned, did not proclaim revolution or secession from Great
Britain; on the contrary, they said: 'Lest our views be misrepresented
or misunderstood, we publicly and solemnly declare before God and
the world that we do bear true faith and allegiance to his majesty
King George the Third, as our lawful and rightful king.'
"Accordingly, on the llth of June, 1861, the convention assembled,
there being quite a number of delegates from the eastern counties.
The first ordinance, after reciting the grievances of the people, sol-
emnly declares: 'That the preservation of their dearest rights and
liberties, and their security in person and property, imperatively de-
mand the reorganization of the government; and that all acts of the
convention and executive (at Richmond) tending to separate this
state from the United States, or to levy and carry on war against them,
are without authority and void ; and that the offices of all who adhere
to the said convention and executive, whether legislative, executive
or judicial, are vacated? They then proceeded to elect a governor and
other state officers, who should hold their offices until an election could
he had ; and to mark the era of reorganization, they added the words
' Union and Liberty ' to the ' Sic semper tyrannis ' of the state arms.
"This was not revolution, for it was a case within the constitution
of the state. It could not be revolution to support the constitution
and laws, both of which the Richmond traitors had abrogated. They
could not be the government, for they had destroyed it. That can not
be revolution which upholds or sustains the supreme law of the land, viz:
the constitution of the United States and the laws in pursuance of it.
"But it is said, there was only a fraction of the people who joined
in this movement. We answer in the language of another: 'Doubtless,
it is desirable that a clear majority should always speak in government;
but where a state is in insurrection, and the loyal citizens are under du-
ress, the will of the people, who are for the constitution and the laws, is
the only lawful will under the constitution; and that will must be col-
lected as far as is practicable under the external force.'
"Immediately upon the election of FRANCIS H. PIERPONT as gov-
ernor, he notified the president of the United States, that there existed
a treasonable combination against the constitution and laws, known as
'The Confederate States of America,' whose design was to subvert the
authority of the United States in Virginia ; that an army of the insur-
gents was then advancing upon the loyal people of the state for the
purpose of bringing them under the domination of the Confederacy;
and that he had not at his command sufficient force to suppress the
insurrection, and as governor of Virginia, requested national aid. This
he had an undoubted right to do, if he were governor of Virginia, for
the constitution of the United States provides for the very case. [See
article iv, sec. 4.]
"Was he governor of Virginia? Who was to decide between Gov.
Pierpont, at Wheeling, and Gov. Letcher, at Richmond? Which was
the government of Virginia, the Wheeling or the Richmond?
"Happily, the supreme court of the United States furnished a solu-
36 WEST VIRGINIA.
tion of the question, and put forever at rest, any doubt about the
legitimacy of the Wheeling government. [Luther v. Eorden, 7 How-
ard Eep. p. 1.1 This is the case growing out of the celebrated Dorr
rebellion in Khode Island, in 1840, and involves the very question
under consideration. It is useless to go into the history of the origin of
that conflict. There were two governors and legislatures in that state
— the minority, or charter government, with Gov. King at its head,
and the majority, or popular government, with Gov. Dorr at its head.
John Tyler, a Virginian, then president of the United States, decided
in favor of the minority or charter government; and in pursuance of a
request of Gov. King for national aid, similar to that made by Gov.
Pierpont, the president offered the military and naval force of the
United States to Governor King, and the Dorr government thereupon
succumbed and was disbanded. The question involved was carried to
the supreme court of the United States, and Chief Justice Taney de-
livered the opinion of the whole court. No lawyer can deny, that if
President Tyler had recognized the Dorr government, the supreme
court would have guided its judgment accordingly. The supreme
court say :
'"The power of deciding whether the government of the United
States is bound to interfere (in case of domestic violence between con-
flicting parties in a state), is given to the president of the United States.
He is to act upon the application of the legislature or of the executive,
and consequently he must determine what body of men constitute the legislature,
and who is the governor, before he can act. The fact that both parties
claim to be the government can not alter the case, for both can not be
entitled to it. If there be an armed conflict, it is a case of domestic
violence, and one of the parties must be in insurrection against the
lawful government; and the president must necessarily decide which is
the government, and which party is unlawfully arrayed against it, in
order to perform his duty. And after the president has acted and
called out the militia, his decision can not be reviewed by any legal tribunal,
It is said this power in the president is dangerous to liberty, and may
be abused. All power may be abused if placed in unworthy hands ;
but it would be difficult to point out any other hands in which this
power could be more safe and at the same time equally effective. At
all events, it is conferred upon him by the constitution and laws of the
United States, and must, therefore, be respected and enforced by its judicial
tribunals.'
"In one word, the question between two governments in a state,
under these circumstances, is not a judicial question at all, but rests
solely with the president under the constitution and laws; and his
decision is final and binding, and settles all claims between conflicting
jurisdictions in a state.
"President Lincoln responded nobly to the call of Gov. Pierpont,
and furnished the requisite aid to the restored government. The battles
of Phillipi and Rich Mountain followed, and the Confederates were
driven out of "Western Virginia. Here, then, was a definite and final
settlement of the questions as to who was governor of Virginia, by the
president, and no tribunal or authority can review that decision or call
it in question. The heads of the executive departments have recog-
nized the restored government — the secretary of war by assigning
WEST VIRGINIA. 37
quotas under calls for volunteers; the treasurer by paying over to the
state, upon the order of its legislature, her share of the proceeds of the
sales of public lands, and so on.
"On the 20th of August, 1861, the convention at Wheeling, being
still in session, provided for the election of congressmen, and they
were received into the lower house. They also called the legislature
of Virginia together at Wheeling, to consist of such members as had
been elected previous to the passage of the ordinance of secession, and
provided for tilling vacancies if any by election. And on July 9th, the
legislature elected John S. Carlile and "Waitman T. Willey as senators
of the United States, from Virginia, to supply the places of E. M. T.
Hunter and James M. Mason. These senators were admitted to scats
in the senate of the United States, and were so recognized by both the
executive and legislative branches of the federal government, so that
any question as to the rightfulness of the legislature at "Wheeling as
the legislature of Virginia was at an end.
"Thus the State of Virginia, with a governor and legislature, and
other state machinery in operation, recognized by all departments of
the federal government, was fully adequate to the exercise of all the
functions of a state, as -well then and now, as at any period of her
history.
"Let us now turn to the constitution of the United States, article iv,
sec. 3, which reads as follows: 'New states maybe admitted by the
congress into the Union; but no new state shall be formed or erected
within the jurisdiction of any other state, nor any state be formed by
the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the con-
sent of the legislatures of the states concerned, as well as of the con-
gress.'
"Now it is apparent that to form a new state out of a part of 'the
State of Virginia, the concurrent consent of the legislature of Virginia
and of congress is all that is needed under the constitution. Wo have
shown that the government at Wheeling was the government of Vir-
ginia, with a duly constituted governor, legislature, etc.; and the way
pointed out by the constitution is plain. Let us now see whether the
necessary steps were taken as prescribed by the constitution of the
United States.
"On August 20, 1881, the convention passed an ordinance providing
for the submission of the question of the formation of a new state to
the people, and also further the election of delegates to a convention
to form a constitution for the new state, if the people decided in favor of
it; and also for the various details of the movement. The governor
was directed to lay before the general assembly, at its next ensuing
meeting, for their consent, the result, if that result should bo favorable
to a new state, in accordance with the constitution of the United States.
The peoples expressed themselves by an overwhelming majority in
favor of a new state. The constitutional convention for the new state
met and prepared a constitution, which was ratified by the people, and
the necessary officers for the state government chosen. At the next
session of the legislature of Virginia, on May 13, 1862, that body gave
its formal consent to the formation of the State of West Virginia,
within the jurisdiction of Virginia, and directed that the act be
transmitted to their senators and representatives in congress, and they
38 WEST VIRGINIA.
were requested to use their endeavors to obtain the consent of congress
to the admission of the new state into the Union.
"At the following session of congress, the application was formally
made, first to the senate. Pending its consideration, an amendment
to the state constitution was proposed, providing for the gradual abo-
lition of slavery, and also for the submission of the amendment to the
people of the new state; and if approved by them, the president of the
United States was, by proclamation, to announce the fact, and the
state should be admitted into the Union. In this shape the bill for
admission passed the senate, and afterward the house, and was ap-
proved by the president. The constitutional convention for the new
state held an immediate session, approved the congressional amend-
ment, and submitted the constitution thus amended, to the people, who
also approved it by an overwhelming majority ; and so, now, all that
was needed in order to its admission into the Union, was the procla-
mation of the president, which was accordingly issued ; and on the
20th of June, 1863, the new member, with its motto, " Montani semper
liberi" was born into the family of states in the midst of the throes of
a mighty revolution, and cradled in storms more terrible and de-
structive than any that ever swept among its mountains, but clothed
in the majesty of constitutional right.
"Until the time fixed by act of congress, West Virginia was not a
state, and the movement, therefore, did not interfere with the regular
and successful operation of the government of Virginia. As soon,
however, as the time for the inauguration of the new state arrived,
Gov. Pierpont and the officers of the government of Virginia, in ac-
cordance with an act of the legislature, removed to Alexandria, Va.,
where the seat of government was, and still is located; and A. J. JBore-
nian, the first governor of West Virginia, was duly installed, and 'the
seat of government temporarily fixed at Wheeling, until the times
become more settled, so that the capital of the new state may be located
nearer the geographical center of its territory.
" The area of the new state is 23,000 square miles — twenty times as
large as Rhode Island, more than ten times as large as Delaware, five
times as large as Connecticut, three times as large as Massachusetts,
more than twice as large as New Hampshire, and more than twice as
large as Maryland — an area about equal to the aggregate of Rhode
Island, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts and Vermont.
"According to the census of 1860, it had a white population of
335,000 — a population much greater than any of the new states, at the
time of their admission into the Union, and much greater than many
of the old states.
"It is among the most loyal of the states, for she has always filled
her quotas under all calls without a draft: she furnished more than
20,000 soldiers for the Union, and several thousands in excess of all
drafts. The revenue of the whole State of Virginia in 1850 was only
$533,000, while in 1860 the forty-eight counties composing the new
state paid over 8600,000 into the state treasury.
" The new state has a rich legacy committed to her keeping, and
has all the elements to make a great and prosperous commonwealth.
Lumber, coal, iron, petroleum, salt, etc., abound, and the fertility of
her soil is equal to that of most states in the Union. And now that
WEST VIRGINIA. 39
she is freed from the incubus of slavery, and wealth and enterprise are
beginning to develop her resources, she will outstrip many of the more
favored states and take her place among the foremost common-
wealths."
The most noted towns of the state are "Wheeling and Parkersburg,
both of which are on the Ohio. Parkersburg is situated on the river at
the mouth of the Little Kanawha, a few miles below Marietta, Ohio,
and 100 below Wheeling. It has a connection with the west by
the Cincinnati & Marietta railroad, and with the east by the North-
western railroad, the southernmost fork of the Baltimore & Ohio rail-
road. It is a thriving town of about 7000 inhabitants. The valley of
the Little Kanawha is of growing importance from its wealth in pe-
troleum: oil wells of great richness are being worked. Just below
Parkersburg is the long celebrated Blannerhasset's Island, so charm-
ingly described by Wirt in his graceful oratory at the trial of Aaron
Burr at Richmond, half a century ago. Herman Blannerhasset was
of wealthy Irish parentage and born in England. He married Miss
Adeline Agnew, a grand-daughter of General Agnew, who was with
Wolfe at Quebec. She was a most elegant and accomplished woman
and he a refined and scholarly man. In 1798 he began his improve-
ments upon the island. In 1805, Aaron Burr landed on the island,
where he was entertained with hospitality by the family.
Wlieeling is on the east hank of Ohio River, and on both sides of Wheeling
creek, 351 miles from Richmond, 56 miles from Pittsburg, and 365 above
Cincinnati. The hills hack of the city come near the river, so as to leave but
a limited area for building, so that the place is forced to extend along the
high alluvial bank for two miles. A fine stone bridge over Wheeling creek
connects the upper and lower portions of the city. Wheeling is the most
important place on the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Pittsburg. It is
surrounded by bold hills containing inexhaustible quantities of bituminous
coal, from which the numerous manufacturing establishments are supplied at
a small expense. The place contains several iron foundries, cotton mills, and
factories of various kinds. A. large business is done in the building of steam-
boats. Population 1860, 14,000,
The National Road, from Cumberland across the Alleghany Mountains to
St. Louis, passes through Wheeling, and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
terminates here, making this place a great thoroughfare of travel between the
east and west. The Ohio River is crossed here by a magnificent wire sus-
pension bridge, erected at a cost of upward of $200,000. Its span, one of the
longest in the world, measures 1,010 feet. The hight of the towers is 153 feet
above low water mark, and 60 above the abutments. The entire bridge is
supported by 12 wire cables, 1,380 feet in length and 4 inches in diameter,
each composed of 550 strands. These cables are laid in pairs, 3 pairs on
each side of the flooring.
In 1769 Col. Ebenezer Zane, his brothers Silas and Jonathan, with some
others from the south branch of the Potomac, visited the Ohio for the pur-
pose of making improvements, and severally proceeded to select posi-
tions for their future residence. They chose for their residence the site now
occupied by the city of Wheeling, and having made the requisite preparations
returned to their former homes, and brought out their families the ensuing
40
WEST VIRGINIA.
year. The Zanes \vete men of enterprise, tempered with prudence, and di-
rected by sound judgment. To the bravery and good conduct of these three
brothers, the Wheeling settlement was mainly indebted for its security and
preservation during the war of the revolution. Soon after the settlement of
this place other settlements were made at different points, both above and be-
low Wheeling, in the country on Buffalo, Short and Grave creeks.
The name of Wheeling was originally Wceling, which in the Delaware Ian-
gunge signifies the place, of a head. At a very early day, some whites de-
scending the Ohio in a boat, stopped at the mouth of the creek and were mur-
dered by Indians. The savages cut off the head of one of their victims, and
placing it on a pole with its face toward the river, called the spotWecling.
Southern View of Wheeliixj.
The view shows the appearance of Wheeling as it id enteveil upon the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. Th«
steamlioat landing and part of the city arc seen in the central part. The suspension bridge crossing over tt
Wlitvliiig Island on the left. Part of the railroad depot is on the right.
The most important event in the history of Wheeling was the siege of For'u
Henry, at the mouth of Wheeling creek, in September, 1777. The fort was
originally called Fort Fincastle, and was a place of refuge for the settlers in
Dunmore's war. The name was afterward changed to Henry, in honor of
•Patrick Henry. The Indians who besieged the fort were estimated at from
:)80 to 500 warriors, led on by the notorious Simon Girty. The garrison
numbered only 42 fighting men, under the command of Col. Shepherd. The
savages made several attempts to force themselves into the fort; they were
driven back by the unerring rifle shots of the brave little garrison. A rein-
forcement of about 50 men having got into the fort, the Indians raised the
siege, ^having lost from GO to 100 men. The loss of the garrison was 26
killed, all of whom, excepting three or four, fell in an ambuscade outside the
WEST VIRGINIA. 41
walls before the attack on the fort commenced. The heroism of Elizabeth
Zane during the siege is worthy of record. This heroine had but recently
returned from school at Philadelphia, and was totally unused to such scenes
as were daily transpiring on the frontier :
"The stock of gunpowder in the fort having been nearly exhausted, it was de-
termined to seize the favorable opportunity offered by the suspension of hostilities
to send for a keg of gunpowder which was known to be in the house of Ebenezer
Zane, about sixty yards from the gate of the fort. The person* executing this ser-
vice would necessarily expose himself to the danger of being shot down by the In-
dians, who were yet sufficiently near to observe everything that transpired about
the works. The colonel explained the matter to his men, and, unwilling to order
one of them to undertake such a desperate enterprise, inquired whether any man
would volunteer for the service. Three or four young men promptly stepped for-
ward in obedience to the call. The colonel informed them that the weak state of
the garrison would not justify the absence of more than one man, and that it was
for themselves to decide who that person should be. The eagerness felt by each
volunteer to undertake the honorable mission prevented them from making the ar-
rangement proposed by the commandant; and so much time was consumed in the
contention between them that fears began to arise that the Indians would renew
the attack before the powder could be procured. At this crisis, a young lady, the
sister of Ebeuezer and Silas Zane, came forward and desired that she might be
permitted to execute the service. This proposition seemed so extravagant that it
met with a peremptory refusal; but she instantly renewed her petition in terms of
redoubled earnestness, and all the remonstrances of the colonel and her relatives
failed to dissuade her from her heroic purpose. It was finally represented to her
that either of the young men. on account of his superior flectness and familiarity
with scenes of danger, would be more likely than herself to do the work success-
fully. She replied that the danger which would attend the enterprise was the
identical reason that induced her to offer her services, for, as the garrison was very
wreak, no soldier's life should be placed in needless jeopardy, and that if she were
to fall her loss would not be felt. Her petition was ultimately granted, and the
gate opened for her to pass out. The. opening of the gate arrested the attention of
several Indians who were straggling through the village. It was noticed that their
eyes were upon her as she crossed the open space to reach her brother's house;
but seized, perhaps, with a sudden freak of clemency, or believing that a woman's
life was not worth a load of gunpowder, or influenced by some other unexplained
motive, they permitted her to pass without molestation. When she reappeared
with the powder in her arms the Indians, suspecting, no doubt, the character of her
burden, elevated their firelocks and discharged a volley at her as she swiftly glided
toward the gate, but the balls all flew wide of the mark, and the fearless girl
reached the fort in safety with her prize. The pages of history may furnish a
parallel to the noble exploit of Elizabeth Zane, but an instance of greater self-
devotion and moral intrepidity is not to be found anywhere."
Sixteen miles above Wheeling on the river is the thriving business
town of Wdlsbury. Eight miles east of this place in a healthy, beau-
tiful site among the hills, is the flourishing institution known as Beth-
any College. It was founded by Elder Alexander Campbell, and is
conducted under the auspices of the Disciples or Christians. Their
peculiarity is that they have no creed — just simply a belief in the
BIBLE as the sufficient rule of Christian faith and practice; thus leav-
ing its interpretation free to each individual mind.
Below Wheeling eleven miles, at the village of Moundsville, on the
river flats, is the noted curiosity of this region, the Mammouth Mound.
It is 69 feet in height, and is in full view of the passing steamers. —
An aged oak, cut down on its summit some years since, showed by its
concentric circles that it was about 500 years old.
42 WEST VIRGINIA.
Point Pleasant is a small village at the junction of the Kanawha with the
Ohio. It is noted as the site of the most bloody battle ever fought with the
Indians in Virginia — the battle of Point Pleasant — which took place in Dun-
more's war, Oct. 10, 1774. The Virginians, numbering 1,100 men, were
under the command of Gen. Andrew Lewis. The Indians were under the
celebrated Shawnee chieftain Cornstalk, and comprised the flower of the
Shawnee, Wyandot, Delaware, Mingo and Cayuga tribes. The action lasted
from sunrise until sunset, and was contested with the most obstinate bravery
on both sides. The Virginians at length were victorious, but with a loss of
more than 200 of their number in killed and wounded, among whom were
some of their most valued officers. This event was made the subject of a
rude song, which is still preserved among the mountaineers of western Vir-
ginia :
SONG ON THE SHAWNEE BATTLE.
Let us mind the tenth day of October, By which the heathen were confounded,
Seventy-four, which caused woe, Upon the banks of the Ohio.
The Indian savages they did cover
The pleasant banks of the Ohio. Col. Lewis and some noble captains
Did down to death like Uriah go,
The battle beginning in the morning, Alas 1 their heads wound up in napkins,
Throughout the day it lashed sore, Upon the banks of the Ohio.
Till the evening shades were returning down
Upon the banks of the Ohio. Kings lamented their mighty fallen
Upon the mountains of Gilboa,
Judgment precedes to execution, And now we mourn for brave Hugh Allen,
Let fame throughout all dangers go, Far from the banks of the Ohio.
Our heroes fought with resolution
Upon the banks of the Ohio. 0 bless the mighty King of Heaven
For all his wondrous works below,
Seven score lay dead and wounded Who hath to us the victory given,
Of champions that did face their foe, Upon the banks of the Ohio.
Ceredo is a new town established by Eli Thayer, of Massachusetts,
just before the rebellion, and settled by New England emigrants. It
is on the Ohio river, about five miles above the line of West Virginia
and Kentucky. The settlement was nearly broken up by the rebel-
lion. A few miles above it is Gruyandotte, which was mostly burnt in
the war.
CHARLESTON is the most important town in West Virginia excepting
Wheeling and Parkersburg. It is in the rich valley of the Kanawha,
46 miles east of the Ohio river, and contains several thousand people.
The mineral wealth of this valley is immense in salt and coal. In
coal alone, it has been said, this valley could supply the whole world
for fifty years, if it could be had from no other source. The Kanawha
salt works commence on the river near Charleston and extend on both
sides fpr nearly fifteen miles. Millions of bushels of salt are annually
manufactured. The salt water is drawn from wells bored in solid
rock from 300 to 500 feet in depth. Bituminous coal, which abounds
in the neighborhood, is used in the evaporation of the water.
LEWISBURG is an important town near the southeastern line of the
state, on the direct road from Charleston to Richmond, about 100
miles east from the former, and 200 west from the latter; near it and in
the same county, are the Blue Sulphur and White Sulphur Springs: the
latter, the most celebrated watering place in the south : long the fa-
vorite resort of the wealthy planters and prominent politicians of the
south.
WEST VIRGINIA.
43
The situation of the White Sulphur Springs is charming, it is in a
beautiful valley environed by softly curving mountains. Fifty acres
or more are occupied with lawns and walks, and the cabins and cot-
tages for the guests, built in rows around the public apartments, the
diu ing-room, the ball-room, etc., which give the place quite a village
air. The rows of cottages are variously named, as Alabama row,
Louisiana, Paradise, Baltimore, Virginia, Georgia, Wolf and Bachelor
rows, Broadway, the Virginia lawn, the Spring, the Colonnade, and
other specialities. The cottages are built variously, of brick, wood
and logs, one story high. The place is 205 miles west from Richmond,
and 242 soutlnvest of Washington City.
In the northern part of the state, in the rich valley of the Monon-
gahela, are some thriving noted towns, as Morgantown, Clarksburg,
Weston, etc. At the latter place is the state Asylum for the Insane.
The Baltimore & Ohio railroad is doing much for the development of
this region of the state. This great work of engineering skill is hero
given a more than passing notice.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 379 miles in length, extending from
the waters of the Chesapeake, at Baltimore, to those of the Ohio, at Wheel-
ing, is one of the greatest
works of engineering skill
on the continent. This im-
portant undertaking owes its
origin to the far-reaching sa-
gacity of Philip E. Thomas,
a Quaker merchant of Balti-
more, who lived to see its
completion, although nearly
thirty years had elapsed from
the time of its commence-
ment. At that period, Bal-
timore city was worth hut
$25,000,000, yet it unhesita-
tingly embarked in an enter-
prise which cost 31,000,000.
The first stone was laid on
the 4th of July, 1828, by
the venerable Charles Car-
roll, of Carrollton, who pro-
nounced it, next to signing
the declaration of indepen-
dence, the most important
act of his life.
TKAT Run VIADUCT, B. & 0. BAILBOAD.
This elegant structure is of cast iron, GOO feet in length, and
150 feet above the level of the stream.
" This was at a very early
period in the history of rail-
ways ; and during the progress of the work, from year to year, old theories were
exploded and new principles introduced, increasing in boldness and originality as
it advanced. Its annual reports went forth as text books ; its workshops were
practical lecture rooms, and to have worthily graduated in this school, is an hon-
orable passport to scientific service in any part of the world. In its struggles
with unparalleled difficulties — financial, physical, legislative and legal — the gallant
little state of Maryland found men equal to each emergency as it arose, and the
44 WEST VIRGINIA.
development of so much talent and high character in various departments. slumM
uet be esteemed the smallest benefit which the country has derived from this great
enterprise."
''The line of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, traversing the Alleghanies, has
already become somewhat classic ground. The vicinity of Harper's Ferry, old
Fort Frederick, Cumberland, and other portions along the Potomac River, have
long been known to the world for their imposing scenery, as well as for their
historical interest. It is beyond Cumberland, however, that the grandest and most
effective views on this route are presented. The Piedmont grade; Oakland, with
its inviting summer atmosphere ; Valley River Falls ; the Monongahela, and other
attractive points, inspire wonder in all who witness them.
Nor should the grand scientific features of the Baltimore and Ohio Road be
overlooked. To say nothing of its unique and most successfully planned grades
(by which an elevation of nearly three thousand feet above tide is reached), there
are its numerous splendid bridges of iron, and brick, and stone; its massive build-
ings of all kinds ; its solidly arched tunnels, and numerous other features, devel-
oping the greatest skill and ingenuity upon the part of the strong minds which
wrought them. The longest finished tunnel in America is King wood Tunnel, 261
miles from Baltimore ; it is four fifths of a mile in length, and cost more than a
million of dollars!
Our engraving of ' Tray Run Viaduct,' " says Leslie's Pictorial, from which this
is copied, " is from an accurate and faithful drawing, made upon the spot, by Mr.
D. C. Hitchcock, our artist, who has also been engaged in taking numerous views
on this attractive route for the London Illustrated News. Appropriate to our no-
tice of the Tray Run Viaduct, we may quote the following paragraphs from the
'Book of the Great Railway Celebration of 1857,' published by the Appletons :
Cheat River is a rapid mountain stream, of a dark coffee colored water, which is sup-
posed to take its hue from the forests of laurel, hemlock and black spruce in which it. has
its rise. Our road crossed the stream at the foot of Cranberry grade by a viaduct. This
is composed of two noble spans of iron, roofed in on abutments, and a pier of solid free-
stone taken from a neighboring quarry. Arrived at this point, we fairly entered the ' Cheat
River valley,' which presents by far the grandest and most boldly picturesque scenery to Lc
found oh the line of this road, if indeed it is not the finest series of railroad views on our
continent. The European travelers in our party were as much enraptured by it a? were
those of us who have never visited the mountains, lakes and glens of Scotia or Switzer-
land. For several miles, we ran along the steep mountain side, clinging, as it were, to the
gigantic cliffs, our cars like great cages suspended — though upon the safest and most solid
of beds — midway, as it were, between heaven and earth. At one moment the view v. ;:s
confined 'to our immediate locality, hemmed in on every side, as we were, by the towering
mountain spurs. At the next, a slight curve in the road opened to view line- stretches of
the deep valley, with the dark river flowing along its bottom, and glorious views of the for-
est-covered slopes descending from the peaks to the water's edge. Amazed at the grand-
eur of the ever-varying scenery of this region, a French gentleman i» said to have ex-
claimed in ecstacy, ' Mayni/iquc! Zcre is nossing likcsisin France! ' The engineering dif-
ficulties, overcome in the part of the road within the first few miles west of Cheat River
bridge, must have been appalling , but for us the rough places had been made smooth as
the prairie levels. After crossing this river itself, at Rowlesburg, the next point was to as-
cend along its banks the ' Cheat River hill.' The ravine of Kyer's run, a mile from the
bridge, 76 feet deep, was crossed by a solid embankment. Then, after bold cutting along
the steep, rocky hill side, we reached Buckeye hollow, which is 108 feet below the road level,
and finally came to Tray run, which we crossed at a hight of 150 feet above its original
bed by a, splendid viaduct, GOO feet long, founded on a massive base of masonry piled upon
tin; solid rock below. These viaducts are of iron — designed by Mr. Albert Fink, one of
Mr. Latrobe's assistants — and are exceedingly graceful, as well as very substantial struc-
tures. When we reached the west end of the great Tray run viaduct, the cars halted, and
the company alighted for a better view of the works. A walk of a few feet brought u.s to
the brow of the precipice overlooking the river, nearly 300 feet below. The view from this spot,
both of the scenery and the grand structure which so splendidly spanned the immense mount-
ain ravine, was truly inspiring. From our great elevation the stream appeared to be almost
beneath our feet, au illusion promptly dispelled when the strongest and longest armed
among us failed to throw a stone far enough to drop in its bed. With the entire train full
of guests, the band also, alighted here, and taking position near the cliff, struck up the pop-
ular air of ' Love Not,' in sweet harmony with the emotions inspired by the scene.
KENTUCKY.
KENTUCKY was originally included in the limits of Virginia, and the name,
said to signify, in the Indian tongue, "The dark and bloody ground," is in-
dicative of her early conflicts with a
wily and savage foe. The first ex-
plorer of her territory of whom we have
any very definite knowledge was Col.
James Smith, who traveled westward
in 1766, from Holston River, with
three men and a mulatto slave. The
beautiful tract of country near the
Kentucky River appears to have been
reserved by the Indians as a hunting
(/round, and consequently none of their
settlements were found there. The dark
forests and cane thickets of Kentucky
separated the Creeks, Chcrokees and
Catawbas of the south from the hostile
tribes of the Shawnees, Wynndots and
Delawares of the north.
In 1767, John Findley and some
others made a trading expedition from North Carolina to this region. In
17(50, Daniel Boone (the great pioneer of Kentucky), with five others, among
whom was Findley, undertook a journey to explore the country. After a
long fatiguing march over a mountainous wilderness, they arrived upon its
borders, and from an eminence discovered the beautiful valley of the Ken-
tucky. Boone and his companions built a cabin on Red River, from whence
they made. various excursions. Boone being out hunting one day, in com-
pany with a man named Stuart, was surprised and both taken prisoners by
the Indians. They eventually succeeded in making their escape. On re-
gaining their camp, they found it dismantled and deserted. The fat,e of its
inmates was never ascertained. After an absence of nearly three years, Boone
returned to his family in North Carolina.
In 1770, Col. James Knox led into Kentucky a party from Holston, on
Ulinch River, who remained in the country about the same length of time
v.-itii Boone's party, and thoroughly-explored the middle and southernvpart
of the country. Boone's party traversed the northern and middle region with
great attention. Although both parties were in the country together, they
45
ARMS OF KENTUCKY.
4$ KENTUCKY.
never met. When these pioneers returned, they gave glowing description?
of the fertility of the soil throughout the western territories of Virginia and
North Carolina. The lands given to the Virginia troops for their services
in the French war were to be located on the western waters, and within two
years after the return of Boone and Knox, surveyors were sent out for this
purpose. In 1773, Capt. Bullitt led a party down the Ohio to the Falls,
where a camp was constructed and fortified.
In the summer of 1774, parties of surveyors and hunters followed, and
within the year James Harrod erected a log cabin where Harrodsburg is now
built; this soon grew into a settlement or station — the oldest in Kentucky.
In 1775, Daniel Boone constructed a fort, afterward called Boonesborough,
during which time his party was exposed to fierce attacks from the Indians.
By the middle of April, the fort was completed, and soon after his wife and
daughters joined him and resided in the fort — the first white women who ever
stood on the banks of Kentucky River.
In 1775, the renowned pioneer Simon Kenton erected a log cabin where
the town of Washington now stands, in Mason county. In the winter of this
year, Kentucky was formed into a county by the legislature of Virginia. In
the spring of 1777, the court of quarter sessions held its first sitting at Har-
rodsburg.
The years 1780 and 1781 were distinguished for a great emigration to Ken-
tucky, and great activity in land speculations, and by inroads of the Indians.
In 1780, an expedition of Indians and British troops, under Col. Byrd, threat-
ened the settlements with destruction. Cannon were employed against the
stockade forts, some of the stations were destroyed, and the garrisons
taken.
In 1781, every portion of the country was continually in alarm, and many
lives were lost. The most important battle between the whites and Indians
ever fought on its soil was on the 19th of August, 1782, near the Blue Lick
Springs. The celebrated Col. Boone bore a prominent part in this engage-
ment, in which he lost a son. The whites numbered but 182, while the In-
dians were twice or thrice that number. From the want of due caution in
advancing against the enemy, they were, after a short but severe action, routed
with the loss of seventy-seven men and twelve wounded. Kentucky being
the first settled of the western states, a large number of expeditions were sent
out by her from time to time against the Indians in the then wilderness coun-
try north of the Ohio; these were mostly within the present limits of Ohio,
which thus became the battle ground of Kentucky, and was watered with
the blood of her heroic pioneers.
After the revolutionary war, there was a period of political discontent.
This arose partly from the inefficient protection of Virginia and the old fed-
eral congress against the inroads of the Indians, and partly by a distrust lest
the general government should surrender the right to navigate the Missis-
sippi to its mouth.
Kentucky was the central scene of the imputed intrigues of Aaron Burr
and his coadjutors to form a western republic. What the precise designs of
Burr really were has perhaps never been fully understood.
Kentucky took an active part in the war of 1812. After the surrender of
Hull at Detroit, the whole quota of the state, consisting of upward of 5,000
volunteers, was called into active service. In addition to these, a force of
mounted volunteers was raised, and at one time upward of 7,000 Kentuckians
are said to have been in the field, and such was the desire in the state to
KENTUCKY
47
enter into the contest that executive authority was obliged to interpose to
limit the number. At this period, Isaac Shelby, a hero of the revolutionary
war, was governor of the state. At the barbarous massacre of the Iliver
Raisin, and also in the unfortunate attempt to relieve Fort Meigs, many
of her brave sons perished. In the recent war with Mexico, several of her
distinguished citizens engaged in the contest.
Kentucky was separated from Virginia in 1786, after having had several
conventions at Danville. In 1792, it was received ink) the Union as an in-
dependent state. The first constitution was formed in 1790, the second in
1796. The financial revulsion which followed the second war with Great
Britain was severely felt in Kentucky. The violence of the crisis was much
enhanced in this state by the charter of forty independent banks in 1818,
with a capital of nearly ten millions of dollars, which were permitted to re-
deem their notes with the paper of the bank of Kentucky. The state was
soon flooded with the paper of these banks. This soon depreciated, and the
state laws were such that the creditor was obliged to receive his dues at one
half their value. The people of the state became divided into two parties;
the debtor party, which constituted the majority, was called the Relief, and
the creditors the Anti-Relief party. The judges of the courts declared the
acts of the legislature, in sustaining the currency, unconstitutional. The ma-
jority attempted to remove them from office by establishing new courts; the
people became divided into the "new court" and "old court" parties. The
contest was finally decided in the canvass of 1826, when the old court party
pervailed.
Kentucky is bounded N. by the Ohio River, separating it from the states of
Ohio, Indiana and Illinois; E. by Virginia; \V. by the Mississippi River, sepa-
rating it from Missouri, and S. by Tennessee. It is situated between 36° 30'
and 39° 10' N. Lat., and between 81° 50' and 89° 20' W. Long. Its length
is about 400 miles, and its breadth 170 miles, containing 37,680 square
miles.
Kentucky presents a great diversity of surface. In the eastern part, where
it is bordered by the Cumberland Mountains, there are numerous lofty eleva-
tions; and on the Ohio River, through nearly the whole extent of the state,
there is a strip of hilly but fertile land from five to twenty miles in breadth.
On the margin of the Ohio are numerous tracts of bottom lands, which are
periodically overflowed. Between the hilly country of the more mountain-
ous eastern counties and Green River i^i fertile tract, frequently called the
"garden of the state." This is in the blue limestone region, in the midst of
which is the beautiful town of Lexington. The line demarking this region
passes from the Ohio round the heads of Licking and Kentucky Rivers,
Dick's River, and down Great Green River to the Ohio; and within this
compass of above one hundred miles square is found one of the most fertile
and extraordinary countries on which the sun has ever shone. The soil is
of a loose, deep and black mold, without sand — on first-rate lands, from two
to three feet deep — and exceedingly luxuriant in all its productions. It is
well watered by fine springs and streams, and its beautiful climate and the
salubrity of the country are unequalled ; the winter, even, being seldom so
inclement as to render the housing of cattle necessary. In a state of nature,
nearly the whole surface of this region was covered with a dense forest of
majestic trees, and a close undergrowth of gigantic reeds, forming what in
the country are called canebrakes. In the southern part, however, on the
head waters of Green River and its tributaries, is an extensive tract, thinly
48
KENTUCKY
wooded, and covered in summer with high grass growing amid scattered and
stunted oaks. Struck with the contrast this region presented to the luxu-
riant forests of the neigboring districts, the first settlers gave the country the
unpromising name of "barrens."
In 1800, the legislature considering this tract but of little value, made a
gratuitous grant of it to actual settlers. This land proved to be excellent for
grain, and also adapted to the raising of cattle. The whole state, below the
mountains, has, at the usual depth of eight feet, a bed of limestone, which has
frequent apertures. The rivers have generally worn deep channels in the
calcareous rocks over which they flow. There are precipices on the Ken-
tucky Iliver of solid limestone 300 feet .high. Iron ore and coal are widely
diffused; coal, especially, occupies an extensive field. Salt springs are nu-
merous, and mineral springs are found in many places. The great agricul-
tural productions are hemp, flax, Indian corn, tobacco, wheat and live stock.
More than half of all the hemp raised in the Union is grown in Kentucky.
Population, in 1790, 73,077; in 1820, 564,317; in 1840, 779,828; in 1850,
982,405 ; in 1860, 1,185,567, of whom 225,490 were slaves.
South-eastern view of Frankfort.
Showing the appearance of the pliico from the railroad. Tho southern eiitrmicp of the hiiinol through
the limestone bluff, and tinder the State Arspnal und foot path to the (irmt'ti-ry, is *pan on the rip;ht. Th<-
tol and some other public buildings are seen in the central part, Kentucky Iliver in front on thr let:,
FRANKFORT, the capital of Kentucky, is 25 miles N. W. from Lexington,
nnd 53 E. from Louisville. It is beautifully situated on the right or north-
east bank of Kentucky Iliver, 60 miles above its mouth, in the midst of the
wild and picturesque scenery which renders that stream so remarkable. The
city stands on an elevated plain between the river and the high bluffs, which
rise 150 feet immediately behind the town. The river, which is navigabln
for steamboats to this place, is ncrirly 100 yards wide, and flows through ::
deep channel of limestone ro^k. A chain bridge crosses the river here, i on
nccting the city with South Frankfort, its suburb. The railroad from Lex-
KENTUCKY
49
STATE HHUSK, FUANKFOBT.
ington passes into tlio city in a tunnel through the limestone rock or lodge
on which the State Arsenal is erected. Frankfort is well built, and has tine
edifices of brick and Kentucky marble. The State House is a handsome ed.-
ifice of white marble. The
— iV -^ . city is well supplied with ex-
cellent spring water, which is
^ conveyed into the town by
iron pipes. The State Peni-
tentiary is located here, and
the trade of the place is fa-
cilitated by railroads in vari-
ous directions. The Ken-
tucky Military Institute, a
thriving institution, is in the
vicinity of Frankfort. Popu-
lation about 5,000.
"Frankfort was established
by the Virginia legislature ic
1786, though the first survey
of 600 acres was made by
Robert McAfee, on the IGth
of July, 1773. The seat of government was located in 1792, and the first
session of the assembly was held
in 1793. The public buildings
not being ready, the legislature
assembled in a large frame house
belonging to Maj. James Love,
on the bank of the river, in the
lower part of the city."
The Frankfort Cemetery is laid
out on the summit of the high and
commanding bluff's which imme-
diately rise in an eastern direc-
tion from the city. The "Mili-
tary Monument" (an engraving of
which is annexed) was erected in
pursuance of an act of the legisla-
ture, Feb., 1848. The following
inscriptions and names are en-
graved upon it, viz:
MILITARY MOXUMKXT ERECTKU BY
KENTUCKY, A. D., 1X60.
Mexico, Lt J. \V. Powell ; Bonnex-
boroiii/h, liar mar's Defeat, Capt. J.
McMurtsy; Monterey, P. M. Uar-
liuur; Biiena Vista, Col. William K.
McKee, Lieut. Col. Clay, Capt. Wni.
T.Willis, Adjutant E." P. Vaughn ;
/\r?.v/H. Col. John Allen, Maj. IJenja-
n>in Graves, Capt. John Woo! folk,
('apt. N. (1. S. Hurt, Capt. Jamos Moal.>, Cant. Hubert Edwards, C.ipt. Virgil Mu-
Cracken, Capt. William Price, Capt. John Kdnuindson, C-u>t John Simpsim. Cnpr
Pascal Ilickman, Lieut. .John Williamson; ThaiHi.v, Col. Wm. Wliitley, Cnpti Eiij.th
Th
liour ;
MILITARY MDNTMRNT, FRANKFORT.
Hiiiull moniiin'-iit in fnnif is rlmt. <>f Maj. 1^-r-
in tliedistHiice U -<li(.\vii I'.i.it of Cnl. K. M. Jolmtioii.
50 KENTUCKY.
Craig, Lieut. Robert Logan, Lieut. Thos. C. Graves, Lieut. Thos. Overton, Lieut.
Francis Chinn, Ensign Levi Wells, Ensign Shawhan, Surgeon Alex. Mont-
gomery, Surgeon Thomas C. Davis, Surgeon John Irvin, Surgeon Thos. Mcllvaine;
Indian Wars, Col. John Floyd, Col. Nathaniel Hart, Col. Walker Daniel, Col. Win.
Christian, Col. Rice Galloway, Col. James Harrod, Col. Wm. Lynn, Maj. Evan
Shelby, Maj. Bland Ballard, Capt. Christ Irvin, Capt. Wm. McAfee, Capt. John
Kennedy, Capt Christopher Crepps, Capt. Rogers, Capt. Wm. Bryant, Capt. Tip-
ton, Capt. Chapman, Capt. McCracken, Capt. James Shelby, Capt. Samuel Grant,
Supv'r Hanc'y Taylor, Supv'r Willis Lee; Massissinaway, St. Clair's Defeat, Col.
WmvOldham; Estilts Defeat, Capt, James Estill, Lieut. South; Tippecanoe, Col.
Joseph H. Daviess, Col. Abram Owen; Fort Meigs, Col. Wm. Dudley, Capt. John
C. Morrison, Capt Chris'r Irvin, Capt. Joseph Clark, Capt Thomas Lewis; Blue
Licks, Col. John Todd, Col. Stephen I'rigg, Major Silas Harlan, Maj. Wm. McBride,
Capt. Edward Bulger, Capt. John Gordon, Capt. Isaac Boone.
The principal battles and campaigns in which her sons devoted their lives to
their country are inscribed on the bands, and beneath the same are the names of
the officers who fell. The names of her soldiers who died for their country are too
numerous to be inscribed on any column. By order of the legislature, the name
of Col. J. J. Hardin, of the 1st Reg. Illinois Infantry, a son of Kentucky, who fell
at the battle of Buena Vista, is inscribed hereon.
Kentucky has erected this column in gratitude equally to her officers and soldiers.
To the memory of COL. RICHARD M. JOHNSON, a faithful public servant for nearly
half a century, as a member of the Kentucky legislature and senator in congress.
Author of the Sunday Mail Report, and of the laws for the abolishment for debt in
Kentucky and in the United States. Distinguished for his valor as a colonel of a
Kentucky regiment at the battle of the Thames. For four years vice-president of
the United States. Kentucky, his native state, to mark the sense of his eminent
services in the cabinet and in the field, has erected this monument in the resting
place of her illustrious dead. Richard Mentor Johnson, born at Bryant's Station,
on the 17th day of October, J781 ; died in Frankfort, Ky., on the 19th day of No-
vember, 1850.
PHILIP NORBOURNB BARBOUR, born in Henderson, Kentucky, graduated with
merit at West Point in 1829; and immediately commissioned Lieutenant 3d Regi-
ment U. S. Infantry; captain by brevet for valor in the Florida War; served with
distinction at Palo Alto; major by brevet for distinguished gallantry and skill at
Resaca de la Palma. He fell at the head of his command, covered with honor and
glory, at the storming of Monterey, Sept. 21; 1846. Florida, Palo Alto, Resaca de
Palma, Monterey. Kentucky has erected this monument to a brave and noble son.
"At its session of 1844-45, the legislature of Kentucky adopted measures to have
the mortal remains of the celebrated pioneer; Daniel Boone, and those of his wife,
removed from their place of burial on the banks of the Missouri, for the purpose
of interment in the public cemetery at Frankfort
The consent of the surviving relations of the deceased having been obtained, a
commission was appointed, under whose superintendence the removal was effected;
and the 13th of September, 1845, was fixed upon as the time when the ashes of the
venerable dead would be committed with fitting ceremonies to the place of their
final repose. The deep feeling excited by the occasion was evinced by the as-
sembling of an immense concourse of citizens from all parts of the state, and the
ceremonies were most imposing and impressive. A procession, extending moro
than a mile in length, accompanied the coffins to the grave. The hearse, decorated
with evergreens and flowers, and drawn by four white horses, was placed in its as-
signed position in the line, accompanied, as pall bearers, by the following distin-
guished pioneers, viz: Col. Richard M. Johnson, of Scott; General James Taylor,
of Campbell, Capt. James Ward, of Mason ; Gen. Robert B. McAfee and Peter Jor-
dan, of Mercer ; Waller Bullock, Esq., of Fayctte ; Capt Thos. Joyce, of Louisville
KENTUCKY.
Mr. Land in Sneed, of Franklin; Col. John Johnston, of the state of Ohio; Major
Z. Williams, of Kenton, and Col. Win. Boone, of Shelby. The procession was ac-
companied by several military companies, and by the members of the Masonic Fra-
ternity, and the Independent order of Odd Fellows, in rich regalia. Arrived at the
grave, the company was brought together in a beautiful hollow near the grave, as-
cending from the
center on every side.
Here the fu neral scr
vices were perform-
ed. The hymn was
given out bv the
Rev. Mr. Godell, of
the Baptist Church;
prayer by Bishop
Soule, of the Metho-
dist E. Church ; ora-
tion by the Honora-
ble John .1. Crittcn-
den ; closing prayer
by the Rev. J. J.
Bullock, of the Pres-
byterian Church,
and benediction by
the Rev. P. 8. Fall,
of the Christian
Church. The coffins
were then lowered
into the graves. The
spot where the
graves are situated
is as beautiful as na-
ture and art com-
bined can make it' "
Only two persons
were present of all
the assembled thousands who had known Boone personally. One of these
was the venerable Col. John Johnston, of Ohio, Ions: an agent of the U. S.
government over the Indians, having been appointed to that office by Wash-
ington. The other was a humble old man named Ellison Williams, who
walked barefoot from Covington to Frankfort, a distance of sixty miles, to
see Boone's bones buried, but he was a silent mourner and an entire stranger
in that vast crowd. He left as his dying request that he should be buried
by the side of Boone, and the legislature of Kentucky in 1860 appropriated
ninety dollars for that purpose. At the same session they passed a bill ap-
propriating two thousand dollars to erect a monument over the remains of
Boone and his wife. The originator of the bill was the Hon. Samuel Hay-
craft, senator from Hardin, who advocated the measure in a speech of "al-
most matchless beauty, eloquence and patriotism."
GRAVES or DANIKI. BOONK ANI> HIS WIFE AT FKASKKOUT.
The graves of Boone anil his wife are without a monument save the forest
scene by which they are surrounded. The sj>ot where they were interred IH
at the foot of the two trees, around which is a simple hoard neat. It is neur
the edge of the high bluff rising from the river. The beautiful valley of
Kentucky River U seen in the extreme distance.
HARRODSBURG, the county seat of Mercer county, is situated near the
geographical center of the state, thirty miles south from Frankfort, on an
eminence, 1 mile from Salt River and 8 miles from Kentucky River. It
contains the county buildings, 7 churches, 2 banks 25 stores, several manu-
facturing establishments, the Kentucky University, 2 female colleges, and
about 2,500 inhabitants. Bacon College, founded in 1836, under the pat-
ronage of the Christian denomination, is located in this place. The Har
50 KENTUCKY.
rodsburg Springs are celebrated for the medicinal virtue of their waters, and
for the beauty and extent of the adjoining grounds.
According to some authorities, Harrodsburg was the first settled place in
Kentucky. In July, 1773, the McAfee company from Bottetourt county.
Va., visited this region, and surveyed lands on Salt River. Capt. James
Jl.irrod, with forty-one men, descended the Ohio River from the Mononga-
hclii, in May, 1774, and penetrating into the intervening forest made hu-
principal camp about one hundred yards below the town spring, under the
branches of a large elm tree. About the middle of June, Capt. Harrod and
companions laid off a town plot (which included the camp), and erected a
number of cabins. The place received the name of Harrodstown, afterward
Oldtown, and finally the present name of Harrodsburg. The first corn raised
in Kentucky was in 1775, by John Harmon, in a field. at the east end of
Harrodsburg. During the year 1777, the Indians, in great numbers, col-
lected about Harrodsburg, in order, it was supposed, to prevent any corn
being raised for the support of the settlers. In this period of distress and
peril, a lad by the name of Ray, seventeen years of age, rendered himself an
object of general favor by his courage and enterprise. He often rose before
day, and left the fort on an old horse to procure (by hunting) food for the
garrison. This horse'was the only one left unslaughtered by the Indians
of forty brought to the country by Major M'G-ary. He proceeded, on these
occasions, cautiously to Salt River, generally riding in the bed of some small
stream to conceal his course. When sufficiently out of hearing, he would
kill his load of game and bring it in to the suffering people of the fort aftei
nightfall.
LOUISVILLE, the seat of justice for Jefferson county, is the largest city in
the state, and, next to Cincinnati and Pittsburg, the most important on the
Ohio. It is situated on the left bank of the river, at the head of the rapids,
65 miles by railroad W. of Frankfort, 130 below Cincinnati, 590 W. by S. from
Washington, and 1.411 above New Orleans. The city is built on a gentle ac-
clivity, 75 feet above low watermark, on a slightly undulating plain. Eight
handsome streets, nearly two miles in length, run east and west, parallel with
the river: they are crossed by more than 30 others running at right angles.
The situation and surrounding scenery of Louisville are beautiful, and from
some parts is had a delightful view of the Ohio River and of the town of
New Albany, a few miles below.
Its Immediate trade extends into all the surrounding country, and em-
braces within the state of Kentucky a circuit of one of the most productive
regions of the world. The manufactures of Louisville are very extensive,
embracing a great variety. It has founderies and machine shops, steam b;ig-
ging factories, cotton, woolen and tobacco factories, mills of various kinds,
distilleries, breweries, agricultural factories, etc. Ship building is also ex-
tensively carried on. The trade of Louisville is estimated at one hundred
millions of dollars annually. The principal agricultural exports are tobacco,
pork, hemp, and flour. It is connected with its suburb Portland by a rail-
road operated by horse power, and by a canal 2^ miles around the Falls of
the Ohio, with a total lockage of 22 feet. It is also connected by railroads
with the interior. Since the completion of the railroad to Nashville, an im-
nien.se trade has opened with the south, which has given a great impulse to
the prosperity of the city. Louisville contains many splendid public build-
ings, 10 banks, about 50 churches, and a population, in 1860, of 75,196.
The Medical Institute, organized iu 1837, by an ordinance of the city
KENTUCKY.
53
council, ranks high among the public institutions of Louisville. The Uni-
c<-r*i.ty of Louisville is in success! ul operation, and has buildings which are an
ornament to the city. The Marine Hospital, designed as a refuge for sick
View of the Central part of Louisville.
The view shows the appearance of the central part of Louisville, from tlie Indiana side of the Ohio.
The Ji.fiursou City Ft'iry Landing, and Gait House appear on ihe left, the Louisville Hotel in the dis-
tance nn the right, the Court House and City Hall, the Catholic and other Churches in the central part.
and infirm mariners, is an important public institution, located and established
'here in 1820, by a grant from the state of $40,000. Another Marine Asy-
lum has been erected here by the general government. The Asylum for the
H'iiid, established by the state in 1842, has a spacious building erected by
the joint contributions of the state and citizens of Louisville. The students,
beside their literary studies, are also instructed in various kinds of handi-
craft, by which they can support themselves after leaving the institution. 8f.
Juxr'/ilts Infirmary is a Catholic benevolent institution. The Kentucky ///*-
t'/rirttl Sucit-fy, in this place, was incorporated in 1838: it has collected valua-
ble documents relating to the early history of the state and of the west.
The Mercantile Library Association has a large and valuable collection of
books. The Arteuun Well, at Louisville, sends up immense quantities of
mineral water of rare medicinal value in various complaints, proving a bless-
ing as great as it was unexpected to the citizens.
The following, relative to the first settlement, etc., of Louisville, is from
Collins' Historical Sketches of Ky.:
Captain Thomas Bullitt, of Virginia, nncle of the late Alexander Scott Hullitt,
xviio was the first lieutenant-governor of Kentucky, is Raid to have laid oil' Louisville
i:i 1773. This was before the first log cabin was built in Kentucky. For s«;venil
years after tins, the silence of the forest was undisturbed by the white man. The
placo was occasionally visited by different persons, but no settlement was made nn-
lil 1 77s. In the spring of this year, a p irty, consisting of a small number of
families, came to the Falls with George Rogers Clark, and were left by him on an
54
KENTUCKY.
island near the Kentucky shore, now called Corn Island. The name is suppose!
to have been derived from the circumstance that the settlers planted their first In
dian corn on this island.
These settlers were sixty or seventy miles distant from any other settlement, and
had nothing hut their insular position to defend them from the Indians. The posts
in the \Vabash country, occupied by the British, served as points of support for
the incursions of the savages. After these had been taken by Clark, the settlors
were inspired with confidence, and. in the fall of 1778, removed from the island to
the site now occupied by Louisville. Here a block house was erected, and the
number of settlers was increased by the arrival of other emigrants from Virginia.
In 1780, the legislature of Virginia passed 'an act for establishing the town of
Louisville, at the falls of Ohio.' By this act, 'John Todd, jr., Stephen Trigg. Geo.
Slaughter, John Floyd, William Pope, George Meriwether, Andrew Ilynes, James
Sullivan, gentlemen,' were appointed trustees to lay oft" the town on a tract of one
thousand acres of land, which had been granted to John Connelly by the British
government, and which he had forfeited by adhering to the English monarch.
Each purchaser was to build on his own lot 'a dwelling house sixteen feet by twenty
at least, with a brick or stone chimney, to be finished within two years from the day
of sale.' On account of the interruptions caused by the inroads of the Indians,
the time was afterward extended. The state of the settlers was one of constant
danger and anxiety. Their foes were continually prowling around, and it was
risking their lives to leave the fort.
The settlement at the falls was more exposed than those in the interior, on ac-
count of the facility with which the Indians could cross and recross the river, and
the difficulties in the way of pursuing them. The savages frequently crossed the
river, and after killing some of the settlers, and committing depredations upon
property, recrossed and escaped. In 1780, Colonel George Slaughter arrived at
the Falls with one hundred and fifty state troops. The inhabitants were inspired
with a feeling of security which led them frequently to expose themselves witli too
little caution. Their foes were ever on the watch, and were continually destroying
valuable lives. Danger and death crouched in every path, and lurked behind
every tree.
Medical and Late Colleges, Loninville.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the graveyards
of Louisville, the tirst three being in the old yard in the city, the remainder
in the Cave Hill Cemetery:
Erected by Dr. J. M. Tnlbot to the memory of his Father, dipt. ISHAM TALBOT, who de-
parted this life July 'M, 135'J, in his Slit year. He was born iu Virginia. At a tender age
KENTUCKY. 55
he entered the Army of the Revolution, was in the memorable battles of Brandy wine, Ger-
uaantown and Monmouth. Visited Ky. in '79, and after his permanent, location in '82, was
in the disastrous engagement with the Indiana at the Lower Blue Licks. He sustained
through life the character of a high minded, honorable gentleman. His Honesty and In-
tegrity were never questioned, and far better than all, he died with a bright hope of enjoying
eternal Life beyond the grave.
REV. ISAAC McCoy, born June 13th, 1784, died Juno 21st, 1836. For near 30 years, his
entire lime and energies were devoted to the civil and religious improvement of the Abo-
riginal tribes of this country. He projected and founded the plan of their Colonization,
their only hope, the imperishable monument of his wisdom and benevolence.
The Indian's Friend, for them he loved through life,
For them in death he breathed his final prayer.
Now from his toil he rests — the care — the strife —
And waits in heaven, his works to follow there.
To the memory of MAJOR JOHN HARRISON, who was born in Westmoreland Co., Virginia,
A.D. 1754. After having fought for the Liberty of his Country during the struggles of the
American Revolution, he settled in Louisville in 1786, and paid nature's final debt, July 15th,
1821.
PEARSON FOLLAXSBF.E, City Missionary in Louisville, born March 4, 1808, in Vassalboro,
Me., died Sept. 6th, 1846. " Ho went about doing good. His record is on high."
00
Sacred to the memory of JOHN McKiNr.EY, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of (lie
U. S. Born May 1, 1780; died July 19, 1852. " In his manner he was simple and ur.af-
fected. and his character was uniformly marked with manliness, integrity and honor. He
was a candid, impartial and righteous judge, shrinking from no responsibility. He was
fearless in the performance of his duty, seeking only to do right, and fearing nothing but
to do wrong." — Hon. J. J. Critteiideii'v remark* in U. <S'. Court.
WM. H. G. BUTLER, born in Jefferson Co., Ind., Oct. 3, 1825, died at Louisville, Ky.,
Nov. 2, 1853. A man without fear and without reproach, of gentle and retiring disposi-
tion, of clear and vigorous mind ; an accomplished scholar, a devoted and successful
teacher, a meek and humble Christian. He fell by the hand of violence in the presence of
his loving pupils, a Martyr to his fidelity in the discharge of duty. This monument is
erected by his pupils, and a bereaved community, to show their appreciation of his worth,
and to perpetuate their horror at his murder.
JANE McCcu.oucn, wife of John Martin, died by the falling of the Walnut Presby-
terian Church, Aug. 27, 1854. Aged 59 years.
She loved the Courts of God below, And while engaged in worship there,
There found her Saviour uigh, Was called to those on high.
Annexed is a view of (he magnificent bridge over Green River on the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad. Excepting the Victoria Bridge, at Mon-
treal, it is the largest iron bridge on this continent. The iron work of the
superstructure, which was built by In man & Gault, of Louisville, was begun
iu July, 1858, and by July, 1850, the bridge was in its place ready for the
passage of trains.
" It cro*sos the valley of (Ireen Hivcr near tlio town of Mumfordsville, Kentucky,
ftbmit 70 mill's from Louisville, and twenty miles above the celebrated Mammoth
Cave, which is located on the same stream. Its total length is 1,000 feet, consist-
ing nf three spans of 208 feet, and two of 288 feet each; is 118 feet above low-
water; contains 638.000 pounds of cast, and 38 1,000 pounds of wrought iron, and
12,") 00 cubic feet of timber in the form of rail joists. There are 10,220 cubic yards
of masonry in the piers and abutments. The cost of the superstructure, includ-
ing that of erection, was sixty-eight dollars per foot lineal — -that of the entire work,
$105,000. The plan of truss is that invented by Albert Fink, the designer and
constructor of the bridges and viaducts on the Haltimore and Ohio Railroad; and
is peculiar in this, that it is self compensating and self-adjusting, and no extremes
of temperature can put it i:i such a condition that all the parts can not act in their
accustomed manner and up to their full capacity."
50
KENTUCKY.
The celebrated Mammoth C<tc<>, one of the great wonders of the western
world, is in Edmondson county, near the line of the Louisville and Nashville
Irvit Jj.'id/je ore/' Grtt'n .tiiccr.
Railroad, and about 90 miles from each of the two cities. It is said to have
been explored to the distance of 10 miles without reachingits termination, while
the aggregate width of all
its branches exceeds forty
miles.
" The cave is approached
through a romantic shade.
At the entrance is a rush
of cold air ; :t descent of 30
1'tet, Ky stone steps, and an
advaneeof 150 feet inward,
brings the visitor to tho
door, in a solid stone wall,
which blocks up the en-
trance of the cave. A nar
row passage leads to tho
great vestibule, or ante
chamber, an oval hall, '200
by 150 feet, and 50 feet
high. Two passages, of
one hundred feet width,
open into it, and the whole
is supported without a sin-
gle column. This chamber
was used liv tho races of
yore as a cemetery, judg-
ing from tlic hones of gi-
gantic size which are dis-
covered. A hundred feet
GUTHIC CHAPE,., MAMM.TH CAVK. !lboVO 3'°"r bead, VOU catch
a fitful glimpse of a dark
gray ceiling, rolling dimly away like a cloud; and heavy Imttresses, apparently
KENTUCKY. 57
Lending under the superincumbent weight, project their enormous masses from the
shadowy \vall. Tlie scene is vast, solemn, and awful. In the silence that pervades,
you can distinctly hear the IhrohbingB of your heart. Jn Audnbon Avenue, load-
'.ng from the hall, is a deep well of pure spring water, surrounded by stalagmite
column? from (he floor to the roof. The Little Bat Room contains a pit of 2SO
feet deep, and is the resort of myriads of bats. The Grand Gallery is a vast tun-
nel, many miles long and 50 feet high, and as wide. At the end of the first quar-
tur of a mile are the Kentucky Cliffy, and the Church, 100 feet in diameter and
ii ! feet high. A natural pulpit and organ loft are not wanting. ' In tin's temple
religious services have frequently been performed.' The Gothic Avenue, reached
by a flight of stairs, is 40 feet wide, 15 feet high, and 2 miles long. Mummies have
been discovered here, which have been the subject of curious study to science;
•'h:-i\' are also stalagmites and stalactites in Louisa's Bower and Vulcan's Furnace.
On the Avails of the Register Itoonis are inscribed thousands of names. The
(lotliic C/iapa/, or Ktn?t/</inife Hall, is an elliptical chamber, 80 feet long by 50
wide. Stalagmite columns of immense si/c nearly block up the two ends; and
two rows of pillars of smaller dimensions, reaching from the floor to the ceilin<r,
and cqui-distant from the wall on either side, extend the entire length of the hall.
This apartment is one of surprising grandeur, and when illuminated with lamps,
inspires the beholder with feelings of solemnity and awe. At the foot of the
Dfvii ' s Arm Cliair is a small basin of sulphur water. Then there is the Breast-
imrk, the Elephants Head, Lover « Leap, Gatewood's Dining Table, and the Cool-
in;/ Tub, a basin 6 feet wide and 3 feet deep, of the purest water, Napoleoii s Dome,
etc. The Ball Room contains an orchestra 15 feet high; near by is a row of
<"ihin> forcon>nnjptivo patients — the atmosphere being always temperate and pure.
The Star C haml>cr presents an optical illusion. 'In looking up, the spectator
seems to see the firmament itself, studded with stars, and afar off a comet with a
bright tail.' The Temple is an immense vault, covering nn area of two acres, and
covered by a single dome of solid rock, 120 feet high. It rivals the celebrated
vault in the (h'otto of Antiparos, which is the largest in the world. In the middle
of the dome there is a large mound of rocks rising on one side nearly to the top,
very steep, and forming what is called the Mountain. The River Hall descends
like the slope of a mountain; the ceiling stretches away before you, vast and grand
as the firmament at midnight. A short distance on the left is a steep precipice,
over which you can look down, by the aid of torches, upon a broad, black sheet
of water, 80 feet below, called the Dead Sea. This is an awfully impressive place,
the sights and sounds of which do not easily pass from memory."
Mitij&oille is situated on the left bank of the Ohio, 73 miles N.E. from
Fnmki'ort, 441 below Pittsburg, and 55 above Cincinnati by the river. It is
beautifully located on a high bank, having a range of lofty verdant hills or
bluffs rising immediately behind the city. Maysville has a good harbor, and
is the port of a large and productive section of the state. Among the pub-
lic buildings, there is a handsome city hall, 2 large seminaries, a hospital
and 7 churches. Bagging, rope, machinery, agricultural implements, and
various other articles, are extensively manufactured. It is one of the largest
hemp markets in the Union. Population about 3,000.
Maysville was known for many years as Limestone, from the Creek of that
name, which here empties into the Ohio. It received its present name from
John Mai/, the owner of the land, a gentleman fVom Virginia. The first set-
tlement was made at this place in 1784, and a double log cabin and block
house were built by Edward and John Waller, and George Lewis, of Vir-
ginia. Col. Daniel Boone resided here in 1786, and while here made a
treaty with the Indians at the mouth of Fishing Gut, opposite Maysville.
The town was established in 1788. The first school was opened in 17UO, by
Israel Donaldson, who had been a captive among the Indians. The frontier
and exposed situation of Maysville retarded its progress for many years, and
58
KENTUCKY.
it was not until about the year 1815, that its permanent improvement fairly
commenced. It was incorporated a city in 18o3.
17<?*r <>f f/ie Month of Lickiuy River, Jie/iretn Newpwt and Covimjton.
The Suspension Iiritlgu lietween Newport ami Covin^ton is seen in the central part, passing over Licking
River. The U. S. Burrar.ks, in Newport, appear on the left, part of Covington on the right.
COVINGTON is in Kenton county, on the west side of Licking River, at its
mouth, also on the south bank of the Ohio, opposite Cincinnati, and at the
northern terminus of the Kentucky Central Railroad: it is GO miles N.N.E.
from Frankfort. It is built on a beautiful plain several miles in extent, and
the streets are so arranged as to appear, from the hills back of Cincinnati, as
a continuation of that city, of which, with Newport, it is a suburb. The fa-
cilities of communication are such that many persons reside here, whose
places of business are in Cincinnati. Its manufacturing interests are ex-
tensive and varied. A magnificent suspension bridge is now constructing
over the Ohio, to connect Covington with Cincinnati.- Population about
15,000.
Newport is on a handsome plain, on the Ohio River, opposite Cincinnati:
it is separated from Covington by Licking River, with which it is connected
by a beautiful suspension bridge. An U. S. arsenal and barracks are located
here. It contains several rolling mills, iron founderies, steam mills, etc.
Population about 12,000.
The valley of the Ohio, a short distance from the Licking, was the scene of
a most sanguinary event years before white men had settled in this vicinity.
It was Rogers' defeat and massacre, which occurred in the fall of 177!), at
which time this spot, and the site of the now flourishing city of Cincinnati,
opposite, was one dense forest :
Col. David Rogers and Capt. Kenham, with 100 men, were in two largo keel
boats, on their way from New Orleans, with supplies of ammunition .arid provis-
ions for the western posts. In October, when near the mouth of the Licking, a
fow Indians were seen, and supposing himself to be superior in numbers, Kodjgers
landed to attack them, and was led into an Rtnbtuoade of 400 Indians. The whites
fought with desperation, but in a furious onset with tomahawk and scalping-knife,
tho commander, with about ninety of his men, were soon dispatched. The e»capo
of Capt. Uenharn was almost miraculous. A shot passed through both legs, shat-
KENTUCKY. 59
tering the bones. With great pain he dragged himself into the top of a fallen tree,
where he lay concealed from the search of the Indians after the battle was over.
He remained there until the evening of the next day, when, being in danger of
famishing, he shot a raccoon which he perceived descending a tree near where he
lay. Just at that moment he heard a human cry, apparently within a few rods.
Supposing it. to be an enemy, he loaded his gun and remained silent. A second,
and then a third halloo was given, accompanied by the exclamation, 'Whoever yon
are, for God's sake answer me?' This time Benham replied, and soon found tin;
unknown to be a fellow soldier, with both arms broken ! Thus each was enabled
to supply the deficiency of the other. Benham could load and shoot game, while
his companion could kick it to Benham to cook. In this way they supported them-
selves for several weeks until their wounds heuled sufficiently to enable them to
move down to the mouth of Licking Itiver, where they remained until the 27th of
November, when a flat-boat appeared moving by on the river. They hailed the
boat, but the crew fearing it to be an Indian decoy, at first refused to come to their
aid, but eventually were prevailed upon to take them on board. Both of them re-
covered. Benham served tli rough the Indian wars down to the victory of Wayne,
and subsequently resided near Lebanon, Ohio, until his death, about the year
1808.
The Blue Lick Springs is a watering place of high repute on the Licking
River, in Nicholas county, 19 miles from Lexington, and 80 miles south-
easterly from Covington. At an early period, the Licks became a place of
much importance to the settlers, as it was chiefly here that they procured, at
great labor and expense, their supply of salt. In modern times it has be-
come a fashionable place of resort, the accommodations greatly extended,
and the grounds improved and adorned. The Blue Lick water has become
an article of commerce, several thousand barrels being annually exported.
It was at this place, on the 19th of Aug., 1782, that a bloody battle was
fought with the Indians, "which shrouded Kentucky in mourning," and,
next to St. Glair's defeat, has become famous in the annals of savage war-
fare. Just prior to this event, the enemy had been engaged in the siege of
Bryant's Station, a post on the Elkhorn, about five miles from Lexington.
As the battle was a sequel to the other, we give the narrative of the first in
connection, as described in McClung's Sketches:
In the summer of 1782, 600 Indians, under the influence of the British at De-
troit, assembled at old Chillicothe, to proceed on an expedition to exterminate the
" Long Knife" from Kentucky, and on the night of the 14th of August, this body
gathered around Bryant's Station. The fort itself contained about forty cabins,
placed in parallel lines, connected by strong palisades, and garrisoned by forty or
fifty men. It was a parallelogram of thirty rods in length by twenty in breadth,
forming an inclosure of nearly four acres, which was protected by digging a trench
four or five feet deep, in which strong and heavy pickets were planted by ramming
the earth well down against them. These were twelve feet out of the ground,
being formed of hard, durable timber, at least a foot in diameter. Such a wall, it
must be obvious, defied climbing or leaping, and indeed any means of attack, can-
non excepted. At the angles were small squares or block-houses, which projected
beyond the palisades, and served to impart additional strength at the corners, as
well as permitted the besieged to pour a raking fire across the advanced party of
the assailants. Two folding gates were in front and rear, swinging on prodigious
wooden hinges, sufficient for the pas'sage in and out of men or wagons in times of
security. These were of course provided with suitable bars.
This was the state of things, as respects the means of defense, at Bryant's Sta-
tion on the morning of the 15th of August, 1782, while the savages lay concealed
in the thick weeds around it, which in those days grew so abundantly and tall, as
would have sufficed to conceal mounted horsemen. They waited for daylight, and
the opening of the gates for the garrison to get water for the day's supply from an
adjacent spring, before they should commence the work of carnage.
(JO KENTUCKY.
It seems that the garrison here were rather taken off their guard. Some of (ho
palisade work had not been secured as permanently as possible, and the original
party which built the fort had been tempted, in the hurry of constructing and thcii
fewness of hands, to restrict its extent, so as not to include a spring of water within
its limits. <Jreat as were these disadvantages, they were on the eve of exposure tc
a still greater one, for had the attack been delayed a few hours, the garrison w< -ukl
have been found disabled by sending off a reinforcement to a neighboring staticu
— Holder's settlement — on an unfounded alarm that it was attacked by a party of
savages. As it was, no sooner had a few of the men made their appearance out-
side of the gate than they were fired on, and compelled to regain the inside.
According to custom, the Indians resorted to stratagem for success. A detach-
ment of one hundred warriors attacked the south-cast angle of the station, calcu-
lating to draw the entire body of the besieged to that quarter to repel the attack,
and thus enable the residue of the assailants, five hundred strong, who were on the
opposite side in ambush near the spring, to take advantage of its unprotected situ-
ation, when the whole force of the defense should be drawn off to resist the assault
at the south-east. Their purpose, however, was comprehended inside, and instead
of returning the fire of the smaller party, they secretly dispatched an express to
Lexington for assistance, and began to repair the palisades, and otherwise to put
themselves in the best possible posture of defense.
The more experienced of the garrison felt satisfied that a powerful party was in
ambuscade near the spring, but at the same time, they supposed that the Indians
would not unmask themselves until the firing upon the opposite side of the fort
was returned with such warmth as to induce the belief that the feint had suc-
ceeded. Acting upon this impression, and yielding to the urgent necessity of the
case, they summoned all the women, without exception, and explaining to them the
circumstances in which they were placed, and the improbability that any injury
would be offered them until the firing had been returned from the opposite side of
the fort, they urged them to go in a body to the spring and each to bring up a
bucket full of water. Some of the ladies had no relish for the undertaking, and
asked why the men could not bring water as well as themselves ? observing that
they were not bullet proof, and that the Indians made no distinction between male
and female scalps. To this it was answered, that the women were in the habit of
bringing water every morning to the fort^and that if the Indians saw them engaged
as usual, it would induce them to believe that their ambuscade was undiscovered,
and that they would not unmask themselves for the sake of firing upon a few
women, when they hoped, by remaining concealed a few moments longer, to obtain
complete possession of the fort. That if men should <ro down to the spring the In-
dians would immediately suspect that something was wrong, would despair of suc-
ceeding by ambuscade, and would instantly rush upon them, follow them into the
fort, or shoot them down at the spring. "The decision was soon over. A few of
the boldest declared their readiness to brave the danger, and the younger and more
timid rallying in the rear of these veterans, they all marehed down in a body to
the spring, within point blank shot of five hundred Indian warriors! Some of the
girls could not help betraying symptoms of terror, but the married women, in gen-
eral, moved with a steadiness and composure which completely deceived the In-
dians. Not a shot was fired. The party were permitted to fill their buckets one
alter another, without interruption, and although their steps became quicker and
quicker on their return, and when near the fort degenerated into a rather unmili-
tiirv celerity, attended with some little crowding at the gate, yet not more than one
fifth of the water was spilled.
When an ample supply of water had been thus obtained, and the neglected de-
f«T,st-< completed, a party of thirteen men sallied out in the direction in which the
;:-is;ui!t had been made. They were fired on by the savages, and driven again within
the palisades, but without sustaining any loss of life. Immediately the live hun-
dred on the opposite side rushed to the assault of what they deemed the unpro-
tected side of the fort, without entertaining any doubts of their success. A weil
directed fire, however, put them promptly to flight. Some of the mere daring and
desperate approached near enough with burning arrows to fire thr houses, one or
two of which were burned, but a favorable wind drove the flames awav from the
KENTUCKY. gj
mass of the buildings, and the station escaped the danger threatened from this
source. A second assault from the great b'ody of the Indians, was repelled with
the same vigor and success as the first.
Disappointed of their object thus far, the assailants retreated, and concealed
themselves under the bank of the creek to await and intercept the arrival of the
assistance which they were well aware was on its way from Lexington. The ex-
press from Bryant's Station reached that town without difficulty, but found its
male inhabitants had loft there to aid in the defense of Holder's Station, which
was reported to be attacked. Following their route, he overtook them at Booties
borough, and sixteen mounted men, with thirty on foot, immediately retraced their
steps for the relief of the besieged at Bryant's. When this reinforcement ap-
proached the fort, the firing had entirely ceased, no enemy was visible, and the
party advanced in reckless confidence that it was cither a false alarm, or that the
Indians had abandoned the siege. Their avenue to the garrison was a lane be-
tween two cornfields, which growing rank and thick formed an effectual hiding
place to the Indians even at the distance of a few yards. The line of ambush ex-
tended on both sides nearly six hundred yards. Providentially it was in the heat
qf midsummer, and dry accordingly, and the approach of the horsemen raised a
cloud of dust so thick as to compel the enemy to fire at random, and the whites
happily escaped without losing a man.. The footmen, on hearing the firing in
front, dispersed amidst the corn, in hopes of reaching the garrison unobserved.
Here they were intercepted by the savages, who threw themselves between them
and the fort, and but for the luxuriant growth of corn they must all have been shot
down. As it was, two men were killed and four wounded of the party on foot, bo-
fore it succeeded in making its way into the fort.
Thus reinforced, the garrison felt assured of safety, while in the same measure
the assailing party began to despair of success.
One expedient remained, which was resorted to for the purpose of intimidating
the brave spirits who were gathered for the defense of their wives and little ones.
As the shades of evening approached, Girty, who commanded the party, addressed
the inmates of the fort. Mounting a stump, from which he could be distinctly
heard, with a demand for the surrender of the place, he assured the garrison that a
reinforcement with cannon would arrive that night, that the station must fall, that he
could assure them of protection if they surrendered, but could not restrain the
Indians if they carried the fort by storrn; adding, he supposed they knew who it
was that thus addressed them. A young man, named Reynolds, fearing the effect
•yhich the threat of cannon might have on the minds of the defending party, with
the fate of Martin's and Ruddle's Stations fresh in their memories, left no oppor-
tunity for conference, by replying instantly, that he knew him well, and held him
in such contempt that he had called a good for nothing dog he had by the name
of Simon Girty. ' Know you,' added he, ' we all know you for a renegade cowardly
villain, that delights in murdering women and children? Wait until morning,
and you will find on what side the reinforcements are. We expect to leave not
nne of your cowardly souls alive, and if you are caught, our women shall whip you
to death with hickory switches. Clear out, you cut-throat villain.' Some of the
Kentuckians shouted out, 'Shoot the d d rascal!' and Girty was glad to retreat
out of the range of their rifles lest some one of the garrison might be tempted to
adopt the advice.
Ihe night passed away in uninterrupted tranquillity, and at daylight in the morn-
ing the Indian *amp was found deserted. Fires were still burning brightly, and
several pieces of meat were left upon their roasting sticks, from which it was in-
ferred that they had retreated just before daybreak.
Rattle of the ftlne Licks. — Early in the day reinforcements began to drop in,
and by noon 167 men were assembled at Bryant's Station, among whom were Cols.
Boone. Todd, and Trigg; Majors Harland, McBride, M'Gary, and Levy Todd ; and
Captains l>ul/.er and Gordon; of the last six named, except Todd and M'Gary, all
fell in the subsequent battle. A tumultuous conversation ensued, and it was unan-
imously resolved to pursue the enemy forthwith, notwithstanding that they wero
three to one in numbers. The Indians, contrary to their usual custom, left a broad
and obvious trail, and manifested a willingness to be pursued. Notwithstanding,
0>.> KENTUCKY.
such was the impetuosity of the Kentuckians, that they overlooked these consid
orations, and hastened on with fatal resolution, most of them being mounted.
The next day, about noon, they came, for the first time, in view of the enemy
»t the Lower Blue Licks. A number of Indians were seen ascending the rocky
ridge on the opposite side of the Licking. They halted upon the appearance of
the Kentuckians, and gazed at them a few moments, and then calmly and leisurely
disappeared over the top of the hill. An immediate halt ensued. A dozen or
twenty officers met in front of the ranks and entered into a consultation. The
wild and lonely aspect of the country around them, their distance from any point
of support, with the certainty of their being in the presence of a superior enemy,
seoms to have inspired a portion of seriousness bordering upon awe. All eyes
were now turned upon Boone, and Col. Todd asked his opinion as to what should
be done. The veteran woodsman, with his usual unmoved gravity, replied:
That their situation was critical and delicate ; that the force opposed to them
was undoubtedly numerous and ready for battle, as might readily be seen from the
leisurely retreat of the few Indians who had appeared on the crest of the hill; that
he was well acquainted with the ground in the neighborhood of the Lick, and was
apprehensive that an ambuscade was formed at the distance of a mile in advance,
where two ravines, one upon each side of the ridge, ran in such a manner that a
concealed enemy might assail them at once both in front and flank, before they
were apprised of the danger.
It would be proper, therefore, to do one of two things. Either to await the arri
val of Logan, who was now undoubtedly on his march to join them, with a strong
force from Lincoln, or, if it was determined to attack without delay, that one half
of their number should march up the river, which there bends in an elliptical form,
cross at the rapids and fall upon the rear of the enemy, while the other division
attacked in front. At any rate, he strongly urged the necessity of rcconnoitering
the ground carefully before the main body crossed the river.
Boone was heard in silence and with deep attention. Some wished to adopt the
first plan; others preferred the second; and the discussion threatened to be drawn
out to some length, when the boiling ardor of M'Gary, who could never endure the
presence of an enemy without instant battle, stimulated him to an rfct, which had
nearly proved destructive to his country. He suddenly interrupted the consulta-
tion with a loud whoop, resembling the war-cry of the Indians, spurred his horse
into the stream, waved his hat over his head, and shouted aloud: 'Let all who are
not cowards follow me ! ' The words and the action together, produced a i electri-
cal effect. The mounted men dashed tumultuously into the river, each striving to
be foremost. The footmen were mingled with them in one rolling and irregular
mass.
No order was given, and none observed. They struggled through a deep ford as
well as they could. M'Gary still leading the van, closely followed by Majors Unr
land and McBride. With the same rapidity they ascended the ridge, which, by
the trampling of Buffalo foragers, had been stripped bare of all vegetation, with
the exception of a few dwarfish cedars, and which was rendered still more desolate
in appearance, by the multitude of rocks, blackened by the sun, which was spread
over its surface.
Suddenly the van halted. They had reached the spot mentioned by Boone,
where the two ravines head, on each side of the ridge. Here a body of Indians
presented themselves, and attacked the van. M'Gary's party instantly returned
the fire, but under great disadvantage. They were upon a bare and open ridge;
the Indians in a bushy ravine. The center and rear, ignorant of the ground-, hur-
ried up to the assistance of the van, but were soon stopped by a terrible fire from
the ravine, which flanked them. They found themselves inclosed as if in the wings
of a net, destitute of proper shelter, while the enemy were, in a great measure,
covered from their fire. Still, however, they maintained their ground. The action
became warm and bloody. The parties gradually closed, the Indians emerged
from the ravine, and the fire became mutually destructive. The officers sufi'orod
dreadfully. Todd and Trigg, in the rear; Harland, Me Bride, and young Boone, in
front, were already killed.
The Indians gradually extended their line, to turn the ri^ht of the Kentuckians.
KENTUCKY. (33
and cut off their retreat. This was quickly perceived by the weight of the fire
from that quarter, and the rear instantly fell back in disorder, and attempted to
rush through their only opening to the river. The motion quickly communicated
itself to the van, and a hurried retreat became general. The Indians instantly
sprung forward in pursuit, and falling upon them with their tomahawks, made n.
cruel slaughter. From the battleground to the river, the spectacle was terrible.
The horsemen generally escaped, but the foot, particularly the van, which had ad-
vanced farthest within the wings of the net, were almost totally destroyed. Col.
Boone, after witnessing the death of his son -and many of his dearest friends,
found himself almost entirely surrounded at the very commencement of the ro-
treat.
Several hundred Indians were between him and the ford, to which the great
mass of the fugitives were bending their flight, and to which the attention of the
savages was principally directed. Being intimately acquainted with the ground,
he, together with a few friends, dashed into the ravine which the Indians had occu-
pied, but which most of them had now left to join in the pursuit. After sustaining
one or two heavy fires, and baffling one or two small parties, who pursued him for
a short distance, he crossed the river below the ford, by swimming, and entering
the wood at a point where there was no pursuit, returned by a circuitous route to
Bryant's Station. In the meantime, the great mass of the victors and vanquished
crowded the bank of the ford.
The slaughter was great in the river. The ford was crowded with horsemen and
foot and Indians, all mingled together. Some were compelled to seek a passage
above by swimming; some, who could not swim, were overtaken and killed at the
edge of the water. A man by the name of Netherland, who had formerly been
strongly suspected of cowardice, here displayed a coolness and presence of mind,
equally noble and unexpected.
Being among the first in gaining the opposite bank, he then instantly checked
his horse, and in a loud voice, called upon his companions to halt, fire upon the
Indians, and save those who were still m the stream. The party instantly obeyed,
and facing about, poured a close and fatal discharge of rifles upon the foremost of
the pursuers. The enemy instantly fell back from the opposite bank, and gave
time for the harrassed and miserable footmen to cross in safety. The check, how-
ever, was but momentary. Indians were seen crossing in great numbers above and
below, and the flight again became general. Most of the foot left the great buffalo
track, and plunging into the thickets, escaped by a circuitous route to Bryant's
Station.
But little loss was sustained after crossing the river, although the pursuit was
urged keenly for twenty miles. From the battle-ground to the ford, the loss was
very heavy; and at that stage of the retreat, there occurred a rare and striking in-
stance of magnanimity, which it would be criminal to omit. The reader could not
have forgotten young Reynolds, who replied with such rough but ready humor to
the pompous summons of Girty, at the siege of Bryant's. This young man, after
bearing his share in the action with distinguished gallantry, was galloping with
several other horsemen in order to reach the ford. The great body of fugitives
had preceded them, and their situation was in the highest degree critical anil dan-
gerous.
About half way between the battle-ground and the river, the party overtook
Capt Patterson, on foot, exhausted by the rapidity of the flight, and in consequence
of former wounds received from the Indians, so infirm as to be unable to keep up
with the main body of the men on foot. The Indians were close behind him, and
his fate seemed inevitable. Reynolds, upon coming up with this brave officer, in-
stantly sprung from his horse, aided Patterson to mount into the saddle, and con-
tinued his own flight on foot. Being remarkably active and vigorous, he contrived
to elude his pursuers, and turning off from the main road, plunged into the river
near the spot where Boone had crossed, and swam in safety to the opposite side.
Unfortunately he wore a pair of buckskin breeches, which had become so heavy
and full of water as to prevent his exerting himself with his usual activity, and
while sitting down for the purpose of pulling them off, he was overtaken by a party
of Indians, and made prisoner.
04
KENTUCKY.
A prisoner is rarely put to death by the Tn lian*. unVss \v >;nd"d or in Finn, until
.hoy return to their own country; and tlion his late is decided in solemn couii'-ii.
Young Reynolds, therefore, was treated kindly, and compelled to accompany his
i; iptors in the pursuit. A small party of Kentuokians soon attracted their atten-
tion; and he was left in charge of three Indians, who, eager in pursuit, in turn
committed him to the charge of one of their nuiul)er. wiiile they followed their
companions. Reynolds and his guard jogged along very leisurely; the former to-
faiiv unarmed; the latter, with a tomahawk and rifle in his h.i:id-<. At length the
lad'.an stopped to tie his moccasin, when Reynolds instantly sprung upon him.
k'v>cked him down with his fist, and quickly disappeared in the thicket which MU-
rounded them. For his act oi' g3nerosity, Capt. Patterson afterward made him a
iir,--eut of two hundred acres of first rate land.
The melancholy intelligence rapidly spread throughout the country, and the
whole land was covered with mourning, for it was the severest loss that Kjnru.-ky
had ever experienced in Indian warfare, Sixty Kentuckians were slain and a
number taken prisoners. The loss of the Indians, while the battle lasted, wa* ;\}~<>
considerable, though far inferior to that of the whites.
On the very day of the battle,1 Col. Logan arrived at Bryant's Station with four
hundred and fifty men. Fearful of some disaster, he marched on with the utmost
diligence, and soon met the foremost of the fugitives. Learning from thorn the sad
tidings, he continued on, hoping to coma up with the enemy at the field of battle
which he reached on the second day. The enemy were gone, but the bodies of the
Kentuckians still lay unburied on the spot where they had fallen. Immense Hocks
of buzzards were soaring over the battle ground, and the bodies of the dead had
become so much swollen and disfigured that it was impossible to recognize (he
features of the most particular friends. Many corpses were floating near the shoro
of the northern bank, already putrid from the ( ction of the sun, and partially eaten
by fishes. The whole were carefully collected by Col. Logan, and interred" as de-
cently as the nature of the soil would permit."
South-western view of Lexington Court If<»i.<f.
LKXINGTON. the county scat of Fayette county, is a reniarkabiy neat ami
!)o-iutii'ul city, situated on a branch of Elkliorn River. 2f> miVs S.iv from
F rank fort, 85 from Cincinnati, 77 S.K. from Louisville, and ">1~ from Wash
'ii'_rton City. The streets of Lexington are laid o-u at right angles, well
paved, and bordered with ornamental trees. Many of the private residences
and several of the public edifices are fine specimens of architectural tasle,
while the surroundimi country, rich and highly cultivated, is adornerl with
elegant mansions. The city cont-iins a court bouse, a Mason;;: Hall, the
State Lunatic Asylum. 12 churches, the Transylva.ni-1 University, several
aoademies and an orphan asylum. It is celebrated throughout the Union loi
KENTUCKY.
65
its intelligent and polished society, and as an elegant place of residence.
Population about 12,000.
Lexington was founded in 1776. About the first of April in this year, a
block house was built here, and the settlement commenced under the influ-
ence of Col. Robert Patterson, joined by the Messrs. McConnels, Lindseys,
and James Masterson. Maj. John Morrison removed his family soon after
from Harrodsburg, and his wife was the first white woman in the infant set-
tlement. It appears that a party of hunters in 1775, while encamped on
the spot where Lexington is now built, heard of the first conflict between fhe
British and Provincial forces, at Lexington, Mass. In commemoration of
this event, they called the place of their encampment Lexington.
Transylvania University, the oldest college in the state, was established in
1798, and has departments of law and medicine. The medical school has
eight professors. Connected with the institution is a fine museum and a very
valuable library, with chemical apparatus, etc. The State Lunatic Asylum lo-
cated here is a noble institution. Lexington was incorporated by Virginia in
1782, and was for several years the seat of government of the state. The
"Kentucky Gazette" was established here in 1787, by the brothers John and
Fielding Bradford, and, excepting the Pittsburg Gazette, is the oldest paper
west of the Alleghany Mountains.
Ashland, the home of HENRY CLAY, is about one and a half miles from
Lexington. Mr. Clay lived at Ashland between forty and fifty years. His
house was a modest, spacious,
agreeable mansion, two sto-
ries high. Since the death
of Mr. Clay, this building
having become somewhat
dilapidated and insecure, his
son, James B. Clay, Esq.,
had it taken down and a
more elegant edifice erected
upon the same spot, and with
but slight modifications of
the original plan. Mr. Clay
has many interesting relics
of his father, which are care-
fully preserved in the new
building. The estate, consisting of about 600 acres, bore the name of Ash-
land before it came into the possession of Mr. Clay, probably on account of
the ash timber, with which it abounds. By Mr. C.'s management, it became
one of the most delightful retreats in the west; the whole tract, except about
200 acres of park, was under the highest state of cultivation. When its
illustrious occupant was living, it was the abode of elegant hospitality, and
thousands then annually thronged thither to pay their respects to the states-
man, who had such a hold upon the affections of his countrymen that, when
he was defeated for the presidency, an intensity of sorrow* was every wherp
*A friend tells us that he recollects attending, in a distant New England city, an im-
promptu political meeting which had gathered in a public hall at this time. Various
speeches of condolence had been made by those, who, in their ardor, had regarded the suc-
cess of their candidate as identified with the salvation of their country, when an agod man,
with silvered hair, arose to offer comfort in the general sorrow. lie had but three words ;
but, Christian-like, he started for those three straightway to the BIBLE. He raised his tall
slender form to its full hight, with palrus uplifted, and then bowing submissively, uttered
in prayerful tones — " The I^ord reign*!"
ASIII.AMI, RESIDENCE OF HENRY CLAY.
66
KENTUCKY.
exhibited that never was equalled by any similar occurrence in the history
of the country. A stranger in the place not long subsequent, thus describes
his impressions of the town and visit to Ashland:
No where is there a more delightful rural tract in all our broad land, than that
part of this state in the vicinity of Lexington — the celebrated "blue grass" region
of Kentucky. For miles and miles, in every direction, it is bedecked with grace-
ful curving lawns, wood embowered cottages, and tall open forests, where not a
shrub rises to mar the velvety sward that every where carpets the earth in living
green. Enter the dwellings, and you will find them the abodes of elegance and
taste. Your reception will he frank and hospitable. The town, Lexington, is well
worthy of the country. It has a highly cultivated population, institutions of liter-
ature, elegant mansions, partly concealed in groves of locusts, whose tiny fragile
leaves gently dance in the sunlight to the softest zephyr, and is, moreover, the home
of one whose very name holds a dear place in our memories.
In a minor street of this beautiful town, is a plain two story brick edifice, over
the doors of which is the sign, H. & J. B. CLAY. One morning, a few weeks
since, I entered its plainly furnished office, and, in the absence of its occupants,
helped myself to a chair and a newspaper, that industrious whig sheet, the New
York Tribune. In a few minutes in walked a tall, elderly gentleman, attired in
black coat, and white pantaloons. My eyes had never before rested upon him, but
it needed not a second glance to know HENRY CLAY. I presented a letter of intro-
duction, upon which, after some little conversation, he invited me out to tea at his
seat, Ashland, some twenty minutes Avalk from the central part of the town. At
the appointed hour, I was on my way thither, and from a gate on the roadside ap-
proached the mansion by a winding path of maybe thirty rods in length. It stands
on a smooth, undulating lawn of the purest green, fringed by a variety of trees.
The open door disclosed to my view two elderly ladies, seated in one of the three
rooms into which a common entry led. One of them, Mrs. Clay, called to me to
walk in, and directed me to the flower garden in the rear of the house, where stood
Judge 11., of Ohio, and her husband. The former, as I was introduced by Mr.
Clay, received me with the stiffness of the north — the latter met me in the cordial,
off hand manner of an old acquaintance. He then showed us some rare plants,
joked with his little grandchild, and we entered the house. Passing through the
room where sat his lady and the wife of the judge, he pleasantly said — " these
ladies have some conspiracy together, let us walk into the parlor." On the hearth
was an elegant rug, with the words worked in it, "PROTECTION TO AMERICAN INDUS-
TRY; " around were busts and paintings. The furniture was old fashioned, but
rich, and an air of comfort pervaded the apartment. Among the curiosities shown
us by Mr. Clay, was the identical wine glass used by Washington through the Rev-
olution.
The conversation of Mr. Clay is frequently anecdotical, and his knowledge of
all parts of our country, their condition, prospects and people, renders it easy foi
him to adapt himself in familiar topics. to the great variety of characters that
assemble at his residence. His manner is one of entire ease. Taking out a goLden
snuff box, he drew in a pinch of its exhilarating powder with an air of solid satis-
faction ; then spreading his handkerchief in his lap, he leaned forward his whole
body, with his forearms folded and resting on his knees, and talked with us in the
most genial, social way, like a fine, fatherly, old country gentleman — as, indeed,
he is.
Now that I have seen Henry Clay, I do not wonder at the hold he has upon the
affections of our people. Benevolence is the strongest expression in his counte-
nance, and the humblest individual can not but feel, in his presence, as much at
ease as if by his own fireside. His manner is irresistible: such as would enable
him, if need there was, to say disagreeable things in a way that would occasion
you to thank him for it. Literally, his is the power to give "hard facts with soft
words."
When Henry Clay walks the streets of Lexington, the citizens gaze upon him
with pride, and greet him with pleasure. A kind word and a smile he has for
every body, no matter what their age, sex, or condition; and little children run op
KENTUCKY.
67
to take him by the hand, with a "how do you do, Mr. Clay?" My landlord, an
Irishman by birth, said to me, "I have known Mr. Clay for many years, and am
opposed to him in politics ; but I can not help liking the man."
The corner stone of the Mon-
ument erected to Henry Clay, in
the Lexington Cemetery, was
laid July 4, 1857, with imposing
ceremonies, and the structure
completed in 1858. It is con-
structed of magnesian lime-
stone, obtained from Boone's
Creek, about 14 miles distant.
The remains of Henry Clay, his
mother, and some other rela-
tives, are to be deposited in the
vaulted chamber in the base of
the monument. At the top of
the column, the flutings are 13
spiked spears, representing the
original states of the Union.
The statue of Clay, surmount-
ing the whole, is 11 feet in hight.
The hight of the monument
from the ground to the top of
the statue is 119 feet. The fol-
lowing inscription appears on
one of the blocks of stone :
HENRY CI.AY MONUMENT.
Situated about amilo from the central part of Lexington,
near the Railroad from Covington, in the Lexington Ceme-
tery.
" I would rather be right, than be
President."
National Guard, St. Louis, July 4th,
1857.
The following inscription is copied from the monument of Maj. Barry, in
the public square, or court house yard :
To the memory of WILLIAM TAYLOR BAURY, this monument is erected by his friends in
Kentucky (the site being granted by the County Court of Fayette), as a testimony of their
respect and admiration of his virtues and talents. He was born 5th Feb., 1784, in Lunen-
burg City, Va., and caiue to Kentucky in his 12th year. AVas successively a member of
both Hortscs of the General Assembly, a Judge, a Senator and Representative in Congress,
Lieut, ttov. of Ky., and an Aidecamp to Gov. Shelby at the battle of the Thames. On An-
drew Jackson's accession to the Presidency, he was called to his Cabinet as Post Master
General, which office he held until 1st of May, 1835, when he was appointed Env. Ex. <k
Min. Plen. to Spain. He was elected Hon'y Member of the French Univ. Stat. Soc., in
June, 1833. He died at Liverpool, on his way to Madrid, on 30th Aug., 1835. His body
lies on Albion's white shores ; his Fame in the History of his Country, and is as immortal
as America's Liberty and Glory.
About twenty miles south-east of Lexington, on the south bank of the Ken-
tucky River, is the small, dilapidated village of Boonesborough, a point noted
in the history of the state. It was here that Daniel Boone, the great pioneer,
built the first fort ever erected in Kentucky, and made the commencement of
a permanent settlement. Here, too, was convened more than eighty years
ago the first legislative assembly that ever sat west of the mountains, the leg-
islature of Transylvania, the history of which is as follows :
"Col. Richard Henderson, .a man of ardent temperament and great talents, formed
the most extensive speculation ever recorded in the history of this country. Hav-
68
KENTUCKY.
ing formed a company for that purpose, he succeeded in negotiating, with the head
chiefs of the Cherokee nation, a treaty (known as the treaty of Watauga), by which
all that tract of country lying between the Cumberland River, the mountains of the
same name, and the Kentucky River, and situated south of the Ohio, was transferred,
for a reasonable consideration, to the
company. By this treaty Henderson
and his associates became the proprie-
tors of all that country which now com-
prises more than one half of the state
of Kentucky. This was in 1775. They
immediately proceeded to establish a
proprietary government, of which Hen-
derson became the president, and which
had its teat at Boonesborough. The
new country received the name of Tran-
sylvania. The first legislature assem-
bled at Boonesborough, and held its sit-
tings under the shade of a large elm
tree, near the walls of the fort. It was
composed of Squire Boone, Daniel Boone,
William Coke, Samuel Henderson, Rich-
ard Moore, Richard Galloway, Thomas
Slaughter, John Lythe, Valentine Har-
mond, James Douglass, James ITarrod,
Nathan Hammond, Isaac Hite, A/ariah
Davis, John Todd, Alexander S. Dan-
d ridge, John Floyd and Samuel Wood.
These members formed themselves into
a legislative body, by electing Thomas
Slaughter chairman and Matthew Jew-
ett clerk. This cismontane legislature,
the earliest popular body that assembled
on this side of the Apalachian mountains, was addressed by Colonel Hcndersont
on behalf of himself and his associates, in a speech of sufficient dignit}r and of ex-
cellent sense. A compact was entered into between the proprietors and the colo*
nisfcs, bv which a free, manly, liberal government was established over the terri
tory. The most important parts of this Kentucky Magna Charta were: 1st. That
the election of delegates should be annual. 2d. Perfect freedom of opinion in mat-
ters of religion. 3d. That judges should be appointed by the proprietors, but an-
swerable for mal-conduct to the people; and that the convention have the sole
power of raising and appropriating all moneys and electing their treasurer. This
epitome of substantial freedom and manly, rational government, was solemnly ex-
ecuted under the hands and seals of the three proprietors acting for the company,
and Thomas Slaughter acting for the colonists. The purchase of Henderson from
the Cherokees was afterward annulled by act of the Virginia legislature, as being
contrary to the chartered rights of that state. But, as some compensation for the
services rendered in opening the Avilderness, and preparing the way for civiliza-
tion, the legislature granted to the proprietors a tract of land twelve miles square,
on the Ohio, below the mouth of Green River." *
The fort at Boonesborough was built in 1775. The engraving is from a
drawing by Col. Henderson. The structure must have been about 200 feet
*Mr. Henderson was born in Hanover county, Virginia, in 1735. When a boy his father
removed to North Carolina and became county sheriff, and the son obtained mush of his
education in his father's office. vlle studied law, showed talents of the highest order, and
was elevated to the bench of the superior court. In 1779, Judge Henderson was appointed
commissioner to extend the boundary line between Virginia and North Carolina into Pow-
ell's Valley. In the same year he opened an office at French Lick, afterward Nashville,
for the sale of his lands. He died in 1785, aged 50 years. His four sons studied law and
attained distinction.
OLD FOET AT BooMESiwitoroif, 1775.
KENTUCKY. 69
long and 150 feet broad. It was several times attacked by the Indians, but
always unsuccessfully. 'The last time was in September of 1778, when the
enemy appeared in great force.
"There were nearly five hundred Indian warriors, armed and painted in the usual
manner, and what was still more formidable, they were conducted by Canadian
officers, well skilled in the usages of modern warfare. As soon as they were ar-
rayed in front of the fort, the British colors were displayed, and an officer, with a
flag, was sent to demand the surrender of the fort, with a promise of quarter and
good treatment in case of compliance, and threatening the 'hatchet' in case of a
storm. Boone requested two days for consideration, which, in defiance of all ex-
perience and common sense, was granted. This interval, as usual, was employed
in preparation for an obstinate resistance. The cattle were brought into the fort,
the horses secured, and all things made ready against the commencement of hos-
tilities.
Boone then appeared at the gate of the fortress, and communicated to Capt. Du-
quesne, their leader, the resolution of his men to defend the fort to the last extremity.
Disappointment and chagrin were strongly painted upon the face of the Canadian
at this answer, but endeavoring to disguise his feelings, he declared that Gov. Ham-
ilton had ordered him not to injure the men if it could be avoided, and that if nine
of the principal inhabitants of the fort would come out and treat with them they
would instantly depart without further hostility.
The word "treat" sounded so pleasantly in the ears of the besieged that they
agreed at once to the proposal, and Boone himself, attended by eight of his men,
went out and mingled with the savages, who crowded around them in great num-
bers, and with countenances of deep anxiety. The treaty then commenced and
was soon concluded, upon which Duquesne informed Boone that it was a custom
with the Indians, upon the conclusion of a treaty with the whites, for two warriors
to take hold of the hand of each white man.
Boone thought this rather a singular custom, but there was no time to dispute
about etiquette, particularly, as he could not be more in their power than he al-
ready was, so he signified his willingness to conform to the Indian mode of ce-
menting friendship. Instantly, two warriors approached each white man, Avith the
word 'brother' upon their lips, but a very different expression in their eyes, and
grappling him with violence, attempted to bear him off. They probably (unless
totally infatuated) expected such a consummation, and all at the same moment
sprung from their enemies and ran to the fort, under a heavy fire, which fortunately
only wounded one man.
The attack instantly commenced by a heavy fire against the picketing, and was
returned with fatal accuracy by the garrison. The Indians quickly sheltered them-
selves, and the action became more cautious and deliberate. Finding but little
effect from the fire of his men, Duquesne next resorted to a more formidable mode
of attack. The fort stood on the south bank of the river, within sixty yards of the
water. Commencing under the hank, where their operations were concealed from
the garrison, they attempted to push a mine into the fort. Their object, however,
was fortunately discovered by the quantity of fresh earth which they were com-
pelled to throw into the river, and by which the water became muddy for some
distance below. Boone, who had regained his usual Sagacity, instantly cut a trench
within the fort in such a manner as to intersect the line of their approach, and
thus frustrated their design.
The enemy exhausted all the ordinary artifices of Indian warfare, but were
steadily repulsed in every effort. Finding their numbers daily thinned by the de-
liberate but fatal fire of the garrison, and seeing no prospect of final success, they
broke up on the ninth day of the siege, and returned home. The loss of the gar-
rison was two men killed and four wounded. On the part of the savages, thirty-
seven were killed and many wounded, who, as usual, were all carried off."
Danville, county seat of Boyle county, is situated in a fertile district of
Country, on a small branch of the Kentucky River, 40 miles south from Frank-
fort and 35 from Lexington. It contains 9 churches, 2 banks, the Kentucky
70
KENTUCKY.
Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb (an elegant building), several mills and fac-
tories, and about 2.500 inhabitants. Center College; chartered in 1819, is lo-
cated here; the Rev. Dr. Chamberlain became its first president in 1823.
There are also here 2 female academies and a theological institute. The
town was laid out by Walker Daniel, who gave it its name; it was established
by the legislature in 1787, and was for many years the seat of government
for Kentucky. The first court house and jail in the limits of Kentucky were
erected here, and here the first constitution of state government was formed.
fan's, Shelbyville, Cynthiana, Versailles, Carrolton, Georgetown and ]3ards-
town are all important towns in this part of the state, the largest of which
has a population of 2,500. That well known Catholic institution, St. Jo-
seph's College, is at Bardstown, and Georgetown College is at Georgetown.
Paducah, the seat of justice for McCracken county, situated at the mouth
of Tennessee River, is an important shipping port, 347 miles below Louis-
ville. It is a place of active business, and a great amount of agricultural
products are brought down the Tennessee River to this place, consisting of
tobacco, pork, live stock, etc., it being the depot for the product of the valley
of that stream. It
has large ware-
houses, 2 banks,
10 churches, a
large number of
stores, and about
5,000 inhabitants.
It was laid out in
1827 by General
William Clark, of
St. Louis, brother
of Gen. George
Rogers Clark,,
and named after
the Indian chief
Paducah, who once resided in this region. The town is substantially built,
and has a very thriving appearance, being the largest and most important
place in Kentucky west of Louisville. Hon. Linn Boyd resided in this vi-
cinity, where he died in 1859. He was speaker of the house of representa-
tives from 1851 to 1855, and in 1852 was prominent as a candidate of the
democratic party for the nomination for the presidency.
Henderson, capital of Henderson county, 12 miles below Evunsville and
210 below Louisville, is the principal shipping point on the Ohio for the to-
bacco, corn and other rich products of the fertile valley of Green River. It
is a thriving business town, and has about 3,000 inhabitants, timithland,
on the Ohio, just below the mouth of the Cumberland, is a point for the re-
shipment of goods up that river. Oioensboro, capital of Daviess county, 155
miles below Louisville, on the Ohio; IUckman, capital of Fulton county, on
the Mississippi, 35 miles below the mouth of the Ohio, in the extreme south-
western corner of the state, are both busy towns, each having about 2,500 in-
habitants. Bowling Green, Hopkinsville and Russelville are county seats and
important interior towns in Lower Kentucky, with each from 2,000 to 3,000
inhabitants. Columbus, a village of about 1,200 inhabitants, on the Missis-
sippi, 25 miles below Cairo, is the terminus of the Mobile and Ohio Rail-
road.
LANDING AT PADVCAH.
KENTUCKY.
71
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, MISCELLANIES, ETC.
Kentucky, next to Virginia, is the greatest tobacco producing state in the
Union. The statistics of 1850 gave her total product at 55^ millions of
pounds, while that of Virginia exceeded it but a little over a million. The
plant is most extensively cultivated in western Kentucky, in the Green
llivcr country and vicinity; and the greatest tobacco raising county is Chris-
tian, the annual yield of
which is six millions of
pounds. This part of
the state was much set-
tled by Virginians, who
followed out the general
law of emigrants, of es-
pecially cultivating
those crops to which
they had been accus-
tomed on the soil of
their birth.
"It is a curious fact in
the history of tobacco that
the exports from this
country have varied but
very little in the last fifty
years; in 1790, our coun-
try, in round numbers,
sent abroad one hundred
and eighteen thousand
hogsheads; in 1840, one
hundred and nineteen
thousand. This is one of
the most curious facts de-
veloped in statistics, and
may probably be directly
traced to the fact that the
population and wealth of
European countries have
not increased, and that
the duties levied upon its
introduction are as high
as can possibly be borne.
No article of commerce
pays a duty ao enormous,
compared with its home
price, as American tobacco. From it is derived an important part of the revenue of
almost every European government. In (Jrcat Britain, the import duty is three
shillings sterling (seventy-five cents) per pound — about twelve hundred per cent,
upon the original cost — and two dollars per pound on manufactured tobacco; thus for
what her people give us less than two millions of dollars thev pay to their own govern-
ment, for the privilege of using it, twenty two millions of dollars, which is twice the
sum realized by the American producer for all the tobacco exported to every part
A TOBACCO PLANTATION.
72 KENTUCKY.
of the world! As might be supposed, the most stringent laws govern its introduc
tion into that country, and a large fleet of ships and a heavy marine are supported
to detect smugglers who alone traffic in this article. It is therefore not surprising
that among all the wonders of London, and all the creations of that great Babylon
dedicated to commerce, few are so remarkable as the government warehouses used
for bonding or storing tobacco. Their interiors present such vast areas of ground
that they become bewildering to the eye, and they never had any rivals in size until
the erection of the Crystal Palace. Almost as far as the eye can reach are alleys
<»f hogsheads, whose number is immense. In all convenient places are large scales
for weighing, together with other apparatus connected with the operation of exam-
ining the staple."
The amount of the present production of tobacco is about two hundred millions
of pounds. The home consumption is increasing faster than the population. Its
use is most detrimental to our people by increasing their mental activity at the ex-
pense of their bodies, through its continual strain upon the nervous system and
weakening of the appetite and digestive organs. It is at the seasons of greatest ex-
citement that he who uses the plant is certain to do so in unwonted quantities. A
young volunteer, relating his experience at the battle of Buena Vista, truthfully
remarked, though in coarse phrase, "Our boys chawed lots of tobacco that day!"
So fascinating the habit, that few can break from it; and he who succeeds should
be more honored than he who storms a battery. Multitudes essay the trial; gener-
ally, they only make the good resolution at the precise moment when under the
exhilerating influence of a quid of extra size revolving against the inner wall of
their cheek. The corresponding depression that succeeds the disuse is continu-
ally pressing for the stimulus, with a power akin to that of a raging thirst, day in
and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out, until finally a weak
moment arrives, when the will gives way and the victim flies for relief to his chains
again — only to repeat in the future a similar futile attempt to escape his enslave-
ment. A gentleman who had censed using it for five years stated that the dc-siro
was even then continually upon him, and he ''would give anything" for the indul-
gence, were it not for the accompanying suffering that he knew would accrue.
Probably few persons use tobacco to excess but acknowledge to themselves that, in
their individual experience/ the sum of misery from it a thousand fold outweighs
the sum of gratification.
It is often amusinic to witness the resolution with which those who use tobacco
part even temporarily from the indulgence. "Fanny Kemble used to relate, witli
great gusto, a cigar adventure she met with while traveling in Georgia. It appears
that the day was hot, the roads rough, and she an invalid— the passengers in the
sta^e, herself and a gentleman. As the heavy vehicle rumbled along, there mingled,
with the dust that constantly penetrated its interior, the fumes of a most execrable
ci^ar. Every blast of the 'Stygian fume' sent a tremor of deadly sickness through
Fanny's heart. The gentleman, her triivdin.it companion, remonstrated with the
driver, explained the mischief he was doing, and promised tho independent Jehu,
at the end of the journey, the reward of twenty-five choice Ilavanas if he would
throw away his vile weed. The driver's reply was, 'Yes, yes, in a minute,' but the
evil complained of continued until finally it became insufferable. Then it was that
Fanny leaned out of the coach window and said, 'Sir, 1 appeal to your generosity
to throw away that cigar, and I know, from the proverbial politeness of the Ameri-
cans, that my request will be granted.' .'Yi's, yes,' said the driver, with some trep-
idation. 'I intended to do it, but I wanted first to smoke it short enough to put in
my hat!' "
EARLY TIMES AMONO THE PIONEERS OF KENTUCKY.
That eccentric aivl talented Methodist preacher, Peter Cartwright, has
given in his autobiography some valuable reminiscences of life among the
pioneers of Kentucky, from which we extract this article as a valuable con-
tribution to the history of the times:
1 was born September 1, 17S5, in Amherst county, on James River, in the state
KENTUCKY. 73
of Virginia. My parents were poor. My father was a soldier in the great strug-
gle for liberty, in the Revolutionary war with Great Britain. He served over two
years. My mother was an orphan. Shortly after the united colonies gained their
independence, my parents moved to Kentucky, which was a new country. It was
an almost unbroken wilderness from Virginia to Kentucky at that early day, and
this wilderness was tilled with thousands of hostile Indians, and many thousands
of the emigrants to Kentucky lost their lives by these savages. There were no
roads for carriages at that time, and although the emigrants moved by thousands,
they had to move on pack horses. Many adventurous young men went to this new
country. The fall my father moved, there Avere a great many families who joined
together for mutual safety, and started for Kentucky. Besides the two hundred
families thus united, there were one hundred young men, well armed, who agreed
to guard these families through, and, as a compensation, the}' were to be supported
for their services. After we struck the wilderness we rarely traveled a day but we
passed some white persons, murdered and scalped by the Indians while going to
or returning from Kentucky. We traveled on till Sunday, and, instead of resting
that day, the voice of the company was to move on.
It was a dark, cloudy day, misty with rain. Many Indians were seen through
the day skulking round by our guards. Late in the evening we came to what was
called " Camp Defeat," where a number of emigrant families had been all mur-
dered by the savages a short time before. Here the company called a halt to camp
for the night. It was a solemn, gloomy time; every heart quaked with fear.
Soon the captain of our young men's company placed his men as sentinels all
round the encampment. The stock and the women and children were placed in
the center of the encampment. Most of the men that were heads of families, were
placed around outside of the women and children. Those who were not placed in
this position, were ordered to take .their stand outside still, in the edge of the brush.
It was a dark, dismal night, and all expected an attack from the Indians.
That night my father was placed as.a sentinel, with a good rifle, in the edge of
the brush. Shortly after he took his stand, and all was quiet in the camp, he
thought he heard something moving toward him, and grunting like a swine. He
knew that there was no swine with the' moving company, but it was so dark he
could not see what it was. Presently he perceived a dark object in the distance,
but nearer him than at first, and believing it to be an Indian, aiming to spring upon
him and murder him in the dark, he leveled his rifle, and aimed at the dark lump
as well as he could, and fired. He soon found he had hit the object, for it flounced
about at a terrible rate, and my father gathered himself up and ran into camp.
When his gun fired, there was an awful screaming throughout the encampment
by the women and children. My father was soon inquired of as to what was the
matter. He told them the circumstances of the case, but some said he was seared
and wanted an excuse to come in; but he affirmed that there was no mistake, that
there was something, and he had shot it; and if they would get a light and go with
him, if ho did not show them something, then they might call him a coward for-
ever. They got a light and went to the place, and there found an Indian, with a
rifle in one hand and a tomahawk in the other, dead. My father's rifle-ball had
struck the Indian nearly central in the head.
When we came within seven miles of the Crab Orchard, where there was a fort
and the first white settlement, it was nearly night. We halted, and a vote was
taken whether we should go on to the fort, or camp there for the night. Indians
had been seen in our rear through the day. All wanted to go through except seven
families, who refused to go any further that night. The main body went on, but
they, the seven families, carelessly stripped ofT their clothes, laid down without any
guards, and went to sleep. Some time in the night, about twenty-five Indians
rushed on them, and every one, men, women, and children, was slain, except one
man, who sprang from his bed and ran into the fort, barefooted and in his night
clothes. He brought the melancholy news of the slaughter. These murderous
bands of savages lived north of the Ohio Kiver, and would cross over into Ken-
tucky, kill and steal, and then recross the Ohio into their own country.
Kentucky was claimed by no particular tribe of Indians, but was regarded as a
common hunting-ground by the various tribes, east, west, north, and south. It
74
KENTUCKY.
abounded in various valuable game, such as buffalo, elk, bear, deer, turkeys, and
many other smaller game, and hence the Indians struggled hard to keep the white
people from taking possession of it. It was chiefly settled by Virginians, as noble
and brave a race of men and women as ever drew the breath of life.
In the fall of 1793, my father determined to move to what was then called the
Green River country, in the southern part of the state of Kentucky. He did so,
and settled in Logan county, nine miles south of Russellville, the county seat, and
within one mile of the state line of Tennessee.
Logan county, when my father moved to it, was called "Rogues' Harbor." Here
many refugees, from almost all parts of the Union, fled to escape justice or punish-
ment; for although there was law, yet it could not be executed, and it was a des-
perate state of society. Murderers, horse thieves, highway robbers, and counter-
feiters fled here until they combined and actually formed a majority. The honest
and civil part of the citizens would prosecute these wretched banditti, but they
would swear each other clear; and they really put all law at defiance, and carried
on such desperate violence and outrage that the honest part of the citizens seemed
to be driven to the necessity of uniting and combining together, and taking the
law into their own hands, under the name of Regulators. This was a very des-
perate state of things.
Shortly after the Regulators had formed themselves into a society, and estab-
lished their code of by-laws, on a court day at Russellville, the two bands met in
town. Soon a quarrel commenced, and a general battle ensued between the rogues
and Regulators, and they fought with guns, pistols, dirks, knives, and clubs. Some
were actually killed, many wounded, the rogues proved victors, kept the ground,
and drove the Regulators out of town. The Regulators rallied again, hunted, killed,
and lynched many of the rogues, until several of them fled, and left for parts un-
known. Many lives were lost on both sides, to the great scandal of civilized peo-
ple. This is but a partial view of frontier life.*
When my father settled in Logan county,, there was not a newspaper printed
south of Green River, no mill short of forty miles, and no schools worth the name.
*The most notorious of the desperadoes who infested the settlements were two brother-
named Harpe, of whom Judge Hall, iu his Western Sketches, has given this narrative :
In the fall of 1801 or 1802, a company consisting of two men and three women arrived
in Lincoln county, Ky., and encamped about a mile from the present town of Stanford.
The appearance of the individuals composing this party was wild and rude in the extreme.
The one who seemed to be the leader of the band, was above the ordinary stature of men.
His frame was bony and muscular, his breast broad, his limbs gigantic. His clothing was
uncoutli and shabby, his exterior, weatherbeaten and dirty, indicating continual exposure
to the elements, and designating him as one who dwelt far from the habitations of men,
and mingled not in the courtesies of civilized life. His countenance was bold and ferocious
and exceedingly impulsive, from its strongly marked expression of villainy. His face,
which wa.s larger than ordinary, exhibited the lines of ungovernable passion, and the com-
plexion announced that the ordinary feelings of the human breast were in him extinguished.
Instead of the healthy hue which indicates the social emotions, there was a livid unnatu-
ral redness, resembling that of a dried and lifeless skin. His eye was fearless and steady,
but it was also artful and audacious, glaring upon the beholder with an unpleasant fixed-
ness and brilliancy, like that of a ravenous animal gloating on its prey. He wore no cov-
ering on his head, and the natural protection of thick coarse hair, of a fiery redness, un-
combed and matted, gave evidence of long exposure to the rudest visitations of the sun-
beam and the tempest. He was armed with a rifle, and a broad leathern belt, drawn closely
around his waist, supported a knife and a tomahawk. He seemed, in short, an outlaw,
destitute of all the nobler sympathies of human nature, and prepared at all points for as-
sault or defense. The other man was smaller in size than him who led the party, but sim-
ilarly armed, having the same suspicious exterior, and a countenance equally tierce and
sinister. The females were coarse, and wretchedly attired.
The men stated in answer to the inquiry of the inhabitants, that their names were Harpe,
and that they were emigrants from North Carolina. They remained at their encampment
the greater part of two days and a night, spending the time in rioting, drunkenness and
debauchery. When they left, they took the road leading to Green River. The day suc-
ceeding their departure, a report reached the neighborhood that a young gentleman of
wealth from Virginia, named Lankford, had been robbed and murderel 011 what was
KENTUCKY. 75
Sunday was a day set apart for hunting, fishing, horse racing, card'playing, balls,
dunces, and all kinds of jollity and mirth. We killed our meat out of the woods,
Avild: and heat our meal and hominy with a pestle and mortar. We stretched a
deer skin over a hoop, burned holes in it with the prongs of a fork, sifted our meal,
baked our bread, eat it, and it was first-rate eating too. We raised, or gathered
out of the woods, our own tea. We had sage, bohea, cross-vine, spice, and sassa-
fras teas, in abundance. As for coffee, I am not sure that I ever smelled it for ten
years. We made our sugar out of the water of the maple-tree, and our molasses
too. These were great luxuries in those days.
We raised our own cotton and flax. We water-rotted our flax, broke it by hand,
scutched it; picked the seed out of the cotton with our fingers; our mothers and
sisters carded, spun, aniLwove it into cloth, and they cut and made our garments
and bed-clothes, etc. And when we got on a new suit thus manufactured, and
sallied out into company, we thought ourselves "so biff as anybody."
Time rolled on, population increased fast around us, the country improved, horse-
thjeves and murderers were driven away, and civilization advanced considerably.
Ministers of different denominations came in, and preached through the country;
then called, and is still known as the "Wilderness Road," which runs through the Rock-
castle hills. Suspicion immediately fixed upon the Harpes as the perpetrators, and Cap-
tain Ballenger, at the head of a few bold and resolute men, started in pursuit. They ex-
perienced great difficulty in following their trail, owing to a heavy fall of snow, which had
obliterated most of their tracks, but finally came upon them while encamped iti a bottom
on Green River, near the spot where the town of Liberty now stands. At first they made
a show of resistance, but upon being informed that it' they did not immediately surrender,
they would be shot down, they yielded themselves prisoners. They were brought back
to Stanford, and there examined. Among their effects were found some fine linen shirts,
marked with the initials of Lankford. One had been pierced by a bullet and was stained
with blood. They had also a considerable sum of money, in gold. It was afterward as-
certained that this was the kind of money Lankford had with him. The evidence against
them being thus conclusive, they were confined in the Stanford jail, but were afterward
sent for trial to Danville, where the district court was in session. Here they broke jail,
and succeeded in making their escape.
They were next heard of in Adair county, near Columbia. In passing through that
county, they met a small boy, the son of Colonel Trabue, with a pillow-case of. meal or
flour, an article they probably needed. This boy; it is supposed, they robbed and then
murdered, as he was never afterward heard of. Many years afterward, human bones, an-
swering the size of Colonel Trabue's son at the time of his disappearance, were found in
a sink hole near the place where he was said to have been murdered. The Harpes still
shaped their course toward the mouth of Green River, marking their path by murders and
robberies of the most horrible and brutal character. The district of country through which
they passed was at that time very thinly settled, and from this reason their outrages went
unpunished. They seemed inspired witli the deadliest hatred against the whole human
race, and such was their implacable misanthropy, that they were known to kill where there
was no temptation to rob. One of their victims was a little girl, found at some distance
from her home, whose tender age and helplessness would have been protection against any
but incarnate fiends. The last dreadful act of barbarity, which led to their punishment
and expulsion from the country, exceeded in atrocity all the others.
Assuming the guise of Methodist preachers, they obtained lodgings one night at a soli-
tary house on the road. Mr. Stagall, the master of, the house, was absent, but they found
his wife ami children, and a stranger, who, like themselves, had stopped for the night.
Hero they conversed and made inquiries about the two noted Harpes, who were represented
as prowling about the country. When they retired to rest, they contrived to secure an ax,
which they carried with them to their chamber. In the dead of night, they crept softly
down stairs, and assassinated the whole family, together with the stranger, in their sleep,
and then setting fire to the house, made their escape. When Stagall returned, he found
no wife to welcome him; no home to receive him. Distracted with grief and rage, he
turned his horse's head from the smoldering ruins, and .repaired to the house of Captain
John Leeper. Leeper was one of the most powerful men of his day, and fearless as pow-
erful. Collecting four or five other men well armed, they mounted and started in pursuit
of vengeance. It was agreed that Leeper should attack " Big Harpe," leaving " Little
Harpe" to be disposed of by Stagall. The others were to hold themselves in readiness
to assist Leeper and Stagall, as circumstances might require.
This party found the women belonging to the Harpes attending to their little camp Uv
76 KENTUCKY.
but the Methodist preachers were the pioneer messengers of salvation in these enJs
of the earth. Even in Rogues' Harbor there was a Baptist church a few miles west
of my father's, and a Presbyterian congregation a few miles north, and the Meth-
odist Ebenezer a few miles south.
Somewhere between 1800 and 1801. in the upper part of Kentucky, at a memor-
able place called "Cane Ridge," there was appointed a sacramental meeting by
some of the Presbyterian ministers, at which meeting, seemingly unexpected by
ministers or people, the mighty power of God was displayed in a very extraordin-
ary manner; many were moved to tears, and bitter and loud crying for mercy.
The meeting was protracted for weeksr Ministers of almost all denominations
flocked in from far and near. The meeting was kept up by night and day. Thou-
sands heard of the mighty work, and came on foot, on horseback, in carriages and
wagons. It was supposed that there were in attendance at times during the meet-
ing from twelve to twenty-five thousand people. Hundreds fell prostrate under the
mighty power of God, as men slain in battle. Stands were erected in the woods,
from which preachers of different churches proclaimed repentance toward God
and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and it was supposed, by eye and ear witnesses,
that between one and two thousand souls were happily and powerfully converted
to God during the meeting. It was not unusual for one, two, three, and four to
seven preachers to be addressing the listening thousands at the same time from the
different stands erected for the purpose. The heavenly fire spread in almost every
direction. It was said, by truthful witnesses, that at times more than one thousand
persons broke out into loud shouting all at once, and that the shouts could be heard
for miles around.
From this camp-meeting, for so it ought to be called, the news spread through all
the Churches, and through all the land, and it excited great wonder and surprise;
but it kindled a religious flame that spread all over Kentucky, and through many
other states. And I may here be permitted to say, that this was the first camp-
meeting ever held in the United States, and here our camp-meetings took their
rise.
To show the ignorance the early Methodist preachers had to contend with in
the western wilds, 1 will relate an incident that occurred to Wilson Lee, in Ken-
tucky :
There was in the congregation a very wicked Dutchman and his wife, both of
the road side; the men having gone aside into the woods to shoot an unfortunate traveler,
of the name of Smith, who had fallen into their hands, and whom the women had begged
might not be dispatched before their eyes. It was this halt that enabled the pursuers to
overtake them. The women immediately gave the alarm, and the miscreants, mounting
their horses, which were large, fleet and powerful, fled in separate directions. Leeper
singled out the Big Harpe, and being better mounted than his companions, soon left them
far behind. Little Harpe succeeded in escaping from Stagall, and he, with the rest of his
companions, turned and followed the track of Leeper and Big Harpe. After a chase of
about nine miles, Leeper came within gun shot of the latter and fired. The ball entering
his thigh, passed through it and penetrated his horse, and both fell. Harpe's gun escaped
from his hand and rolled some eight or ten feet down the bank. Reloading his rifle Lee-
per ran to where the wounded outlaw lay weltering in his biood, and found him with one
thigh broken and the other crushed beneath his horse. Leeper rolled the horse awiiy, and
set Harpe in an easier position. The robber begged that he might not be killed. Leeper
toid him that he had nothing to fear from him, but that Stagall was coming up, and could
not probably be restrained. Harpe appeared very much frightened at hearing this, and im-
plored Leeper to protect him. In a few moments Stagall appeared, and without uttering a
word, raised his rifle and shot Harpe through the head. They then severed the head from
the Dudy, and stuck it upon a pole where the road crosses the creek, from which the place
was then named and is- yet called Hurpe's Head. Thus perished one of the boldest and -
most noted freebooters that has ever appeared in America. Save courage, he was without
one redeeming quality, and his death freed the country from a terror which had long para-
Ivzed its boldest spirits.
The Little Harpe afterward joined the band of Mason, and became one of his most val
unble assistants in the dreadful trade of robbery and murder. He was one of the two
bandits that, tempted by the reward for their leader's head, murdered him, and eventually
themselves suS'ered the penalty of the law as previously related.
KENTUCKY.
77
whom were profoundly ignorant of the Scriptures and the plan of salvation. His
wii'i.' was a notorious scold, and so much was she given to this practice, that she
made her husband unhappy, and kept him almost always in a perfect fret, so that
he led a most miserable and uncomfortable life. It pleased (lod that day to cause
ih t preaching of Mr. Lee to reach their guilty souls, and break up the great deep
of their hearts. They wept aloud, seeing their lost condition, and they, then and
there, resolved to do better, and from that time forward to take up thi» cro-H and
boar it, be it what it might.
A Rellffioua Encampment in tlie Wilderness.
The congregation were generally deeply affected. Mr. Lee exhorted them and
prayed for them as long as he consistently could, and, having another appointment
some distance off that evening, he dismissed the congregation, got a little refresh-
ment, saddled his horse, mounted, and started for his evening appointment. After
riding some distance, he saw, a little ahead of him, a man trauStftg alonii. carry-
ing a woman on his back. This greatly surprised Mr. Lee. He very naturally
supposed that the woman was a cripple, or had hurt herself in some way, so that
she could not walk. The traveler was a small man, and the woman large and
heavy.
.Before he overtook them Mr. Lee began to cast about in his mind how he could
render them assistance. When he came up to them, lo and behold, who should it
(>e but the Dutchman and his wife that had been so affected under his sermon at
meeting. Mr. Lee rode up and spoke to them, and inquired of the man what had
happened, or what was the matter, that he was carrying his wife.
The Dutchman turned to Mr. Lee and said, "Besure you did toll us in your sar-
mon dat we must take tip iJe cross and follow de Saviour, or dat we could not be
saved or go to heaven, and I does desire to go to heaven so much as any pody; and
^Hsh vife is so pad, she scold and scold all de time, and dish woman is de crcatest
cross I have in de ichoh world, and I docs take her up and pare her, for I must
stare my soul."
From 1801, for years, a blessed revival of religion spread through almost the
entire inhabited parts of the west, Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and many
other parts, especially through the Cumberland country, which was so called from
the Cumberland River, which headed and mouthed in Kentucky, but in its great
78
KENTUCKY.
bend circled south through Tennessee, near Xashville. The Presbyterians and
Methodists in a great measure united in this work, met together, prayed together-,
and preached together.
In this revival originated our camp-meetings, and in both these denominations
they were held every year, and, indeed, have been ever since, more or less. They
would erect their camps with logs, or frame them, and cover them with clapboards
or shingles. They would also erect a shed, sufficiently large to protect five thou-
sand people from wind and rain, and cover it with boards or shingles; build a
large stand, seat the shed, and here they would collect together from forty to fifty
miles around, sometimes further than that. Ten, twenty, and sometimes thirty
ministers, of different denominations, would come together and preach night and
day, four or five days together; and, indeed, I have known these camp meetings to
last three or four weeks, and great good resulted from them. I have seen more
than a hundred sinners fall like dead men under one powerful sermon, and I have
seen and heard more than five hundred Christians all shouting aloud the high
praises of God at once ; and I will venture to assert that many happy thousands
were awakened and converted to God at these camp meetings. Some sinners
mocked, some of the old dry professors opposed, some of the old starched Presby-
terian preachers preached against these exercises, but still the work went on and
spread almost in every direction, gathering additional force, until our country
seemed all coming home to God.
In this great revival the Methodists kept moderately balanced ; for we had ex-
cellent preachers to steer the ship or guide the flock. But some of our members
ran wild, and indulged in some extravagancies that were hard to control. The
Presbyterian preachers and members, not being accustomed to much noise or
shouting, when they yielded to it went into great extremes and downright wild-
ness, to the great injury of the cause of God.
Col. Daniel Boone, the celebrated
pioneer of Kentucky, was born of
English parentage, in Pennsylvania,
in 1734. When a small boy, his pa-
* r rents emigrated to the banks of the
Yadkin, in North Carolina. "At
that time the region beyond the Blue Ridge was an unknown wilderness to the
white people, for none had ventured thither, as far as is known, until about the
year 1750. It was almost twenty years later than this, when Boone was approach-
ing the prime of life, that he first penetrated the great Valley of the Mississippi, in
company with others. He had already, as a bold hunter, been within the eastern
verge of the present Kentucky, but now he took a long 'hunt' of about three years.
He had made himself familiar with the wilderness, and in 1773, in company with
other families, he started with his own to make a settlement on the Kain-tuck-ce
River. The hostile Indians compelled them to fall back, and Boone resided on the
Clinch River until 1775, when he went forward and planted the settlement of
Boonesborough, in the present Madison county, Kentucky. There he built a log
fort, and in the course of three or four years several other settlers joined him. His
wife and daughters were the first white women ever seen upon the banks of the
Kentucky River. He became a great annoyance to the Indians, and while at the
Blue Licks, on the Licking River, in February, 1778, engaged with others in
making salt, he was captured by some Shawnee warriors from the Ohio country,
and taken to Chillicothe. The Indians became attached to him, and he was adopted
into a family as a son. A ransom of five hundred dollars was offered for him, but
the Indians refused it. He at length escaped (in July following his capture), when
he ascertained that a large body of Indians were preparing to march against Boones~
borough. They attacked that station three times before the middle of September.
but were repulsed. During Boone's captivity, his wife and children had returned
to the house of her father, on the Yadkin, where the pioneer visited them in 1779,
and remained with them for many months. He returned to Kentucky in 1780,
with his family, and assisted Colonel Clark in his operations against the Indians in
the Illinois country."
KENTUCKY. 79
At the close of the war, Boone settled down quietly upon his farm. But he was
not long permitted to remain unmolested. His title, owing to the imperfect nature
of the land laws of Kentucky, was legally decided to be defective, and Boone was
deprived of all claim to the soil which he had explored, settled, and so bravely de-
fended. In 1795, disgusted with civilized society, he sought a new home in the
wilds of the far west, on the banks of the Missouri, then within the dominion of
Spain. He was treated there with kindness and attention by the public authorities,
and he found the simple manners of that frontier people exactly suited to his pe-
culiar habits and temper. AVith them he spent the residue of his days, and was
gathered to his fathers, Sept. 26th, 1820, in the 86th year of his age. He was bur-
ied in a coffin which he had had made for years, and placed under his bed, ready
to receive him whenever he should be called from these earthly scenes. In the
summer of 1845, his remains were removed to Frankfort. In person, Boone was
five feet ten inches in hight, and of robust and powerful proportions. He was or-
dinarily attired as a hunter, wearing a hunting shirt and moccasins. His biogra-
pher, who saw him at his residence, on the Missouri River, but a short time before
his death, says that on his introduction to Col. Boone, the impressions were those
of surprise, admiration and delight. In boyhood, he had read of Daniel Boone, the
pioneer of Kentucky, the celebrated hunter and Indian fighter, and imagination
had portrayed a rough, fierce-looking, uncouth specimen of humanity, and of
course, at this period of life, a fretful and unattractive old man. But in every re-
spect the reverse appeared. His high, bold forehead Avas slightly bald, and his silver
locks were combed smooth; his countenance was ruddy und fair, and exhibited the
simplicity of a child. His voice was soft and melodious; a smile frequently played
over his features in conversation; his clothing was the coarse, plain manufacture
of the family, but everything about him denoted that kind of comfort which was
congenial to his habits and feelings, and evinced a happy old age. His room was
part of a range of log cabins, kept in order by his affectionate daughter and grand-
daughter, and every member of the household appeared to delight in administering
to the comforts of "grandfather Boone," as he was familiarly called.
When age had enfeebled his once athletic frame, he made an excursion, twice a
year, to some remote hunting ground, employing a companion, whom he bound by
a written contract to take care of him, and should he die in the wilderness to bring
his body to the cemetery which he had selected as a final resting-place.
George Rogers Clark was
born in Albemarle county, Vir-
ginia, in 1752. He possessed
a most extraordinary military
genius, and became conspicu-
ously prominent in the con-
^"^- quest and settlement of the
whole west. "He first appeared
in history as an adventurer be-
yond the Alleghanies, in 1772.
He had been engaged in the business of land-surveyor for some time, and that year
he went down the Ohio in a canoe as far as the mouth of the Great Kanawha, in
company with Rev. David Jones, then on his way to preach the gospel to the west-
ern tribes. He was captain of a company in Dunmore's army, which marched
against the Indians on the Ohio and its tributaries, in 1774. Ever since his trip
in 1772, he ardently desired an opportunity to explore those deep wildernesses in the
great valleys, and in 1775 he accompanied some armed settlers to Kentucky, as
their commander. During that and the following year, he traversed a great ex-
tent of country south of the Ohio, studied the character of the Indians, and made
himself master of many secrets which aided in his future success. He beheld a
beautiful country, inviting immigration, but the pathway to it was made dangerous
y>y the enemies of the colonists, who sallied forth from the British posts at Detroit,
Kaskaskia and Vincennes, with Indian allies. Convinced of the necessity of pos-
sessing these posts, Clark submitted the plan of an expedition against them to the
Virginia legislature, and early in the spring of 1778 he was at the falls of the Ohio
(now Louisville) with four companies of soldiers. There he was joined by Simon
80 KENTUCKY.
Kenton, another bold pioneer. He marched through the wilderness toward those
important posts, and at the close of summer ail but Detroit were in his possession,
(/lark was now promoted to colonel, and was instructed to pacify the western
tribes, if possible, and bring them into friendly relations Avith the Americans.
While thus engaged, he was informed of the re-capture of Vincennes. With his
usual energy, and followed by less than two hundred men, he traversed the droAvned
lands of Illinois, through deep morasses and snow floods, in February, 1779, and on
the 19th of that month appeared before Vincennes. To the astonished garrison, it
seemed as if these rough Kentuckians had dropped from the clouds, for the whole
country was inundated. The fort was speedily surrendered, and commander Ham-
ilton (governor of Detroit), and several others, were sent to Virginia as prisoners,
(.'olonel Clavk also captured a quantity of goods, under convoy from Detroit, valued
at $")0,00(); and having sufficiently garrisoned Vincennes and the other posts, he
proceeded to build Fort Jefferson, on the western bank of the Mississippi, below the
Ohio. When Arnold invaded Virginia, in 1781, Colonel Clark joined the forces
under the Baron Steuben, and performed signal service until the traitor had de-
parted. He was promoted .to the rank of brigadier the same year, and went beyond
the mountains amain, hoping to organize an expedition against Detroit. His scheme
failed, and for awhile Clark was in command of a post at the Falls of the Ohio.
In the autumn of 1782, he penetrated the Indian country between the Ohio and the
lakes, with a thousand men, and chastised the tribes severely for their marauding
excursions into Kentucky, and awed them into comparatively peaceful relations.
For these deeds, John Randolph afterward called Clark the 'American Hannibal,
who, by the reduction of those military posts in the wilderness, obtained the lakes
for the northern boundary of our Union at the peace of 1783.' Clark made Ken-
tucky his future home, and during Washington s administration, when Genet, the
French minister, attempted to organize a force in the west against the Spaniards,
Clark accepted from him the commission of maioi'-ceneral in the armies of Franco.
The project was abandoned, and the hero of the north west never appeared in
public life afterward." General Clark was never married, and he was long in in-
iirin health. He died in February, 1818, and was buried at Locust Grove, near
Louisville.
uGen. Charles Scott was a native of Cumberland county, Virginia. He raised
the first company of volunteers in that state, south of the James Kiver, that actually
entered into the continental service. So much was he appreciated that in 1777 the
shire town of Powhattan county was named in honor of him. Congress appointed
him a brigadier in the continental army on the 1st of April, 1777. He served with
distinction during the war. and at its termination he went to Kentucky. He settled
in Woodford county, in that state, in 1785. He was with St. Clair at his defeat in
1791, and in 1794 he commanded a portion of Wayne's army at the battle of the
Fallen Timber. He was governor of Kentucky from 1808 to 1812. He died on
the 22d of October, 1820, aged seventy-four years."
Scott was a man of strong natural powers, but somewhat illiterate and rough in
his manners. He was eccentric, and many amusing anecdotes are related of him.
When a candidate for governor, he was opposed by Col. Allen, a native of Ken-
tucky, who, in an address to the people when Scott was present, made an eloquent ap-
peal The friends of the latter, knowing he was no orator, felt distressed for him,
but Scott, nothing daunted, mounted the stump, and addressed the company nearly
as follows :
"Well, boys, I am sure you must all be well pleased with the speech you have just heard.
It does my heart good to think we have so smart a man raised up among us here, lie is a.
native Kentuckian. I see a good many of you here that I brought out to this country when
:i wilderness. At that time we hardly expected we should live to see such a smart man
rniscd up among ourselves. You who wore with me in those early times know we had no
time for education, no means of improving from books. We dared not then go about our
most common affairs without arms in our hands, to defend ourselves against the Indians.
Kut we guarded and protected the country, and now every one can go where he pleases, and
you now see what smart fellows are growing up to do their country honor. J'ut I think it
would be n pity to make this man governor; I think it would bo better to send him to Con-
gress. I don't think it requires a very smart man to make a governor, it' lie has sense
enough to gather smart men about who can help him on with the business of state. It
KENTUCKY. 81
would suit a worn-out old wife of a man like myself. But as to this young man, I am very
proud of him, as much so as any of his kin, if any of them have been here to-day listening
to his speech." Scott then descended from the stump, and the huzzas for the old soldier
made the welkin ring.
Gen. Benjamin Logan, one of the most distinguished pioneers, was born in Vir
ginia, of Irish parentage, about the year 1742. He was a sergeant in Boquet's ex-
pedition, and was in Dunmore's campaign. In 1775, he came to Kentucky with
Boone, Henderson; and others. The next year he brought out his family, and
established a fort, called "Logan's Fort," which stood at St. Asaph's, about a mile
west of the present town of Stanford, in Lincoln county. That period is memora-
ble in the history of Kentucky, as one of peculiar peril. The woods literally
swarmed with Indians. Having been reinforced by several white men, Logan de-
termined to maintain himself at all hazards.
" On the 20th of May, 1777, this fort was invested by a force of a hundred Indians; and
on the morning of that day, as some of the females belonging to it were engaged, outside
of the gate, in milking the cows, the men who acted as the guard for the occasion, were
fired upon by a party of the Indians, who had concealed themselves in a thick canebrake.
One man was shot dead, another mortally wounded, and a third so badly, as to be disabled
from making his escape; the remainder made good their retreat into the fort, and closed
the gate. Harrison, one of the wounded men, by a violent exertion, ran a few paces and
fell. His struggles and exclamations attracted the notice, and awakened the sympathies,
of the inmates of the station. The frantic grief of his wife gave additional interest to
the scene. The enemy forbore to fire upon him, doubtless from the supposition that some
of the garrison would attempt to save him, in which event they were prepared to fire upon
them from the canebrake. The case was a trying one; and there was a strong conflict be-
tween sympathy and duty, on the part ot the garrison. The number of effective men had
been reduced from fifteen to twelve, and it was exceedingly hazardous to put the lives of
any of this small number in jeopardy; yet the lamentations of his family were so distress-
ing, and the scene altogether so moving, as to call forth a resolute determination to save
him if possible. Logan, always alive to the impulses of humanity, and insensible to fear,
volunteered his services, and appealed to some of his men to accompany him. But so ap-
palling was the danger, that all, at first, refused. 'At length, John Martin consented, and
rushed, with Logan, from the fort; but he had not gone far, before he shrunk from the
imminence of the danger, and sprung back within the gate. Logan paused fora moment,
then dashed on, alone and undaunted — reached, unhurt, the spot where Harrison lay —
threw him on his shoulders, and, amidst a tremendous shower (•/ rifle balls, made a safe
and triumphant retreat into the fort.
The fort was now vigorously assailed by the Indian force, and as vigorously defended
by the garrison. The men were constantly at their posts, whilst the women were actively
engaged in molding bullets. But the weakness of the garrison was not their only griev-
ance. The scarcity of powder and ball, one of the greatest inconveniences to which the
settlers were not unfrequently exposed, began now to be seriously felt. There were no in-
dications that the siege would be speedily abandoned; and a protracted resistance seemed
impracticable, without an additional supply of the munitions of war. The settlements on
Holston could furnish a supply — but how was it to be obtained? And, even if men could
be found rash and desperate enough to undertake the journey, how improbable was it that
the trip could be accomplished in time for the relief to be available. Logan stepped for-
ward, in this extremity, determined to take the dangerous office upon himself. Encour-
aging his men with the prospect of a safe and speedy return, he left the tort under cover
of the night, and, attended by two faithful companions of his own selection, crept cau-
tiously through the Indian lines without discovery. Shunning the ordinary route through
Cumberland Gap, he moved, with incredible rapidity, over mountain and valley — arrived
at the settlement on the Holston — procured the necessary supply of powder and lead — im-
mediately retraced his steps, and was again in the fort in ten days from the time of his
departure. He returned alone. The necessary delay in the transportation of the stores,
induced him to intrust them to the charge of his companions; and his presence at St.
Asaph's was all-important to the safety of its inhabitants. His return inspired them with
fresh courage; and, in a few days, the appearance of Col. Bowman's party compelled the
Indians to retire."
In the year 1779, Logan was first in command under Bowman, in his expedition
against the Indian town of Chillicothe. It failed through the imbecility of the com-
mander; but Logan gained great credit for his bravery and generalship on the occa-
sion. In the summer of 1788, he conducted a successful expedition against the
Indians in the Miami country. From this period until his death, Gen. Logan de-
6
82
KENTUCKY.
voted himself to the cultivation of his farm. He was a member of the convention
of 1792, which framed the first constitution of Kentucky. He died full of years
and of honors.
Gov. Isaac Shelby, the first governor of Kentucky, and the "hero of two wars."
w;.3 of Welsh
descent, and
was born near
Ha cars town.
age of 21 years
he emigrated
t o Virginia,
and engaged as a surveyor there, and in 1775, in Kentucky. Early in the Revo-
lution he was, for a time, in the commissary department; but later, in 1780, he was
commissioned as a colonel by Virginia, and raised 300 riflemen. He gained grfu
distinction in several actions, especially in the important battle of King's Moun-
tain, the turning point of the Revolution in the south. He was the most promi*
' nent officer in this celebrated victory, and originated the expedition which led to
it. After this he served under Gen. Marion.
In 1782, he was elected a member of the Legislature of North Carolina, but
soon after returned to Kentucky, and settled down upon a farm for life. " He was
elected the first governor of the new state, and after an interval of comparative
repose, he was again the incumbent of that important office in 1812. Another war
with Great Britain was then impending. The fire of 1776 still warmed his bosom,
and he called his countrymen to arms, when the proclamation of war went forth.
Henry Clay presented him with a sword, voted by the legislature of North Caro-
lina for his gallantry at King's Mountain, thirty-two years before, and with that
weapon he marched at the head of four thousand Kentucky volunteers, toward the
Canada frontier, in 1813, though the snows of three score and three winters were
upon his head. He fought gallantly upo i the Thames, in Canada; and for his
valor there, congress honored him with a gold medal. President Monroe appointed
him secretary of war in 1817, but he declined the honor, for he coveted the repose
which old age demands. His last public act was the holding of a treaty with the
Chickasaw Indians, in 1818, with General Jackson for his colleague. His sands
of life were now nearly exhausted. In February, 1820, he was prostrated by par-
alysis, yet he lived, somewhat disabled, until the 18th of July, 1826, when apo-
plexy terminated his life. He was then almost seventy-six years of age, and died
as he had lived, with the hope of a Christian."
Col. Richard M. Johnson, vice president of the United States, was born at Bry-
at's Station, five miles north-east of Lexington, in Oct., 1781. The outline of the
history of this one of the most distinguished natives of Kentucky, is given in the
monumental inscription, copied on page 908 of this work.
" Henry Clay was
born in Hanover county,
Virginia, April 12, 1777.
•^ £• Having received a com-
mon school education,
>xO {£• ^~* he became at an early
v^5v, -^+ 1 >v / .X *&e) a copyist in the
/to^/^t^ /7. L^C^ office of the clerk of the
court of chancery, at
Richmond. At nine-
teen he commenced the
study of law, and short-
ly afterward removed to Lexington, Kentucky, where he was admitted to the bar
in 1799, and soon obtained extensive practice. He began his political career, by
taking an active part in the election of delegates to frame a new constitution for
the state of Kentucky. In 1803, he was elected to the legislature by the citizens
7
KENTUCKY. 83
of Fayette county; and in 1800, he was appointed to the United States senate for
the remainder of the term of General Adair, who had resigned. In 1807, he was
again elected a member of the general assembly of Kentucky, and WHS chosen
speaker. In the following year occurred his duel with Humphrey Marshall. ]n
1809, he was again elected to the United States senate for the unexpired term of
Mr. Thurston, resigned. In 1811, he was elected a member of the house of repre-
sentatives, and was chosen speaker on the first day of his appearance in that body,
and was five times re-elected to this office. During this session, his eloquence
aroused the country to resist the aggressions of Great Britain, and awakened a na-
tional spirit. In 1814, he was appointed one of the commissioners to negotiate a
treaty of peace at Ghent. Returning from this mission, he was re-elected to con-
gress, and in 1818, he spoke in favor of recognizing the independence of the South
American Republics. In the same year, he put forth his strength in behalf of a
national system of internal improvements. A monument of stone, inscribed with
his name, was erected on the Cumberland road, to commemorate his services in
behalf of that improvement
In the session of 1819-20, he exerted himself for the establishment of protec-
tion to American industry, and this was followed by services in adjusting the Mis-
souri Compromise. After the settlement of these questions, he withdrew from
congress, in order to attend to his private affairs. In 1823 he returned to congress
and was re-elected speaker; and at this session he exerted himself in support of
the independence of Greece. Under John Quincy Adams, he filled the office of
secretary of state ; the attack upon Mr. Adams' administration, and especially upon
the secretary of state, by John Randolph, led to a hostile meeting between him and
Mr. Clay, which terminated without bloodshed. In 1829 he returned to Kentucky ;
and in 1831 was elected to the United States senate, where he commenced his la-
bors in favor of the Tariff; in the same month of his reappearance in the senate,
he was unanimously nominated for president of the United States. In 1836, he
was re-elected to the senate, where he remained until 1842, when he resigned, and
took his. final leave, as he supposed, of that body. In 1839, he was again nomi-
nated for the presidency, hut General Harrison was selected as the candidate. He
also received the nomination in 1844, for president, and was defeated in this elec-
tion by Mr. Polk.
He remained in retirement in Kentucky until 1849, when he was re-elected to
the senate of the United States. Here he devoted all his energies to the measures
known as the Compromise Acts. His efforts during this session weakened his
strength, and he went for his health to Havana and New Orleans, but with no per-
manent advantage ; he returned to Washington, but was unable to participate in
the active duties of the senate, and resigned his seat, to take effect upon the 6th
of September, 1852. He died in Washington City, June 29, 1852. He was inter-
ested in the success of the Colonization Society, and was for a Jong time one of
its most efficient officers, and also its president."
Gen, ZacJiary Taylor was a Virginian born, and a Kentuckian bred. In 1785,
while he was an infant a year old, his parents moved to the vicinity of Louis-
ville. At the age of 24 years, he entered the army as lieutenant of infantry, and
continued in the service of his country until his death, while holding the position
of President of the United States, July 9, 1850, at the age of 65 years. His bio-
graphy is written in honorable lines in the history of his country, and his memory
is warmly cherished in the hearts of her people.
OHIO.
THE territory now comprised within the limits of Ohio was, originally,
part of that vast region formerly claimed by France, between the Alleghany
and Rocky Mountains, known by the
general name of Louisiana. It re-
ceived its name from the river that
forms its southern boundary. The
word Ohio, in the Wyandot, signifies,
"fair" or "beautiful river" which
was the name given to it by the
French, the first Europeans who ex-
plored this part of the country.
The disastrous expedition, under
La Salle, who was murdered by his
own men, did not abate the ardor of
the French in their great plan of ob-
taining possession of the vast region
westward of the English colonies.
Iberville, a French officei', having in
ARMS or OHIO. charge an expedition, sailed from
France to the Mississippi. He en-
tered the mouth of this river, and proceeded upward for several hundred
miles. Permanent establishments were made at different points, and from
this time, the French colonies west of the Allcghanies increased in numbers
and strength. Previous to the year 1725, the colony had been divided into
quarters, each having its local governor, but all subject tp the superior coun-
cil general of Louisiana. One of these quarters was established north-west
of the Ohio.
Before the year 1750, a French post had been fortified at the mouth of
the Wabash, and a communication opened with Canada, through that river
and the Maumee. About the same time, and for the purpose of checking
the French, the "Ohio Company" was formed, and made some attempts to
establish trading houses among the Indians.
The claims of the different European monarchs to large portions of Amer-
ica, were founded on the first discoveries of their subjects. In 1609, the
English monarch granted to the London Company, a tract of land two hun-
dred miles along the coast, "up into the land throughout from sea to sea, west
and north-west." In 1662, Charles II granted to certain settlers on the Cou-
85
86 OHIO.
nccticut, a tract which extended its present limits north and south, due
west to the Pacific Ocean.
In 1749, the year after the formation of the Ohio Company, it appears that
the English built a trading house upon the Great Miami. In 1752, this was
destroyed, after a severe battle, and the traders were carried away to Canada.
This was the first British settlement in this section of which we have any
record. The Moravian missionaries, prior to the American Revolution, had
a number of stations within the limits of Ohio. As early as 1762, the mis-
sionaries, Heckewelder and Post, were on the Muskingum. Mary Hecke-
welder, the daughter of the missionary, is said to have been the first white
child born in Ohio.
After Braddock's defeat, in 1755, the Indians pushed their excursions as
far as the Blue Ridge. In 1764, Gen. Bradstreet, having dispersed the In-
dian forces besieging Detroit, passed into the Wyandot country by way of
Sandusky Bay. A treaty of peace was signed by the chiefs and head men.
The Shawnees, of the Scioto River, and the Delawares, of the Muskingum,
however, still continued hostile. Col. Boquet, in 1764, with a body of troops,
marched from Fort Pitt into the heart of the Ohio country, on the Mus-
kingum River. This expedition was conducted with great prudence and
skill, and with scarcely any loss of life. A treaty of peace was effected with
the Indians, who restored the prisoners they had captured from the white
settlements. The next war with the Indians was Lord Dunmore's, in 1774.
In the fall of the year, the Indians were defeated at Point Pleasant, on the
Virginia side of the Ohio. Shortly after, peace was made with the Indians
at Camp Charlotte, a few miles north of the site of the city of Chillicothe.
During the Revolutionary war, most of the western Indians were more or
less united against the Americans. In the summer of 1780, Gen. Clark led
a body of Kentuckians against the Shawnees. Old Chillicothe, on the Lit-
tle Miami, was burnt on their approach, but at Piqua, on Mad River, six
miles below the site of Springfield, they gave battle to the whites and were
defeated. Their towns, Upper and Lower Piqua, were destroyed. In March,
1782, a party of Americans, in cold blood, murdered 94 of the defenseless Mo-
ravian Indians, within the limits of Tuscarawas county. In June following,
Col. Crawford, at the head of about 500 men, was defeated by the Indians,
three miles north of the site of Upper Sandusky, in Wyandot county. Col.
. Crawford was taken prisoner in the retreat, and burnt at the stake with hor-
rible tortures.
After the close of the Revolutionary war, the states which owned western
unappropriated lands, with a single exception, ceded their lands to the United
States. Virginia, in 1784. ceded all her claim to lands north-west of the
Ohio. In 1786, Connecticut also ceded her claim of soil and jurisdiction to
all the territory within her chartered limits west of Pennsylvania. She also,
in May, 1801, ceded her jurisdictional claims to all that territory called the
''Western Reserve of Connecticut." New York and Massachusetts also
ceded all their claims. Numerous tribes of Indians, by virtue of their prior
possession, asserted their respective claims, which, also, had to be extin-
guished, for which purpose treaties with the several tribes were made at vaii-
oud times.
Tlie Indian title to a large part of the territory within the limits of Ohio
ha\ii)g become extinguished, legislative action on the 'part of congress be-
came necessary before commencing settlements. In 1785, they passed an
ordinance for determining the mode of disposing of these lands. Under that
OHIO. 87
ordinance, the first seven ranges, bounded on the east by Pennsylvania and
on the south by the Ohio, were surveyed. Sales of parts of these were made
in New York in 1787, and sales of other parts of the same range were made
at Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. No further sales were made in, that dis-
trict until the land office was opened in Steubenville, July 1, 1801.
In October, 1787, the U. S. board of treasury sold to Manassah Cutler and
Winthrop Sargeant, the agents of the New England Ohio Company, a tract
of land, bounded by the Ohio, from the mouth of the Scioto to the intersec-
tion of the western boundary of the seventh range of townships then sur-
veying: thence by said boundary to the northern boundary of the tenth
township from the Ohio, etc. These bounds were altered in 1792. The set-
tlement of this purchase commenced at Marietta, at the mouth of the Mus-
kingum, in the spring of 1788, and was the first settlement formed in Ohio.
The same year in which Marietta was first settled, congress appointed Gen.
Arthur St. Clair governor. The territorial government was organized, laws
were made or adopted by the governor and Judges Parsons and Varnum.
The county of Washington, embracing about half the territory within the
present limits of Ohio, was established by the proclamation of the governor.
A. short time after the settlement had commenced, an association was formed
under the name of the " Scioto Land Company." A contract was made for
the purchase of part of the lands of the Ohio Company. Plans and descrip-
tions of these lands being sent to France, they were sold to companies and
individuals. On Feb. 19, 1791, two hundred and eighteen of these pur-
chasers left France, and arrived at Alexandria, Va., from whence they went
to Marietta, where about fifty of them landed: the remainder of them pro-
ceeded to Gallipolis, which was laid out about that time. Their titles to the
lands proving defective, congress, in 1798, granted them a tract on the Ohio,
above the mouth of the Scioto River, called the "French Grant."
In January, 1789, a treaty was made at Fort Harmar, between Gov. St.
Clair and the Wyandots, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, and Sacs, in which for-
mer treaties were renewed. It did not, however, produce the favorable re-
sults anticipated. The Indians, the same year, assumed a hostile appear-
ance, hovered around the infant settlements at the mouth of the Muskingum,
and between the Miamis. Nine persons were killed, the new settlers became
alarmed, and block houses were erected.
Negotiations with the Indians proving unavailing. Gen. Harmar was di-
rected to attack their towns. He marched from Cincinnati, in Sept., 1790,
with 1,300 men, and went into the Indian country near the site of Fort
Wayne, in north-western Indiana, and, after some loss, succeeded in burning
towns, and destroying standing corn, but the object of the expedition in
intimidating the Indians was entirely unsuccessful. As the Indians continued
hostile, a new army was assembled at Cincinnati, consisting of about 3,000
men, under the command of Gov. St. Clair, who commenced his march toward
the Indian towns on the Maumee. On the 4th of Nov., 1791, when near the
present northern line of Darke county, the American army was surprised
about half an hour before sunrise, as there is good reason to believe, by the
whole disposable force of the north-west tribes. The Americans were
totally defeated : upward of six hundred were killed, among whom was Gen.
Butler.
In the spring of 1794, an American army assembled at Greenville, in
Darke county, under the command of Gen. Anthony Wayno, consisting of
about 2,000 regular troops, and 1,500 mounted volunteers from Kentucky.
88 OHI°-
The Indians had collected their -whole force, amounting to about 2.000 war-
riors, near a British fort at the foot of the rapids of Maumee. On the 20th
of Aug.,- 1794, Gen. Wayne encountered the enemy in a short and deadly
conflict, when the Indians fled in the greatest confusion. After destroying
all the houses and cornfields in the vicinity, the victorious army returned to
the mouth of ^the Auglaize, where Wayne erected Fort Defiance. The In-
dians, being convinced of their inability to resist the American arms, sued
for peace. A grand council of eleven of the most powerful tribes assembled
at Greenville, when they agreed to acknowledge the United States their sole
protector, and never to sell their lands to any other power.
At this period there was no fixed seat of government. The laws were
passed whenever they seemed to be needed, at any place where the territorial
legislators happened to assemble. The population of the territory continued
to increase and extend. From Marietta, settlers spread into the adjoining
country. The Virginia military reservation drew a considerable number of
Revolutionary veterans and others from that state. The region between the
Miamis, from the Ohio far upward toward the sources of Mad River, became
chequered with farms. The neighborhood of Detroit became populous, and
Connecticut, by grants of land within the tract reserved in her deed of ces-
sion, induced many of her citizens to seek a home on the borders of Lake
Erie.
The territorial legislature first met in 1799. An act was passed confirming
the laws enacted by the judges and governor, the validity of which had been
doubted. This act, as well as every other which originated in the council,
was prepared and brought forward by Jacob Bui-net, afterward a distinguished
judge and senator, to whose labors, at this session, the territory was indebted
for some of its most beneficial laws. William H. Harrison, then secretary of
the territory, was elected delegate to congress. In 1802, congress having ap-
proved the measure, a convention assembled in Chillicothe and formed a state
constitution, which became the fundamental law of the state by the act of the
convention alone, and by this act Ohio became one of the states of the federal
union.
The first general assembly under the state constitution met at Chillicothe,
March 1, 1803. Eight new counties were made at this session, viz: Gallia,
Scioto, Franklin, Columbiana, Butler, Warren, Greene and Montgomery.
In 1805, the United States, by a treaty with the Indians, acquired for thn
use of the grantees of Connecticut all that part of the Western Reserve which
lies west of the Cuyahoga. By subsequent treaties, all the country watered
by the Maumee and Sandusky was acquired, and the Indian title to lands
in Ohio is now extinct.
About the year 1810, the Indians, who, since the treaty at Greenville, had
been at peace, began to commit depredations upon the western settlers. The
celebrated Tecumseh was active in his efforts to unite the native tribes against
the Americans, and to arrest the further extension of the settlements. In
1811, Gen. Harrison, then governor of Indiana territory, marched against
the Indians on the Wabash. 'The battle of Tippecanoe ensued, in which the
Indians were totally defeated. In the war of 1812, with Great Britain, Ohio
bore her full share in the contest. Her sons volunteered with alacrity their
services in the field, and hardly a battle was fought in the north-west in
which spme of these citizen soldiers did not seal their devotion to their coun-
try in their blood.
In 1816, the seat of government was removed to Columbus. In 1817, the
OHIO.
89
first resolution relating to a canal connecting the Ohio Elver with Lake Erie
was introduced into the legislature. In 1825, an act was passed "to provide
for the internal improvement of the state by navigable canals." The con-
struction of these and other works of improvement has been of immense ad-
vantage in developing the resources of Ohio, which in little more than half a
century has changed from a wilderness to one of the most powerful states of
the union.
Ohio is bounded N. by Michigan and Lake Erie, E. by Pennsylvania and
Virginia, W. by Indiana, and southerly by Kentucky and Virginia, being
separated from these last named two states by the Ohio River, which washes
the borders of the state, through its numerous meanderings, for a distance of
more than 430 miles. It is about 220 miles long from E. to W., and 200
from N. to S., situated between 38° 32' and 42° N. Lat., and between 80° 35'
and 84° 40' W. Long. The surface of the state covers an area of about
39,964 square miles, or 25,576, 960 acres, of which about one half are im-
proved.
The land in the interior of the state and bordering on Lake Erie is gen-
erally level, and in some places marshy. From one quarter to one third of
the territory of the state, comprising the eastern and southern parts bordering
on the Ohio River, is hilly and broken. On the margin of the Ohio, and
several of its tributaries, are alluvial lands of great fertility. The valleys of
the Scioto and the Great and Little Miami are the most extensive sections of
level, rich and fertile lands in the state. In the north-west section of the
state is an extensive tract of great fertility, called the "Black Swamp," much
of which, since the year 1855, has been opened into farms with un-
precedented rapidity. Though Ohio has no elevations which may be
termed mountains, the center of the state is about 1,000 feet above the level
of the sea. The summit of the abrupt hills bordering on the Ohio, several
hundred feet high, are nearly on a level with the surrounding country through
which the rivers have excavated their channels in the lapse of ages.
Ohio possesses in abundance the important minerals of coal and iron. The
bituminous coal region commences at the Ohio River, and extends in a belt,
between the Scioto and Muskingum Rivers, nearly to Lake Erie. Great quan-
tities of iron ore are found in the same section in a bed about 100 miles long
by 12 wide, said to be superior to any other in the United States for the finer
castings. Salt springs are frequent and very valuable. Marble and free-
stone, well adapted for building purposes, abound. Almost all parts are suit-
able for agricultural purposes, and the state ranks among the first in the pro-
ducts of the soil. Indian corn is the staple production. Large crops of
wheat, great quantities of pork, butter, cheese and wool are annually pro-
duced. The grain crops of Ohio are very large ; the estimate for 1860, a
favorable year, was: Indian corn, 80 millions of bushels; wheat, 30 millions;
and oats, 20 millions. It is estimated that the whole state has the natural
capacity to feed 18 millions of people. Population in 1800 was 45,365; in
1820, 581,434; in 1850, 1,980,408, and in 1860, 2,377,917.
MARIETTA, the capital of Washington county, and oldest town in the state,
is beautifully situated on the left or east bank of the Muskingum, at its con-
fluence with the Ohio, 104 miles south-east of Columbus, 62 below Wheeling,
Va., and 300, by the river, above Cincinnati. It is built principally on level
ground, surrounded by beautiful scenery. Many of the houses are con-
structed with great neatness, having fine gardens, and ornamental trees and
90
OHIO.
shrubbery, which mark the New England origin of its population. The
founders of the town comprised an unusual number of persons of refinement
and taste. Very many of them had served as officers in the armies of the
revolution, and becoming ruined in their fortunes in the service of their coun-
try, were thus prompted to seek a new home in the wilds of the west. Ma-
rietta College, in this place, was chartered in 1835, and is one of the most re-
spectable institutions of the kind in the state. Population about 5,000.
In the autumn of 1785, a
detachment of U. S. troops,
under the command of Maj.
Doughty, commenced the
erection of Fort Harmar, on
the west bank of the Musk-
ingum. It was named in
honor of Col. Harmar, to
whose regiment Major
Doughty was attached. In
the autumn of 1787, the di-
rectors of the Ohio Company
organized in New England,
preparatory to a settlement.
In the course of the winter
following, a party of about
40 men, under the Superin-
tcndenCC of Col Rufus Put-
nam, proceeded OVCr tllC Ai-
Ufrlinnine V>v flip nld Trillion
»egIWIlIW uy U1C OKI
path which had been opened
into Braddock's road, and
boats being constructed, they proceeded' down the river, and on the 7th of
April, 1788, landed at the mouth of the Muskingum, and laid the foundation
of the state of Ohio.
"As St. Clair, who had been appointed governor the preceding October, had not
yet arrived, it became necessary to erect a temporary government for their internal
security, for which purpose a set of laws was passed and published, by being nailed
to a tree in the village, and Return Jonathan Meigs'was appointed to administer
them. It is a strong evidence of the good habits of the people of the colony, that
during three months but one difference occurred, and that was compromised. In-
deed, a better set of men altogether could scarce have been selected for the pur-
pose than Putnam's little band. Washington might well say, 'no colony in America
was ever settled under such favorable- auspices as that which was first commenced
at the Muskingum. Information, property and strength will be its characteristics.
I know many of the settlers personally, and there never were men better calculated
to promote the welfare of such a community.'
On the 2d of July, a meeting of the directors and agents was held on the bunks
of the Muskingum, for the purpose of naming the new-born city and its public
squares. As the settlement had been merely 'The Muskingum,' the name Marietta
was now formally given to it, in honor of Marie Antoinette.
On the 4th of -July, an oration was delivered by James M. Varnum, who, with
S. II. Parsons and John Armstrong, had been appointed to the judicial bench of
the territory, on the 16th of October, 1787. Five days later, the governor arrived,
and the colony began to assume form. The ordinance of 1787 provided two dis-
trict grades of government for the north-west territory, under the first of which the
whole power was in the hands of the governor and three judges, and this form was
at once organized upon the governor's arrival. The first law, which was 'for rcgu-
SOUTHERN VIEW OF THE ANCIENT MOUND, MABIETTA.
The engraving shows the appearance of the Mound as seen
from the dwelling of Mr. Rosseter, in Marietta, opposite the
grave-yard. Its base ia a regular circle, 115 feet in diameter ;
its perpendicular altitude is 30 feet. It is surrounded by a ditch
4 feet deep and 15 wide, defended by a parapet 4 feet high,
through which ia a gate-way.
OHIO. 91
ating and establishing the militia,' was published upon the 25th of July, and the
iext day appeared the governor's proclamation, erecting all the country that had
been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River into the county of Wash-
ington.
From that time forward, notwithstanding the doubt yet existing as to the In-
dians, all at Marietta went on prosperously and pleasantly. On the 2d of Septem-
ber, the first court was held, with becoming ceremonies, which was the first civil
court ever convened in the territory north-west of the Ohio.
'The procession was formed at the Point (where most of the settlers resided), in
the following order: 1st, the high sheriff, with his drawn sword; 2d. the citizens;
3d, the officers of the garrison at Fort Harmar; 4th, the members of the bar; 5th,
the supreme judges; 6th, the governor and clergyman; 7th, the newly appointed
judges of the court of common pleas, generaJs Hufus Putnam and Benj. Tupper.
They marched up a path that had been cut and cleared through the forest to
Campus Martius Hill (stockade), where the whole counter-marched, and the judges
(Putnam and Tupper) took their seats. The clergyman, Rev. Dr. Cutler, then in-
voked the divine blessing. The sheriff, Col. Ebenezer Sproat (one of nature's no-
bles), proclaimed with his solemn 'Oh yes' that a court is opened for the adminis-
tration of even-handed justice to the poor and* the rich, to the guilty and the inno-
cent, without respect of persons; none to be punished without a trial by their
peers, and then in pursuance of the laws and evidence in the case.' Although this
scene was exhibited thus early in the settlement of the state, few ever equaled it
in the dignity and exalted character of its principal participators. Many of them
belong to the history of our country, in the darkest as well as mo^t splendid pe-
riods of the revolutionary war. To witness this spectacle, a large body of Indians
was collected from the most powerful tribes then occupying the almost entire west.
They had assembled for the purpose of making a treaty. Whether any of them
entered the hall of justice, or what were their impressions, we are not told.' "
Campus Martins, at Marietta, in 1791.
Soon after landing, Campus Martius, a stockaded fort, was begun on the
verge of that beautiful plain, overlooking the Muskingum, on which arc
seated those celebrated remains of antiquity, but it was not completed with
palisades and bastions until the winter of 1790-1. It was a square of 180
feet on a side. At each corner was a strong block-house, surmounted by a
tower and sentry-box :
These houses were 20 feet square below, and 24 feet above, and projected 6 feet
beyond the curtains, or main walls of the fort. The intermediate curtains were
built up with dwelling houses, made of wood, whipsawed into timbers four inches
thick, and of the requisite width and length. These were laid up similar to the
92 OHI°-
structure of log houses, with the ends nicely dove-tailed or fitted together so as to
make a neat finish. The whole were two stories high, and covered with good shin-
gle roofs. Convenient chimneys were erected of bricks, for cooking and warming
the rooms. A number of the dwelling houses were built and owned by private in-
dividuals, who had families. In the west and south fronts were strong gateways;
and over that in the center of the front looking to the Muskingum River, was a
belfry. The chamber underneath was occupied by the Hon. Winthrop Sargeant,
as an office, he being secretary to the governor of the N. W. Territory, (Jen. St.
Clair, and performing the duties of governor in his absence. . The dwelling houses
occupied a space from 15 to 30 feet each, and were sufficient for the accommoda-
tion of forty or fifty families, and did actually contain from 200 to 300 persons,
men, women and children, during the Indian war.
Before the Indians commenced hostilities, the block-houses were occupied as fol-
lows : — the south-west one by the family of Gov. St. Clair ; the north-west one for
public worship and holding of courts. The south-east block-house was occupied
by private families ; and the north-east as an office for the accommodation of the
directors of the company. The area within the walls was 144 feet square, and af-
forded a fine parade ground. In the center was a well, 80 feet in depth, for the
supply of water to the inhabitants in case of a siege. A large sun-dial stood for
many years in the square, placed on a handsome post, and gave note of the march
of time. It is still preserved as a relic of the old garrison. After the war com-
menced, a regular military corps was organized, and a guard constantly kept night
and day. The whole establishment formed a very strong work, and reflected great
credit on the head that planned it
Ship building, at Marietta, was carried on quite extensively at an early day.
From the year 1800 to 1807, the business was very thriving. Com. Abm.
Whipple, a veteran of the Revolution, conducted the one first built, the St.
Clair, to the ocean.
At that time Marietta was made "a port of clearance," from which vessels could
receive regular papers for a foreign country. "This circumstance was the cause
of a curious incident, which took place in the year 1806 or 1807. A ship, built at
Marietta, cleared from that port with a cargo of pork, flour, etc., for New Orleans.
From thence she sailed to England with a load of cotton, and being chartered to
take a cargo to St. Petersburg, the Americans being at that time carriers for half
the world, reached that port in safety. Her papers being examined by a naval
officer, and dating from the port of Marietta, Ohio, she was seized, upon the plea
of their being a forgery, as no such port was known in the civilized world. With
considerable difficulty the captain procured a map of the United States, and point-
ing with his finger to the mouth of the Mississippi, traced the course of that stream
to the mouth of the Ohio; from thence he led the astonished and admiring naval
officer along the devious track of the latter river to the port of Marietta, at the
mouth of the Muskingum, from whence he hud taken his departure. This explan-
ation was entirely satisfactory, and the American was dismissed with every token
of regard and respect."
One of the early settlers in this region, gave Mr. Howe, for his work on
Ohio, the annexed amusing sketch, illustrating pioneer life: «
People who have spent their lives in an old settled country, can form but a faint
idea of the privations and hardships endured by the pioneers of our now flourish-
ing and prosperous state. When I look on Ohio as it is, and think what it was in
1802, when 1 first settled here, I am struck with astonishment, and can hardly
credit my own senses. When I emigrated, I was a young man, without any prop-
erty, trade, or profession, entirely dependent on my own industry for a living. I
purchased 60 acres of new land on credit, 2 1-2 miles from any house or road, and
built a camp of poles, 7 by 4 feet, and 5 feet high, with three sides and a fire in
front. I furnished myself with a loaf of bread, a piece of pickled pork, some po-
tatoes, borrowed a frying pan, and commenced housekeeping. 1 was not hindered
from my work by company; for the first week I did not see a living soul, but, to
make amends for the want of it, 1 had every night a most glorious concert of
OHIO. 93
wolves and owls. 1 soon (like Adam) saw the necessity of a help-mate, and per-
suaded a voting woman to tie her destiny to mine. 1 built a log-house 20 feet
square— quite aristocratic in those days— and moved into it. I was fortunate
enough to possess a jack-knife; with that I made a wooden knife and two wooden
forks" which answered admirably for us to eat with. A bedstead was wanted:
took two round poles for the posts, inserted a pole in them for a side rail, two other
poles were inserted for end pieces, the ends of which were put in the logs of the
house— some puncheons were then split and laid from the side rail to the crevice
between the loss of the house, which formed a substantial bed-cord, on which we
laid our straw bed, the only one we had— on which we slept as soundly and woke as
happy as Albert and Victoria.
A Pioneer Dwelling in the Woods.
Tn process of time, a yard and a half of calico was wanted ; I started on foot
through the woods ten miles, to Marietta, to procure it; but alas! when 1 arrived
there I found that, in the absence of both money and credit, the calico was not to
be obtained. The dilemma was a serious one, and how to escape I could not de-
vise; but I had no sooner informed my wife of my failure, than she suggested that
I had a pair of thin pantaloons which I could very well spare, that would make
quite a decent frock : the pants were cut up, the frock made, and in due time, the
child was dressed.
The long winter evenings were rather tedious, and in order to make them pass
more smoothly, by great exertion, I purchased a share in the Belpre library, 6 miles
distant. From this I promised myself much entertainment, but another obstacle
presented itself— I had no candles ; however, the Avoods afforded plenty of pine
knots — with these 1 made torches, by which I could read, though I nearly spoiled
my eyes. Many a night have I passed in this manner, till 12 or 1 o'clock reading
to my wife, while she was hatcheling, carding or spinning. Time rolled on, the
payments for my land became due, and money, at that time, in Ohio, was a cash
article : however, 1 did not despair. I bought a few steers; some I bartered for
and others I got on credit — my credit having somewhat improved since the calico
expedition — slung a knapsack on my back, and started alone with my cattle for Rom-
ney, on the Potomac, where I sold them, then traveled on to Litchfield, Connecti-
cut, paid for my land, and had just $1 left to bear my expenses home, 600 miles
distant. Before I returned, I worked an^procured 50 cents in cash ; with this and
my dollar I commenced my journey homeward. I laid out my dollar for cheap
hair combs, and these, with a little Yankee pleasantry, kept me very comfortably
at the private houses where J stopped till I got to Owego, on the feusquehanna,
where I had a power of attorney to collect some money for a neighbor in Ohio.
94 OHIO.
At Marietta arc some ancient works, which, although not more remarka-
ble than others in the state, and not so extensive as some, are more generally
known, from having been so frequently described by travelers. They are on
an elevated plain, above the present bank of the Muskingum, on the east
side, and about half a mile from its junction with the Ohio. They consist
of walls and mounds of earth in direct lines, and in square and circular
forms. The largest square fort, or town, contained about forty acres, en-
compassed by a wall of earth, from six to ten feet high. On each side were
three openings, probably gateways. On the side next the Muskingum there
was a covert way, formed of two parallel walls of earth, upward of 200 feet
apart, extending probably, at the time of their construction, to the river.
There was also a smaller fort, consisting of 20 acres, having walls, gateways
and mounds. The mound in the present graveyard is situated on the south-
east of the smaller fort. The following inscriptions are copied from monu-
ments in this yard:
Sacred to the memory of Commodore ABRAHAM WHIPPLR, whose naval skill and courage
will ever remain the pride and boast of his country. In the REVOLUTION, he wns the first
on the seas to hurl defiance at proud Britain, gallantly leading the way to wrest from the
mistress of the sens her scepter, and there wave the star spangled banner. lie also con-
ducted to the sea the first square rigged vessel ever built on the Ohio, opening to commerce
resources beyond calculation. He was born Sept. 26th, A.D. 1733, and died Muy 26th, 1819,
aged 85 years.
Gen. RCFUS PUTNAM, died May 4, 1824, in the 87th year of his age.
Here lies the body of his Excellency, RETURN JONATHAN Mures, who wns born at Mld-
dletown, Connecticut, Nov. — , 1766, and died at Marietta, March 29, 1825. For many
years his time and talents were devoted to the service of his country. He successively filled
the place of Judge of the Territory North-west of the Ohio, Scnntor of Congress of the
United States, Governor of the State, and Post Master General of the United States. To
the honoured and revered memory of an ardent Patriot, a practical Statesman, an enlight-
ened Scholar, a dutiful Son, an indulgent Father, an affectionate Husband, this monument
is erected by his mourning widow, Sophia Meigs.
In memory of Doctor SAMUEL HILDRKTH, a native of Massachusetts, who died at Belpre,
August 6th, 'A.D. 1823, aged 73 years.
Death is the good man's friend — the messenger who calls him to his Father's house.
MARTHA BRAINERD, daughter of Dr. Joseph Spencer, Jr., and grand-daughter of Maj.
Gen. Joseph Spencer, officers in the array of the Revolution in 1775, the latter a, member
of the Continental Congress of 1778, born at Lebanon, Connecticut, Jan. 18, 1782, married
in Virginia to Stephen Radcliff Wilson, May 20th, 1798, died at Marietta, Jan. 10th, 1852.
GALLIPOLJS, the county seat of Gallia county, one of the oldest towns in
Ohio, is pleasantly situated on the Ohio River. 102 miles south-easterly from
Columbus, and contains about 2,800 inhabitants. It was settled in 1791, by
a French colony, sent out under the auspices of the "Scioto Company,"
which appears to have been in some way connected with the Ohio Company.
The agents of the Scioto Company, in Paris, were Joel Barlow, of the
United States; Playfair, an Englishman; and a Frenchman, named DC Sais-
son. A handsome, but deceptive French map was engraved, and glowing
representations of the country were given, and, being about the beginning
of the French Revolution, the "flattering delusion" took strong hold. The
terms to induce emigration were as fdPows: The company proposed to take
the emigrant to their lands and pay the cost, and the latter bound himself
to work three years for the company, for which he was to receive fifty acrca,
OHIO.
95
a house, and cow. About five hundred Frenchmen left their native country,
debarked mostly at Alexandria, Va., and made their way to the promised
land.
The location of Gallipolis was effected just before the arrival of the
French. Col. Rufus Putnam sent Maj. Burnham, with about 40 men, for
GatNpolig, i. e. Town of the French, in 1791.
that purpose, who m:ido the clearing, and erected block-houses and cabins on
the present public square. Eighty log cabins were constructed, 20 in each
row. At each of the corners were block -houses, two stories high. Above
the cabins, on the square, were two other parallel rows of cabins, which, with
a high stockade fence, formed a sufficient fortification in times of danger.
These upper cabins were a story and a half high, built of hewed logs, and
finished in better style than those below, being intended for the richer class.
The following is from a communication to the American Pioneer, from one
of the colonists, Waldeurard Meulette:
At an early meeting of the colonists, the town was named Gallipolis (town of
tlie French). I did not arrive till nearly all the colonists were there. 1 descended
the river in 1791, in flat boats, loaded with troops, commanded by Gen. St. Clair,
destined for an expedition against the Indians. Some of my countrymen joined
that expedition ; among others was Count Malartie, a captain in the French guard
of Louis XVI. General St. Clair made him one of his aids-de-camp in the battle,
in which he was severely wounded. He went back to Philadelphia, from whence
he returned to France. The Indians were encouraged to greater depredations and
murders, by their success in this expedition, but most especially against the Amer-
ican settlements. From their intercourse with the French in Canada, or some
other cause, they seemed less disposed to trouble us. Immediately after St. Clair' a
defeat, Col. Sproat, commandant at Marietta, appointed four spies for Gallipolis —
two Americans and two French, of which I was one, and it was not until after the
treaty at Greenville, in 1795, that we were released.
Notwithstanding the great difficulties, the difference of tempers, education, and
professions, the inhabitants lived in harmony, and having little or nothing to do,
made themselves agreeable and useful to each other. The Americans and hunters,
employed by the company, performed the first labors of clearing the township,
which was divided into lots.
Although the French \vere willing to work, yet the clearing of an American
96
OHIO.
wilderness and its heavy timber, \vas far more than they could perform. To mi-
grate from the eastern states to the "far west," is painful enough now-a-days, but
how much more so it must be for a citizen of a large European town ! Even a
farmer of the old countries would find it very hard, if not impossible to clear land
in the wilderness. Those hunters were paid by the colonists to prepare their gar-
den ground, which was to receive the seeds brought from France; few of the col-
onists knew how to make a garden, but they were guided by a few books on that
subject, which they had brought likewise from France. The colony then began to
improve in its appearance and comfort. The fresh provisions were supplied by the
company's hunters, the others came from their magazines.
Breckenridge, in his Recollections, gives some reminiscences of Gallipolis,
related in a style of charming simplicity and humor. He was then a boy of
nine years of age :
Behold me once more in port, and domiciled at the house, or inn, of Monsieur, or
rather, Dr. Saugrain, a cheerful, sprightly little Frenchman, four feet six, English
measure, and a chemist, natural philosopher and physician, both in the English and
French signification of the word. . . . This singular village was settled by people
from Paris and Lyons, chiefly artisans and artists, peculiarly unfitted to sit down
in the wilderness and clear away forests. I have seen half a dozen at work in
taking down a tree, some pulling ropes fastened to the branches, while others wero
cutting around it like beavers. Sometimes serious accidents occurred in conse-
quence of their awkwardness. Their former employment had been only calculated
to administer to the luxury of highly polished and wealthy societies. There were
carvers and gilders to the king, coach makers, freizurs and peruke makers, and a
variety of others who might have found some employment in our larger towns, but
who were entirely out of their place in the wilds of Ohio. Their means by this
time had been exhausted, and they were beginning to suffer from the want of the
comforts and even the necessaries of life. The country back from the river was
still a wilderness, and the Gallipotians did not pretend to cultivate anything more
than small garden spots, depending for their supply of provisions on the boats
which now began to descend the river; but they had to pay in cash, and that was
become scarce. They still assembled at the ballroom twice a week; it was evi-
dent, however, that they felt disappointment, and were no longer happy. The pre-
dilections of the best among them, being on the side of the Bourbons, the horrors
of the French revolution, even in their remote situation, mingled with their private
misfortunes, which had at this time nearly reached their acme, in consequence of
the discovery that they had no title to their lands, having been cruelly deceived by
those from whom they had purchased. It is well known that congress generously
made them a grant of twenty thousand acres, from which, however, but few of them
ever derived any advantage.
As the Ohio was now more frequented, the house was occasionally resorted to,
and especially by persons looking out for land to purchase. The doctor had a small
apartment which contained his chemical apparatus, and I used to sit by him as
often as I could watching the curious operation of his blow-pipe and crucible. I
loved the cheerfal little man, and he became very fond of me in return. Many of
my countrymen used to come and stare at his doings, which they were half inclined
to think had a too near resemblance to the black art
The doctor was a great favorite with the Americans, as well for his vivacity and
sweetness of temper, which nothing could sour, as on account of a circumstance
which gave him high claim to the esteem of the backwoodsmen. He had shown
himself, notwithstanding his small stature and great good nature, a very hero in
combat with the Indians. He had descended the Ohio in company with two
French philosophers, who were believers in the primitive innocence and goodness
of the children of the forest. They could not be persuaded that any danger was to
be apprehended from the Indians; as they had no intentions to injure that people,
they supposed no harm could be meditated on their part. Dr. Saugrain was not
altogether so well convinced of their good intentions, and accordingly kept his pis-
tols loaded. Near the mouth of the Sandy, a canoe with a party of warriors ap-
proached the boat; the philosophers invited them on board by signs, when they
OHIO. 97
;;\]iic rather too willingly. The first tiling they did on coming on board of the boat
was to salute the two philosophers with the tomahawk ; and they would have treated
the doctor in the same way but tha,t he used his pistols with good effect — killed two
of the savages, and then leaped into the water, diving like a dipper at the flash ot
the guns of the others, and succeeded in swimming to the shore with several severe
wounds whose scar? were conspicuous.
The doctor was married to an amiable young woman, but not possessing as much
vivacity as himself. As Madam San grain had no maid to assist her, her brother, a
boy of uiy age, and myself were her principal helps in the kitchen. We brought
water and wood, and washed the dishes. 1 used to go in the morning about twxi
two miles for a little milk, sometimes on the frozen ground, barefooted. I tried a
pair of savots, or wooden shoes, but was unable to make any use of them, although
they had been made by the carver to the king. Little perquisites, too, sometimes
fell to oar share -from blacking boots and shoes; my companion generally saved
his, while mine would have burned a hole in my pocket if it had i-emained there.
In the spring and summer, a good deal of my time was passed in the garden, weed-
ing the beds. While thus engaged, 1 formed an acquaintance with a young lady,
of eighteen or twenty, on the other side of the palings, who was often similarly oc-
cupied. Our friendship, which was purely Platonic, commenced Avitli the story of
IJluo Beard, recounted by her, and with the novelty and pathos of which 1 was
aiuch interested.
Soon after Breckenridge left the place, but in 1807 again saw Gallipolis:
As we passed Point Pleasant and the Island below it, Gallipolis, which I looked for with
anxious feelings, hove in sight. I thought of the French inhabitants — I thought of my
friend Saugniiu, and I recalled, in the liveliest color?, the incidents of that portion of my
life which UM-» passed here. A year is a long time at that period — every day is crowded
with new and great and striking events. When the boat landed, I ran up the bank and
looked around; but aias! how changed! The Americans had taken the town in hand,
and no t.-;;ce of antiquity, that is, of twelve years ago, remained. I hastened to the spot
where I expected to find the abode, the little log house, tavern and laboratory of the doc-
tor, but they had vanished like the palace ot Aladdin. After some inquiry, I found a little
Frenchman, who, like the old woman of Goldsmith's village, was "the sad historian of the
deserted plain" — that is, deserted by one race to be peopled by another. He led me to
where a few logs might be seen, as the only remains of the once happy tenement which had
sheltered me — but all around it was a common; the town had taken a different direction.
My heart sickened; the picture which my imagination had drawn — the scenes which my
memory loved to cherish, were blotted out and obliterated. A volume of reminiscences'
seemed to be annihilated in an instant! I took a hasty glance at the new town as I re-
turned to the boat. I saw brick houses, painted frames, fanciful inclosures, ornamental
trees. Even the pond, which had carried off a tl.ird of the French population by its ni'ila-
riti, had disappeared, and a pretty green had usurped its place,, with a neat brick court
house in the midst of it. This was too much; I hastened my pace, and with sorrow once
more pushed into the stream.
CINCINNATI, the metropolis of Ohio, and capital of Hamilton county, is on
the right or northern bank of the Ohio, 116 miles south-west of Oulumbus,
455, by the course of the river, from Pittsburg, Pa.; 1,447 above New Or-
leans, by the Mississippi and Ohio rivers; 518 west from Baltimore, G17
from Philadelphia, 704 from New York, 655 east from St. Louis, Mo., 492
from Washington City. Lut. 39° 6' 30"; Long. 84° 27' W. from Greenwich,
or 7° 25' W. from Washington. It is the largest inland city in the United
States, and is frequently called the "Queen City of the West."
Soon after the first settlement of Ohio was commenced at Marietta, several
parties were formed to occupy and improve separate portions of Judge
Sym rues' purchase between the Miami Rivers. The first, led by Maj. Stites,
laid out the town of Columbia, at the mouth of the Little Miami. The second
party, about twelve or fifteen in number, under Matthias Denman and Robert
Patterson, after much difficulty and danger, caused by floating ice in the
Ohio, landed on its north bank, opposite the mouth of the Licking, Dec. 24,
7
98
OHIO.
1788. Here they proceeded to lay out a town, which they called Losanti-
villc, which was afterward changed to Cincinnati. The original price paid
by Mr. Denman for the land on which the city now stands, was, in value,
about fifteen pence per acre. A third party of adventurers, under the imme-
diate care of Judge Symines, located themselves at North Bend.
For some time it was a matter of doubt which of the rivals, Columbia, Cin-
cinnati or North Bend would eventually become the seat of business. The
garrison for the defense of the settlements having been established at Cincin-
nati, made it the head-quarters and depot of the army. In addition to this,
Cincinnati from the Kentucky side of the Ohio.
Parts of Covington and Newport, Ky., appear on the right; o, landing, Cincinnati ; 6, the suburb of
Fulton, up the Ohio, on the left of which is East Walnut Hills, and through which passes the Little Miami
Railroad, leading to the eastern cities; c, Mount Adams, on which is the Cincinnati Observatory; d, posi-
tion of Walnut Hills, three, miles from the city ; e, Mount Auburn, 480 feet above the bed of the Ohio; /,
Vine-street Hill,* four miles beyond which are the elegant country seats at Clifton ; g, valley of Mill-creek,
on which is Spring Grove Cemetery, and the railroad track to Dayton.
as soon as the county courts of the territory were organized, it was created
the seat of justice for Hamilton county. These advantages turned the scale
in favor of Cincinnati.
At first, North Bend had a decided advantage over it, as the troops de-
tailed by Gen. Harmar for the protection of the Miami settlers were landed
there, through the influence of Judge Symmes. It appears, however, that the
detachment soon afterward took its departure for Cincinnati. The tradition
is, that Ensign Luce, the commander of the party, while looking out very
leisurely for a suitable site on which to erect a block-house, formed an ac-
quaintance with a beautiful, black-eyed female, to whom he became much
attached. She was the wife of one of the settlers at thte Bend. Her husband
saw the danger to which he was exposed if he remained where he was. He
therefore resolved at once to remove to Cincinnati. The ensign soon fol-
lowed, and, as it appears, being authorized to make a selection for a military
work, he chose Cincinnati as the site, and notwithstanding the remonstrances
of Judge Symmes, he removed the troops and commenced the erection of a
block-house. Soon after Maj. Doughty arrived at Cincinnati with troops
from Fort Harmar, and commenced the erection of Fort Washington. The
* The bulk of the German population is in that portion of the city between tho base of
Mt. Auburn and Vine-street Hill. The line of the canal to Toledo cuts off the German set-
tlement from the south part of the city. "Over tho Rhine," t. e., over tho canal, is, in
common parlance, tho appellation given to that quarter. The total German population ia
estimated at 40,000.
OHIO. 99
following details upon the history of the place is extracted from Howe's Hist.
Collections of Ohio.
Soon as the settlers of Cincinnati landed, they commenced erecting three or
four cabins, the first of which was built on Front, east of and near Main-
street. The lower table of land was then covered with sycamore and maple
trees, and the upper with beech and oak. Through this dense forest the
streets were laid out, their corners being marked upon the trees. This survey
extended from Eastern How, now Broadway, to Western How, now Central-
avenue, and from the river as far north as Northern Row, now Seventh street.
In January, 1790, Gen. Arthur St. Clair, then governor of the north-west
territory, arrived at Cincinnati to organize the county of Hamilton. In the
succeeding fall, Gen. Harmar marched from Fort Washington on his expedi-
tion against the Indians of the north-west. In the following year (1791),
the unfortunate army of St. Clair marched from the same place. On his re-
turn, St. Clair gave Major Zeigler the command of Fort Washington and re-
paired to Philadelphia. Soon after, the latter was succeeded by Col. Wil-
kinson. This year, Cincinnati had little increase in its population. About
one half of the inhabitants were attached to the army of St. Clair, and many
killed in the defeat.
In 1792, about fifty persons were added by emigration to the population of
Cincinnati, and a house of worship erected. In the spring following, the
troops which had been recruited for Wayne's army landed at Cincinnati and
encamped on the bank of the river between the village of Cincinnati and
Mill-creek. To that encampment Wayne gave the name of "Hobson's choice,"
it being the only suitable place for that object. Here he remained several
months, constantly, d rilling his troops, and then moved on to a spot now in
Darke county, where he erected Fort Greenville. In the fall, after the army
had left, the sraall-pox broke out in the garrison at Fort Washington, and
spread with so much malignity that nearly one third of the soldiers and citi-
zens fell victims. In July, 1794, the army left Fort Greenville, and on the
20th of August defeated the enemy at the battle of the "Fallen Timbers," in
what is now Lucas county, a few miles above Toledo. Judge Burnet thus
describes Cincinnati at about this period:
Prior to the treaty of Greenville, which established a permanent peace between
the United States and the Indians, but few improvements had been made of any
description, and scarcely one of a permanent character. In Cincinnati, Fort Wash-
ington was the most remarkable object. That rude, but highly interesting struc-
ture stood between Third and Fourth streets, produced east of Eastern Row, now
Broadway, which was then a two pole alley, and was the eastern boundary of the
town, as originally laid out It was composed of a number of strongly built, hewed
log cabins, a story and a half high, calculated for soldiers' barracks. Some of them,
more conveniently arranged, and better finished, were intended for officers' quar-
ters. They were so placed as to form a hollow square of about an acre of ground,
with a strong block-house at each angle. It was built of large logs, cut from the
ground on which it stood, which was a tract of fifteen acres, reserved by congress
in the law of 1792, for the accommodation of the garrison.
The artificers' yard was an appendage to the fort, and stood on the bank of the
river, immediately in front It contained about two acres of ground, inclosed by
email contiguous buildings, occupied as work-shops and quarters for laborers.
Within the inclosure; there was a large two story frame house, familiarly called
the '^yellow house," built for the accommodation of the quartermaster general,
which was the most commodious and best finished edifice in Cincinnati.
On the north side of Fourth-street, immediately behind the fort, Col. Sargeant,
secretary of the territory, had a convenient frame house, and a spacious garden,
cultivated with care and taste. On the east side of the fort, Dr. Allison, the sur
100
OHIO.
ge(<n general of the army, had a plain frame dwelling, in the center of a large lot
cultivated as a garden and fruitery, which was called Peach Grove. The Pres-
byterian Church, an interesting edifice, stood on Main-street, in front of the spa-
cious brick building now occupied by the First Presbyterian congregation, it was
a, substantial frame building, about 40 feet by 30, inclosed with clapboards, but
neither lathed, plastered nor ceiled. The floor was of boat plank, resting on
wooden blocks. In that humble edifice the pioneers and their families assembled,
statedly, for public worship; and, during the continuance of the war, they always
attended with loaded rifles by their sides. That building was afterward neatly
finished, and somfr years subsequently (1814) was bold and removed to Vine-street.
On the north side of Fourth-street, opposite where St. Paul's Church now stands,
there stood a frame school-house, inclosed, but unfinished, in which the children
of the village were instructed. On the north side of the public square, there waa
>i strong log building, erected and occupied as a jail. A room in the tavern of
George Avery, near the frog-pond, at the corner of Main and Fifth-streets, hao
The First Church built in Cincinnati.*
been rented for the accommodation of the courts ; and as the penitentiary system
had not been adopted, and Cincinnati was a seat of justice, it was ornamented with
a pillory, stocks and whipping-post, and occasionally with a gallows. These were
all the structures of a public character then in the place. Add to these the cabins
and other temporary buildings for the shelter of the inhabitants, and it will com-
plete the schedule of the improvements of Cincinnati at the time of the treaty of
Greenville.
It may assist the reader in forming something like a correct idea of the appear-
ance of Cincinnati, and of what it actually was at that time, to know that at the
:i:The engraving represents the First Presbyterian Church, as it appeared in February,
1847, and is engraved from a drawing then taken by Mr. Howe for bis "Historical Collec-
tions of Ohio." It stood on the west side of Vine, just north of Fourth-street, on the spot
now occupied by the Summer Garden. Its original site was on the spot now occupied
by the First Presbyterian Church, on Fourth-street. In the following spring, it was taken
<(<>wn, nnd the materials used for the construction of several dwellings in the part of Cincin-
).;it.i called Texas. The greater proportion of the timber was found to be perfectly sound.
In 1791, a number of the inhabitants formed themselves into a company, to escort the Rev.
James Keinper from beyond the Kentucky River to Cincinnati ; nnd after his arrival, a
subscription was set on foot to build this church, which was erected in 1792. This sub-
scription paper is still in existence, and bears date January 16, 1792. Among its signers
were Gen. Wilkinson, Captains Ford, Peters and Shaylor, of the regular service, Dr. Alli-
son, surgeon to St. Clairand Wayne, Winthrop Sargeant, Capt. Robert Elliott and others
principally citizens, to the number of 106, not one of whom survive.
OHIO.
101
intersection of Mainland Fifth-streets there was a pond of water, full of aldei
bushes, from which the frogs serenaded the neighborhood during the summer
and fall, and which rendered it necessary to construct a causeway of logs, to pass
it. That morass remained in its natural state, with its alders and its frogs, several
years after Mr. B. became a resident of the place, the population of which, includ-
ing the garrison and followers of the army, was about six hundred. The fort was
then commanded by William H. Harrison, a captain rn the army, but afterward
president of the United States. In 1797, Gen. Wilkinson, the commander-in-chief
of the army, made it his head-quarters for a few months, but did not, apparently,
interfere with the command of Capt. Harrison, which continued till his resignation
in 1798.
During the period now spoken of, tho settlements of the territory, including Cin-
cinnati, contained but few individuals, and still fewer families, who had been ac-
customed to mingle in the circles of polished society. That fact put it in the power
of the military to give character to the manners and customs of the people. Such
Cincinnati in 1802. Population about 800.
The eng,
part of th
it was early called, Eastern Kuw.
a school, it must be admitted, was by no means calculated to make the most favor-
able impression on the morals and sobriety of any community, as was abundantly
proven by the result.
Idleness, drinking and gambling prevailed in the army to a greater extent than it has
done to any subsequent period. This may be attributed to the fact that they had been
several years in the wilderness, cut off from all society but their own, with but few
comforts or conveniences at hand, and no amusements but such as their own inge-
nuity could invent Libraries were not to be found — men of literary minds, or
polished manners, were rarely met with ; and they had long been deprived of the
advantage of modest, accomplished female society, which always produces a salu-
tary influence on the feelin<rs and moral habits of u^n. Thus situated, the officers
were urired, by an irresistible impulse, to tax their wits for expedients to fill up the
chasms of leisure which were left on their hands, after a full discharge of their mil-
tary duties; and, as is too frequently the case, in such circumstances, the bottle,
the dice-box and the card-table were among the expedients resorted to, because
they were the nearest at hand, and the most easily procured.
It is a distressing fact that a very large proportion of the officers under General
Wayne, and subsequently under C!en. Wilkinson, were hard drinkers. Harrison,
Clark, Shomberg, Ford, Strong, and a few others, were the only exceptions. Such
were the habits of the army when they began to associate with the inhabitants of
Cincinnati, and of the western settlements generally, and to give tone to public
sentiment. As a natural consequence, the citizens indulged in the same practices
102
OHIO.
and formed the same habits. As a proof of this, it may be stated that when Mr.
Burnet came to the bar, there were nine resident lawyers engaged in the practice,
of whom he is and has been for many years the only survivor. They all becamn
confirmed sots, and descended to premature graves, excepting his brother, who was
a young man of high promise, but whose life was terminated by a rapid consump-
tion, in the summer of 1801. He expired under the shade of a tree, by the side
of the road, on the banks of Paint creek, a few miles from Chillicothe.
On the 9th of November, 1793, Win. Maxwell established, at Cincinnati, "the
Centinel of the North-Western Territory," with the motto, "open to all parties —
influenced by none." It was on a half sheet, royal quarto size, and was the first
newspaper printed north of the Ohio River. In 1796, Edward Freeman became
the owner of the paper, which he changed to " Freeman's Journal," which he con-
tinued until the beginning of 1800, when he removed to Chillicothe. On the 2Sth
of May, 1799, Joseph Carpenter issued the first number of a weekly paper, entitled
the "Western Spy and Hamilton Gazette." On the llth of January, 1794, two
keel boats sailed from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, each making a trip once in four
weeks. Each boat was so covered as to be protected against rifle and musket balls,
and had port holes to fire out at, and was provided with six pieces, carrying pound
balls, a number of muskets and ammunition, as a protection against the Indians
on the banks of the Ohio. In 1801, the first sea vessel equipped for sea, of 100
tuns, built at Marietta, passed down the Ohio, carrying produce; and the banks of
the river at Cincinnati were crowded with spectators to witness this novel event.
Dec. 19, 1801, the territorial legislature passed a bill removing the seat of gov
ernment from Chillicothe to Cincinnati.
January 2, 1802, the territorial legislature incorporated the town of Cincinnati,
and the following officers were appointed: David Zeigler, president; Jacob Burnefc,
recorder; \Vm. Ramsay, David E. Wade, Chas. Avery, John Reily, Wm. Stanley,
Samuel Dick, and Wm. Ruffner, trustees; Jo. Prince, assessor; Abram Cary, col-
lector; and James Smith, town marshal. In 1795, the town contained 94 cabins,
10 frame houses, and about 500 inhabitants.
Cincinnati is situated in a beautiful valley of about 12 miles in circumfer-
ence, surrounded by hills, which rise to the bight of about 500 feet. This
valley is divided nearly in the center by the Ohio River. On the Kentucky
side of the Ohio, the towns of Covington and Newport are situated in it, and
it is there pierced by the smaller valley of the Licking River, running south-
erly. On the Ohio side the valley is also pierced, below the settled part of
Cincinnati, by the valley of Mill creek, running northerly. Cincinnati is
laid out with considerable regard to regularity ; the streets in the center of
the city being bi'oad, and intersecting each other at right angles. Many of
the hills surrounding the city are adorned by stately and elegant mansions,
with ornamental grounds attached; while some of them are yet covered with
groves of ancient forest trees.
The greater part of the city is built on two terraces, or plains, sometimes
called "bottoms," of which the first is about 50, and the second 108 feet
above low water mark. These elevations, in grading, have been reduced '
more nearly to a gradual ascent of from 5 to 10 degrees from the river.
The city extends more than three miles along the river. The central por-
tions are compactly and handsomely built, with streets about 66 feet wide,
bordered with spacious warehouses, stores, etc., many of which are magnifi-
cent structures, of beautiful brown freestone, rising to the hight of 6 stories,
and with fronts of elaborate architecture. Main-street extends from the
steamboat landing, in a northerly direction, and Broadway, Sycamore, Wal-
nut, Vine, Race, Elm, and Plum-streets, are parallel to it. It is intersected
at rijrht angles by 14 principal streets, named Water, First, Second, Third)
etc. An open area upon the bank of the river, with about 1,000 feet front, east
OHIO.
103
from the foot of Main-street, embracing some 10 acres, is reserved for the land-
ing, and usually presents a scene of great activity. The shore is paved with
stone from low water mark to the top of the first bank, and furnished with
View on Fourth street, Cincinnati.
Tlie fiist building on the left Is the iron front clothing store of SpraRiiB A Co. Th<> Vont Office and Cus-
tom Iluun are in the structure with tin- On-i i:>n front. Mitchell A Uummo'sburg's Furniture Waroruoins,
tihi'lito's Jry Goods' establishment, appear beyond.
floating vharvos, which accommodate themselves to the great variation in
the bight of the river. From GO to 80 steamboats are often seen here at
once, presenting a scene of animation and business life.
The Ohb lliver, at Cincinnati, is 1,800 feet, or about one third of a mile,
104
•wide, and its mean annual range from low to high water is about 50 feet :
the extreme range may be 10 feet more. The water is at its lowest point of
depression usually in August, September and October, and the greatest rise,
in December, March, May and June. Its current, at its mean hight, is three
miles an hour; when higher, or rising, it is more, and when very low it docs
not exceed two miles. The navigation of the river is rarely suspended by
ice. The city is supplied with water raised from the Ohio by steam power,
capable of forcing into the reservoir 5,000,000 gallons of water each twelve
hours. The reservoir is elevated about 200 feet above the bed of the Ohio,
and is estimated to contain 5,000,000 gallons.
In point of commercial importance, Cincinnati occupies a front rank in
the west. By means of the numerous steamers which are constantly plying
to and fro on the bosom of the majestic river, which rolls gracefully on the
south of the city, and the several canals and railroads which enter here,
Cincinnati is connected with every available point of importance in the
great and highly productive valley of the Mississippi. The trade is not,
however, confined to the interior : and a vast amount of foreign importation
and exportation is done. The pork business is carried on more extensively
here than at any other place in the world.
Manufacturing is entered into here with great energy, and employs a vast
amount of capital. Numerous mills and factories are in operation, besides
founderies, planing mills, rolling mills, saw mills, rolling mills, flouring mills,
type founderies, machine shop?, distilleries, etc. Nearly all kinds of ma-
chinery is driven by steam, and there are now about 300 steam engines in
operation in the city. Steamboat building is an extensive and important
business here. Among the most important branches of manufacture is that
of iron castings, implements and machinery of various kinds, as steam en-
gines, sugar mills, stoves, etc., some of the establishments employing hun-
dreds of hands. The manufacture of clothing is also a great interest; and
in the extent of the manufacture of furniture, the factories surpass any others
in the Union. Cincinnati is also the most extensive book publishing )i!:irt
in the west. The total value of the product of the manufacturing and in-
dustrial pursuits of Cincinnati, for 1859, was ascertained by Mr. Ci.st to sum
up more than one hundred and twelve millions of dollars. Among the
heaviest items were, ready made clothing 15 millions; iron castings, 0^
millions; total iron products, 13 millions; pork and beef packing, b'^ mil-
lions; candles and lard oil, 6 millions; whisky, 5^- millions; furniture, 3§
millions; domestic liquors, 3^ millions; publications, newspapers, books, etc.,
2§- millions; and patent medicines, 2 millions.
Cincinnati was the first city in the world to adopt the steam fire engine.
The machine used is of Cincinnati invention, by Abel Shawk. The fire de-
partment is under pay of the city. It is admirably conducted, and so efficient
that a serious conflagration is very rare. The huge machines, when on th<ir
way to a fire, are drawn through the streets by four powerful horses mov'ng
at lull gallop, and belching forth flames and smoke, form an imposing j-pec-
taclc.
Cincinnati has the first Observatory built on the globe by the co/tribu-
tions of "the people." It is a substantial stone building, on the hill oast of
the city, 5UO 1'cct above the Ohio, named Mt. Adams, from Join; Quincy
Aihxiu.s. who laid the corner stone of (he structure, Nov. 9, 1843. The tel-
escope is of German manufacture; it is an excellent instrument and cost
about §1 0,000.
OHIO. 105
The public buildings of Cincinnati are numerous, and some of thcm^ of
beautiful architecture! The Mechanics' Institute is a substantial building,
erected by voluntary subscription. The Ohio School Library and that of the
Mechanics' Institute are merged in one, which is free to the public : it has
Pike's Building.
24,000 volumes. The Catholic Institute, winch adjoins it, is an ele-
gant and capacious structure with a front of freestone. The Cincin-
nati College edifice is a large building of compact gray limestone.
In it are the rooms of the Chamber of Commerce and the Young
Mcns' Mercantile Library Association. This association has a largo
and excellent library, besides nil the principal American and foreign
periodicals. The Masonic Temple, corner of Third and Walnut, cost
§150.000. It is one of the most beautiful and imposing buildings in
the Union. The material is a light freestone, and the style Byzan-
tine. The County Court House is the largest building in the city.
It cost more than a million of dollars: its front is of gray limestone,
and the whole structure is of the most durable character. Among the
theaters of the city, Pike's Opera House, for its beauty, had a national
reputation. It cost with the ground, nearly half a million of dollars:
its magnificent opera hall was justly the pride of the citizens. It was
burnt in 1866, and is now re-built, but without the opera hall.
Among the 110 churches of the city, the Catholic Cathedral, on Eighth
street, and the Jewish Synagogue opposite it, are the most imposing.
Cincinnati has its full share of literary and benevolent institutions :
five medical and four commercial colleges, the Weslyan Female, and St.
106
Xavier Colleges. The common school system is on the principle now in
vogue, of graded schools. The scholars are divided into three classes — the
common, intermediate and high schools. And these, in turn, are graded, one
year being given to each grade. A child is taken at six years of age, and at
eighteen graduates at the high school, with an education based on the com-
mon branches, and completed with some of the languages and higher
branches of science.*-
Cincinnati is the center of many extensive railway lines, running north,
east, south and west, and also the terminus of the Miami Canal, extending
to Lake Erie and Toledo, and the Whitewater Canal, penetrating the heart
of Indiana. Population, in 1800, 759; in 1810, 2,5-10; in 1820, 9,602;
1830,24,831; 1840, 46,338; 1850, 118,761; in 1860. 171.293; the suburbs.
Covington and Newport, would increase this to about 200,000.
Cincinnati is noted for the successful manufacture of wine from native
grapes, particularly the Catawba. The establishment of this branch of in-
dustry is due to the unremitting exertions of Mr. 'Nicholas Longworth, a
resident of Cincinnati for more than half a century.
Prior to this, the manufacture of American wine had been tried in an
experimental way, but it had failed as a business investment. Learning that
wine could be made from the Catawba grape, a variety originating in North
Carolina, Mr. Longworth entered systematically into its cultivation, and to
encourage the establishment of numerous vineyards, he offered a market on
his own premises for all the must (juice), that might be brought him, with-
out reference to the quantity.
•'At the same time he offered a reward of five hundred dollars to whoever should
discover a better variety. It proved a great stimulus to the growth of the Catawba
vine in the neighborhood of Cincinnati, to know that a man of Mr. Longworth' s
means stood ready to pay cash, at the rate of from a dollar, to a dollar and a quar-
ter a gallon, for all the grape juice that might be brought to him, without reference
to tiia quantity. It was in this way, and by urgent popular appeals through the
columns of the newspapers, that he succeeded, after many failures, and against the
depressing influence of much doubt and indifference, in bringing the enterprise up
*The forcing system prevails in the graded schools of our large cities to an alarming ex-
tent. It would seem as if, in the opinion of those who control these institution?, Provi-
dence had neglected to make the days of sufficient length, for children to obtain an educa-
tion. Tn some of our large cities, doubtless many children cnn be found, on any winter
ni^ltt. botwccn the Lite hours of 8 and 10, bu^v pouring over their books — a necessity re-
quired for a respectable scholarship. Many, if the writer cnn believe alike teachers and
parents, break down under the system. Others, doubtless a-o to reap bitter fruits, in after
life, in long years of suffering, if, more happily, they fail to fill premature graves !
11. II. Barney, Esq., formerly superintendent of the public schools of Ohio, himself with
thirty-two years of experience as a teacher, thus expresses his views on this subject:
" This ill-judged system of education has proved, in numerous instances, fatal to the
health of the inmates of our public schools, exhausting their physical energies, irritating
their nerves, depressing and crushing, to a great extent, that elasticity of spirit, vigor of
body, and pleasantness of pursuit, which are essential to the highest success in education
as well as in every other occupation.
Parents, guardians, physicians, and sensible men and women everywhere, bear testimony
against a system of education which ignores the health, the happiness, and, in some c.»ses,
even the life of the pupil. Yet this absurd, cruel system, is still persevered in, and will
continue to be, so long as our public schools are mainly filled with the children of the
poorer and humbler classes of society, and so long as the course of study and number of
study hours are regulated and determined by those who have had little or no experience in
the education or bringing up of children, or who, by educating their own offspring, at homo
or in private schools, have, in a measure, shielded them from the evils of this stern, rigor-
ous, unnatural system of educating tho intellect at the expense of the body, the affections,
this disposition, and the present as well as life long welfare of the pupil."
OHIO.
107
to its present high and stable position. When lie took the matter in hand there
"was much to discourage any one not possessed of the traits of constancy of pur-
pose and perseverance peculiar to Mr. Longworth. Many had tried the manufac-
ture of wine, and had failed to give it any economical or commercial importance.
LonywortJi s Vineyard.
Situated on the banks of the Ohio, four mik's above Cincinnati.
It was not believed, until Mr. Longworth practically demonstrated it, after many
long and patient trials of many valued varieties from France and Madeira, none
of which gave any promise of success, that a native grape was the only one upon
which any hope could be placed, and that of the native grapes, of which he had
experimented upon every known variety, the Catawba offered the most assured
promise of success, and was the one upon which all vine-growers might with con-
fidence depend. It took years of unremitted care, multiplied and wide-spread in-
vestigations, and the expenditure of large sums of money, to establish this fact,
and bring the agricultural community to accept it and act under its guidance.
The success attained by Mr. Longworth* soon induced other gentlemen resident
in the vicinity of Cincinnati, and favorably situated for the purpose, to undertake
the culture of the Catawba, and several of them are now regularly and extensively
engaged in the manufacture of wine. The impetus and encouragement thus given
to the business soon led the German citizens of Hamilton county to perceive its
advantages, and under their thrifty management thousands of acres, stretching up
from the banks of the Ohio, are now covered with luxuriant and profitable vine-
yards, rivaling in profusion and beauty the vino clad hills of Italy and France.
The oldest vineyard in the county of Hamilton is of Mr. Longworth' s planting.
The annual product of these vineyards may bo set down at between five and six
hundred thousand gallons, worth at present from one and a half to two dollars a
gallon ; but the price, owing to the rapidity of the consumption, will probably ad-
*' " Mr. Longworth was always curious aftor new and interesting things of Nature's pro-
ducing. It was the remark of an old citizen of Cincinnati, that, if Mr. Longworth was to
be suddenly thrown, neck and heels, into the Ohio River, ho would come to the surface with
a new variety of fish in each hand. His chief interest in horticultural matters, however,
has been expended upon the strawberry and the grape. The perfection of variety and cul-
ture to which he has, by his experiments and labors, brought these two important fruits of
the country, have established their extensive and systematic cultivation in all parts of the
west."
108
vance rather than decline. It is the prophecy of Mr. Flag";, Mr. Longworth' 9 son-
in-law, the gentleman who has charge of the commercial department of his wine
business, that, in the course of comparatively few years, the annual product of
the Sparkling Catawha will be counted by millions of bottles, while that of the
still sorts will be estimated by its millions of gallons. Mr. Longworth alone bot-
tles annually over 150,000 bottles, and has now~th his collars a ripening stock of
300,000 bottles. These cellars are situated on the declivity of East Sixth-street,
on the road to Observatory Hill. They occupy a space ninety feet by one hundred
and twenty-five, and consist of two tiers of massive stone vaults, the lower of which
is twenty-five feet below the surface of the ground. Here are carried on all the
various processes of wine making, the mashing, pressing, fining, racking, bottling,
labeling and boxing; and beneath the arches and along the walls are the wine butt*,
arranged and numbered in the order of the several vintages; piles of bottles stand
about, ready for the bottlers."
Within the last few years, the grape crop in the Ohio valley has been
much injured by mildew and rot, yet the crop, thus far, has been as reliable
as any other fruit. The most certain locality for the production of the
grape in Ohio, is Kelly's Island, in Lake Erie, near Sandusky City, where
the vines bear fruit when they fail in all other localities. This is ascribed to
the uniformity of temperature at night, during the summer months, by which
the formation of dew is prevented, and consequently of mildew. The grape
is now cultivated in vineyards, for making wine, in twenty-one states of the
Union. In the mountain regions of Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and South
Carolina, the increase has been rapid and extensive. That district and Cal-
ifornia appear to be the most favorable grape producing parts of the Union.
Longworth's garden is among the curiosities of Cincinnati, and was for-
merly greatly visited by strangers. It is an inclosure of several acres, near
the heart of the city, and at the foot of Mt. Adams. The mansion, with its
art- treasures, is in the midst. On the grounds are several fine conservato-
ries, filled with rare plants, a grape-house for foreign vines, and experi-
mental forcing-house, for new varieties of strawberries and other plants.
Mr. Longworth died February 10, 1863, at the advanged age of eighty-one.
The suburbs of Cincinnati are very beautiful. Over on the hills the whole
surface of the country, for miles and miles in every direction, is disposed, in
exquisite undulations, with charming country seats, scattered here and there.
The prominent localities are Walnut Hills, the seat of Lane Seminary, Mt.
Auburn, Avondale and Clifton, the last containing the most elegant of rural
seats. Spring Grove Cemetery, an inclosure of 168 acres, is four miles from
Cincinnati — a city of the dead in a beautiful location, and where nature and
art join their attractions.
North Bend, once the home of General Harrison, is 16 miles below the
city, and four from the Indiana line, at the northermost point of a bend in the
Ohio River. This place derives its chief interest from having been long the
residence of William Henry Harrison. The family mansion stood on a level
plat about 300 yards back from the Ohio, amid pleasing scenery. It was de-
stroyed by fire a few years since. The engraving on the following page is
copied from a drawing made in 1846 by Mr. Howe for his work on Ohio.
The eastern half of the mansion, that, is, the part on the reader's right, from
the door in the main building, was built of logs. The whole structure was
clapboarded and painted, and had a neat appearance.
This dwelling became noted in the presidential campaign of 1840, which re-
sulted in the election of Gen. Harrison to the presidency — commonly called "the
Hard Cider Campaign." It is said that some opponent had declared in a public
speech that he was unfit for the office, because ho never had shown the ability to
OHIO.
109
raise himself beyond the occupancy of a log cabin, in which he lived very coarsely,
with no better beverage than hard cider. It was an unfortunate charge for the
wishes of the accuser. The taunt of his being a poor man, and living in a log
cabin, was seized upon by the whigs as an evidence of his incorruptibility in the
many responsible stations he had
held, and the log cabin became at
once the symbol of the party.
Thousands of these were erected
forthwith all over the land as ral-
lying points for political meetings.
Miniature cabins were carried in
political processions, and in some
cases barrels labeled "hard cider."
Such enthusiasm as was excited
among the masses of the western
pioneers by the nomination of their
favorite military leader had never
before been exceeded. Immense
mass meetings, with processions
and song singing became the order
of the time. Among the songs sung
by assembled multitudes in all
parts of the country, the most popu-
ular was one entitled "T/]>peca-
iw and Tyler too," in which occurred these verses:
AVh.it }\nf caused tiiis great commotion, motion, motion,
Our country through?
It is the ball that's rolling on
For Tippecanoe and Tyler too,
For Tippeear.oe and Tyler too;
And with them we'll beat little Van,
V.'in, Y:>n, Van, Van is a used up man,
And with them we'll beat little Van.
The latch-string hangs outside the door, door, door,
And is never pulled through,
For it never was the custom of
Old Tippeeanoe and Tyler too,
Old Tippeeanoe and Tyler too ;
And with them we'll beat little Van,
Van, Van, Van, Van is a used up man,
And with them we'll beat little Van.
The tomb of Harrison is near by, on a small oval mound, elevated about 150
feet above the Ohio, and commanding a view of beauty. It is a plain brick struc-
ture, without inscription.
NORTH BE.VD,
Residence of Pre?i<K-ut Harrison.
Near the tomb of Harrison is the grave of Judge Symmes. On a tablet there is
this inscription :
Here rest the remains of John Cloves Symmes, who at the foot of these hills made the
fi'.st settlement between the Miami Rivers. Born at Long Ibland, state of New York, July
21, A. D. 1742; died at Cincinnati, February 20, A. D. 1814.
Judge Symmes, before his removal to the west, was a member of congress fiom
Nv>\\- Jersey, and also chief justice of that state. Gen. Harrison married his
daughter, who, as late as 1860, still survived. At the treaty of Greenville, the In-
dians told Judge Symmes, and others, that in the war they had frequently brought
np their rifles to shoot him, and then on recognizing him refused to pull the trig-
ger. This was in consequence of his previous kindness to them, and spoke volumes
in his praise, as well as honor to the native instinct of the savages.
110
OHIO.
Three miles below North Bend, on the Ohio, was Sugar Camp Settlement, coin
posed of about thirty houses, and a block-house erected as a defense against the
Indians. This was about the
time of the first settlement
of Cincinnati. Until within
a few years, this block-
house was standing. The ad-
joining cut is from a draw-
ing taken on the spot in 1 S4G
We give it because it shows
the ordinary form of these
structures. Their distin-
guishing feature is that from
the bight of a man's shoulder
the building the rest of the
way up projects a foot or two
from the lower part, leaving
at the point of junction be-
tween the two parts a cavity
ANCIENT Ki,ocK-Horsr, NEAR NORTH BEND. through which to thr»st rifles
on the approach of enemies.
Hamilton, the capital of Butler county, is 25 miles north of Cincinnati, on
the Miami Canal, river and railroad to Dayton, and at the terminus of a
railroad to llichmond. A hydraulic canal of 28 feet fall gives excellent
water power, and there are now in operation several flourishing manufactur-
ing establishments — paper, flouring, woolen, planing mills, iron foundries,
etc. Population 8000. The well known Miami University is 12 miles north-
west of Hamilton, in the beautiful town of Oxford.
Jultn Gleves Sytnmes, the author of the "Theory of Concentric Spheres," demon-
strating that the earth is hollow, inhabited by human beings, and widely open at
the poles, was a native of New Jersey, and a nephew of Judge Symmes. He re-
pided in the latter part of his life at Hamilton, where he died in 1829, aged about
50 years. In early life he entered the army as an ensign. He was with Scott in
his Niagara campaign, and acted with braver)7. In a short circular, dated at St.
Louis, in 1818, Capt. Symmes first promul-
gated the fundamental principles of his
theory to the world. From time to time,
he published various articles in the pub-
lic prints upon the subject. He .also de-
livered lectures, first at Cincinnati in 1820,
und afterward in various places in Ken-
tucky and Ohio.
" In the year 1822, Capt. Symrries petitioned
the congress of the United States, setting
forth, in the first place, his belief of the ex-
istence of a habitable and accessible concave
to this globe; his desire to embark on a voy-
age of discovery to one or other of the polar
regions; his belief in the great profit and honor
his country would derive from such a dis-
covery; and prayed that congress would equip
and fit out for the expedition, two vessels,
of two hundred and fifty or three hundred
tuns burden; and grant such other aid as gov-
eminent might deem necessary to promote the
object. This petition was presented in the
senate by Col. Richard M. Johnson, on the 7th day of March, 1822, when (a motion to
refer it to the committee of foreign relations having failed), after a few remarks it was
laid on the table — Ayes, 25. In December, 1823, he forwarded similar petitions to both
bouses of congress, which met with a similar fate. In January 1824, he petitioned th«
JIOXI'MENT OF J. C. SYMMES.
Symnies' Hole" memory. It is surmounted
by a glolie " open at the poles."
OHIO.
Ill
general assembly of the state of Ohio, praying that body to pass a resolution ap;:robatory
of his theory; and to recommend him to congress for an outfit suitable to the enterprise.
This memorial was presented by Micajah T. Williams, and, on motion, the further con-
sideration thereof was indefinitely postponed."
His theory was met with ridicule, both in this country and Europe, and became
a fruitful source of jest and levity, to the public prints of the day. Notwithstand-
ing, lie advanced many plausible and ingenious arguments, and won quite a num
ber of converts among those who attended his lectures, one of whom, a gentleman
of Hamilton, wrote a work in its support, published in Cincinnati in 1826, in which
he stated his readiness to embark on a voyage of discovery to the North Pole, for
the purpose of testing its truth. Capt. Sy mines met with the usual fate of' pro-
jectors, in living and dying in great pecuniary embarrassment: but he left the
reputation of an honest man.
South-eastern view of tJie Court House, at Chillicothe.
This beautiful and commodious structure in in the central part of Chillicothe ; tho left wing, on the cor.
ner of Main and J'aint-stn-ets, attached to the main building, contains the offices of the Probate . I ud«*e,
the Sheriff, and tho Clerk ; tho other wing, those of tho llocordor, Treasurer, and Auditor. The 1'irst
Presbyterian Church is seen on the left.
CHILLICOTHE is on the west bank of the Scioto, on the line of the Ohio
Canal and Marietta and Cincinnati Railroad, 45 miles S. of Columbus, 45
from Portsmouth, and 96 from Cincinnati. The Scioto curves around it on
the north, and Paint creek flows on the south. The site of the place is on a plain
about 30 feet above the river. It contains 17 churches, a young ladies'
Academy of the Notre Dame, a flourishing military academy, lAid about
9,000 inhabitants.
The new court house, in this town, is one of the best designed, most beautiful,
and convenient structures of the kind we have seen in our tour through the
United States. It was erected at an expense of about $100,000, and was
designed by Gen. James Howe, one of the county commissioners. A room
is set apart in the court house for the preservation of the relics of antiquity.
Here is preserved the table around which the members of the territorial
council sat when they formed the laws of the North West Territory, of which
Chillicothe was the capital. Around it also gathered the members who
formed the first constitution of Ohio. The old bell which called them to-
112
OHIO.
gethcr is preserved, also the copper eagle, which, for fifty years, perched on
the spire of the old state house.
In 1800, the old state house was commenced and finished the next year.
for the accommodation of the legislature and courts. It is believed that it
was the first public stone edi-
fice erected in the territory.
The mason work was done by
Major "Win. Kutledge, a sol-
dier of the Revolution, and
the carpentering by William
Guthrie. The territorial leg-
islature held their session in
it for the first time in 1801.
The convention that framed
the first constitution of Ohio
was held in it, the session
commencing on the first Mon-
day in November, 1802. In
April, 1803, the first state leg-
islature met in the house, and
held their sessions until 1810.
The sessions of 1810-11, and
1811-12, were held at Zanes-
ville, and from there removed
back to Chillicothe and held
in this house until 1816, when
Columbus became the perma-
nent capital of the state. This ancient edifice was standing until within a
few years.
In the war of 1812, Chillicothe was a rendezvous for United States troops. They
were stationed at Camp Bull, a stockade one mile N. of the town, on the west bank
of the Scioto. A large number of British prisoners, amounting to several hundred,
were at one time confined at the camp. On one occasion, a conspiracy was formed
between the soldiers and their officers who were confined in jail. The plan was
for the privates in camp to disarm their guard, proceed to the jail, release the
officers, burn the town, and escape to Canada. The conspiracy was disclosed by
two senior British officers, upon which, as a measure of security, the officers were
sent to the penitentiary in Frankfort, Ky.
Four deserters were shot at camp at one time. The ceremony was impressive
and horrible. The soldiers were all marched out under arms, with music playing,
to witness the death of their comrades, and arranged in one long extended lino in
front of the camp, facing the river. Close by the river bank, at considerable dis-
tances apart, the deserters were placed, dressed in full uniform, with their coats
buttoned up and caps drawn over their faces. They were confined to stakes in a
kneeling position behind their coffins, painted black, which came up to their waists,
exposing the upper part of their persons to the fire of their fellow-soldiers. Two
sections, of six men each, were marched before each of the doomed. Signals were
given by an officer, instead of words of command, so that the unhappy men should
not be apprised of the moment of their death. At the given signal the first sec-
tions raised their muskets and poured the fatal volleys into the breasts of their
comrades. Three of the four dropped dead in an instant; but the fourth sprang
up with great force, and «;ave a scream of agony. The reserve section stationed
before him were ordered to their places, and another volley completely riddled 1m
bosom. Even then the thread of life seemed hard to sunder.
On another occasion, an execution took place at the same spot under most mel-
ancholy circumstances. It was that of a mere youth of nineteen, the son of a
OLD STATE HOUSE, CHII.MCOTRE.
[Drawn by Henry Howe, in 1840.]
OHIO.
113
widow. In a frolic he had wandered several miles from camp, and was on bis re-
turn when he stopped at an inn by the way-side. The landlord, a fiend in human
simpe, apprised oi' the reward of $50, oifered for the apprehension of deserters,
porsuaded him to remain over night, with the offer of taking him into camp in the
morning, at which he stated he had business. The youth, unsuspicious of any-
thing wrong, accepted the offer made with such apparent kindness, when lo! on
his arrival next day with the landlord, he surrendered him as a deserter, swore
falsely as'to the facts, claimed and obtained the reward. The court-martial, igno-
rant of the circumstances, condemned him to death, and it was not until he was no
more, that his innocence was known.
Portsmouth from the Kentucky shore of the Ohio.
The view shows tho appinrnn*' of th-s Steamboat Landing, as seen from Springville, on the Kentucky
Fide of the Ohio. The Biggs' House, corner of Market and Front-streets, appears on the left, Gaylord &
Co.'s Rolling Mill on the right. Tlio Scioto Ilivur passes at the foot of the mountainous range on tho left.
PORTSMOUTH, the capital of Scioto county, is beautifully situated on the
Ohio River, at the mouth of the Scioto, 90 miles S. of Columbus, and 110
by the river above Cincinnati, at the terminus of the Erie and Ohio Canal,
and Scioto and Hocking Valley Railroad. It contains 16 churches, 5 foun-
deries, 3 rolling mills, 3 machine shops, and about 8,000 inhabitants. The
great iron region of the state lies north and east of Portsmouth, and adds
much to the business of the town. Here, on the Kentucky side of the Ohio,
is a range of mountainous hills, averaging 500 feet high. Opposite Ports-
mouth they rise precipitously to a hight of 600 feet, being the highest eleva-
tion on the Ohio River, presenting a very striking and beautiful appearance.
The Ohio is 600 yards wide at the landing, which is one of the best on the
river, there being water sufficient for the largest boats at all seasons. A -wire
suspension bridge passes over the Scioto at this place.
It is said that 1^- miles below the old mouth of the Scioto, stood, about
the year 1740, a French fort or trading station. Prior to the settlement at
Marietta, an attempt at settlement was made at Portsmouth, the history of
which is annexed from an article in the American Pioneer, by George Cor-
win, of Portsmouth:
In April, 1785, four families from the Redstone settlement in Pennsylvania, de-
scended the Ohio to the mouth of the Scioto, and there moored their boat under
the high bank where Portsmouth now stands. They commenced clearing the
8
114
OHIO
ground to plant seeds for a crop to support their families, hoping that the red men
of the forest would suffer them to remain and improve the soil. They seemed to
hope that white men would no longer provoke the Indians to savage warfare.
Soon after they landed, the four men, the heads of the families, started up tho
Scioto to see the paradise of the west, of which they had heard from the mouths
of white men who had traversed it during their captivity among the natives. Leav-
ing the little colony, now consisting of four women and their children, to the pro-
tection of an over-ruling Providence, they traversed the beautiful bottoms of the
Scioto as far up as the prairies above, and opposite to where Piketon now stands.
One of them, Peter Patrick by name, pleased with the country, cut the initials of
his name on a beech, near the river, which being found in after times, gave the
name of Pee Pee to the creek that flows through the prairie of the same name ;
and from that creek was derived the name of Pee Pee township in Pike county.
Encamping near the site of Piketon, they were surprised by a party of Indians,
who killed two of them as they lay by their fires. The other two escaped over the
hills to the Ohio River, which they struck at the mouth of the Little Scioto, just
as some white men going down the river in a pirogue were passing. They were
going to Port Vincennes, on the Wabash. The tale of woe which was told by these
men, with entreaties to be taken on board, was at first insufficient for their relief.
It was not uncommon for Indians to compel white prisoners to act in a similar
manner to entice boats to the shore for murderous and marauding purposes. After
keeping them some time running down the shore, until they believed that if there
was an ambuscade of Indians on shore, they were out of its reach, they took them
on hoard, and brought them to the little settlement, the lamentations at which can
not be described, nor its feeling conceived, when their peace was broken and their
hopes blasted by the intelligence of the disaster reaching them. My informant
was one who came down in the pirogue.
There was, however, no time to be lost; their safety depended on instant flight
— and gathering up all their movables, tlu-y put off to Limestone, now Maysville, as
a place of greater safety, where the men in the pirogue left them, and my informant
said, never heard of them more.
Circlevillc, the county scat of Pickaway county, on the Scioto River, on
the line of the Erie and Ohio Canal, and on the railroad from Cincinnati to
Wheeling, is 26 miles S. from Columbus, and 19 N. from Chillicothe. It
lias numerous mills and factories, and an extensive water power. Population
about 5,000.
It was laid out in 1810, as the seat of justice, by Daniel Dresbatch, on
land originally belonging to Zeiger and Watt. The town is on the site of
ancient fortifications, one of which having been circular, originated the name
of the place. The old court hou<e, built in the form of an octagon, and de-
stroyed in 1841, stood in the center of the circle. There were two forts, one
being an exact circle of 69 feet in diameter, the other an exact square, 55
rods on a side. The former was surrounded by two walls, with a deep ditch
between them; the latter by one wall, without any ditch. Opposite each
gateway a small mound was erected inside, evidently for defense.
Three and a half miles south of Circleville are the celebrated Pickaway Plains,
said to contain the richest body of land in southern Ohio. '' They are divided into
two parts, the greater or upper plain, and the lesser or lower one. They com-
prise about 20,000 acres. When first cultivated the soil was very black, the result
of vegetable decomposition, and their original fertility was such as to produce one
hundred bushels of corn, or fifty of wheat to the acre. Formerly the plains were
adorned with a great variety of flowers.
Of all places in the west, this pre-eminently deserves the name of "classic
ground," for this was the seat of the powerful Shawnee tribe. Here, in olden time,
birrn.'ii the council fires of the red man; here the affairs of the nation in general
council were discussed, and the important questions of peace and war decided.
On these plains the allied tribes marched forth and met Gen. Lewis, and fou^hr
OHIO. 115
the sanguinary battle at Point Pleasant, on the Virginia bank of the Ohio, at the
eve of the Revolution. Here it was that Logan made his memorable speech, and
here, too, that the noted campaign of Dunmore was brought to a close by a treaty,
or rather a truce, at Camp Charlotte.
Among the circumstances which invest this region with extraordinary interest,
is the fact, that to those towns were brought so many of the truly unfortunate
^prisoners who were abducted from the neighboring states. Here they were immo-
lated on the altar of the red men's vengeance, and made to suffer, to the death, all
the tortures savage ingenuity could invent, as a sort of expiation for the aggres-
sions of their race.
Old Chillicothe, which was the principal village, stood on the site of Westfall, .
on the west bank of the Scioto, 4 miles below Circleville. It was here that Logan,
the Mingo chief, delivered his famous speech to John Gibson, an Indian trader.
On the envoy arriving at the village, Logan came to him and invited him into an
adjoining wood, where they sat down. After shedding abundance of tears, the
honored chief told his pathetic story — called a speech, although conversationally
given. Gibson repeated it to the officers, who caused it to be published in the
Virginia Gazette of that year, so that it fell under the observation of Mr. Jefferson,
who gave it to the world in his Notes on Virginia: and as follows:
I appeal to any white man to say, if he ever entered Logan's cabin hungry, and I gave
him not meat; if ever he came cold or naked, and I gave him not clothing?
During the course of the last long and bloody war, Logan remained in his tent, an advo-
cate for peace. Nay, such was my love for the whites, that those of my own country pointed
ac me as they passed by, and said, " Logan is the friend of white men." I had even thought
to live with you, but for the injuries of one man. Colonel Cresap, the last spring, in cool
blood, and unprovoked, cut off all the relatives of Logan ; not sparing even my women and
children. There runs not a drop of my blood in the veins of any human creature. This
called on me for revenge. I have sought it. I have killed many. I have fully glutted my
vengeance. For my country, I rejoice at the beams of peace. Yet, do not harbor the
thought that mine is the joy of fear. Logan never felt fear. He will not turn on his heel
to save his life. Who is there to mourn for Logan? Not one.
This brief effusion of mingled pride, courage, and sorrow, elevated the character
of the native American throughout the intelligent world; and the place where it
was delivered can never be forgotten so long as touching eloquence is admired by
men.
The last years of Logan were truly melancholy. He wandered about from tribe
to tribe, a solitary and lonely man ; dejected and broken-hearted, by the loss of
his friends and the decay of his tribe, he resorted to the stimulus of strong drink
to drown his sorrow. He was at last murdered in Michigan, near Detroit. He
was, at the time, sitting with his blanket over his head, before a camp-fire, his
elbows resting on his knees, and his head upon his hands, buried in profound re-
flection, when an Indian, who had taken some offense, stole behind him and buried
his tomahawk in his brains. Thus perished the immortal Logan, the last of his
race.
At the various villages, were the burning grounds of the captives taken in war.
These were on elevated sites, so that when a victim was sacrificed by fire, the
smoke could be seen at the other towns.
The chief, Cornstalk, whose town was on Scippo Creek, two miles south-
easterly from Old Chillicothe, was a man of true nobility of soul, and a
brave warrior.
At the battle of Point Pleasant he commanded the Indians with consummate skill, and
if at any time his warriors were believed to waver, his voice could be heard above the din
of battle, exclaiming in his native tongue, " Be strong! — be strong! " When he returned
to the Pickaway towns, after the battle, he called a council of the nation to consult what
should be done, and upbraided them in not suffering him to make peace, as he desired, on
the evening before the battle. "What," said he, " will you do now? The Big Knife is
coming on us, and we shall all be killed. Now you must fight or we are undone." But
no one answering, he said, " then let us kill all our women and children, and go and fight
until we die." But no answer was made, when, rising, he struck his tomahawk in a post
of the council house and exclaimed, " I'll go and make peace," to which all the warriors
grunted "ough! ough! " and runners were instantly dispatched to Dunmore to solicit
peace.
116
OHIO.
In the summer of 1777, he was atrociously murdered at Point Pleasant. As his mur-
derers were approaching, his son Elinipsico trembled violently. " His father encouraged
him not to be afraid, for that the Great Man above had sent him there to be killed and die
with him. As the men advanced to the door, Cornstalk rose up and met them: they fired
and seven or eight bullets went through him. So fell the great Cornstalk warrior — whose
name was bestowed upon him by the consent of the nation, as their great strength and
support." Had he lived, it is believed that he would have been friendly with the Ameri-
cans, as he had come over to visit the garrison at Point Pleasant to communicate the de- ;
sign of the Indians of uniting with the British. His grave is to be seen at Point Pleas-
ant to the present day.
State Capitol, at Columbus.
COLUMBUS, the seat of justice for Franklin county, and capital of Ohio,
on the left bank of the Scioto, 110 miles N.E. from Cincinnati, 100 N.W.
from Marietta, and 139 S.E. from Cleveland, is on the same parallel of lati-
tude with Zanesville and Philadelphia, and on the same meridian with De-
troit, Mich., and Milledgeville, Geo.
The site of Columbus is level, and it is regularly laid out, with broad,
spacious streets: Broad -street, the principal one, is 120 feet wide. In the
center of the city is a public square of 10 acres, inclosed by a neat railing ;
and in the environs is Goodale Park, a tract of 40 acres, covei'ed with a
growth of native trees. The new state house, or capitol, is one of the most
magnificent buildings in the Union. It is 304 feet long by 184 wide, and
from its base to the top of the rotunda is 157 feet. The material is a hard,
whitish limestone, resembling marble.
Columbus is surrounded by a rich and populous country, and is a place of
active business. The National road, passes through it from east to west,
and the Columbus feeder connects it with the Ohio canal. Several plank
roads and turnpikes terminate here, and numerous railroads, stretching out
their iron arms in every direction, give it convenient communication with
all parts of the state and Union.
OHIO.
117
In the environs of the city are the various state institutions. The State
Penitentiary is a large and substantial edifice ; the buildings and inclosurcs
form a hollow square of six acres ; about 1,000 convicts have been confined
here at one time. The Ohio Lunatic Asylum, a noble structure, occupies
about an acre of ground, and has thirty acres attached to it, covered with
trees and shrubbery. The Deaf and Dumb Asylum is a handsome building,
surrounded with grounds laid out with taste. The Ohio Institution for the
Education of the Blind is surrounded by a plot of ground, of about 9 acres,
laid out with graveled walks, and planted with trees. The Starling Medi-
cal College is a handsome Gothic edifice. The Theological Seminary of the
German Lutherans, is about three fourths of a mile from the center of the
city. Columbus, as a commercial depot, has superior facilities, and it has
numerous and extensive manufacturing establishments. Population, in 1820,
1,400; in 1840, 6,048; in 1850, 18,138; and in 1860, 18,(J47.
From the first organization of the state government until 1816, there was no per-
manent state capital. The sessions of the legislature were held at Cliillicothe until
1810; the sessions of 1810-11 and 1811-12, were held at Zanesville; after that,
until December, 1816, they were again held at Cliillicothe, at which time the leg-
islature was first convened at Columbus.
Among the various proposals to the legislature, while in session at Zanesville,
for the establishment of a permanent seat of government, were those of Lyne Star-
ling, James Johnston, Alex. M'Laughlin and John Kerr, the after proprietors of
Columbus, for establishing it on the "high bank of the IScioto River, opposite
Franklinton," which site was then a native forest. On the 14th Feb., 1812, the
legislature passed a law accepting their proposals, and in one of its section?,
selected Cliillicothe as a temporary seat of government merely. By an act amend-
atory of the other, passed Feb. 17, 1816, it was enacted, " that from and after the
second Tuesday of October next, the seat of government of this state shall be
established at the town of Columbus."
Ohio While Sulphur Springs.
On the 19th of Feb., 1812, the proprietors signed and acknowledged their arti-
cles at Zanesville, as partners, under the law for the laying out, etc., of the town of
Columbus. The contract having been closed between the proprietors and the state,
the town was laid out in the spring of 1812, under the direction of Moses Wright.
For the first few years Columbus improved rapidly. Emigrants flowed in, appa-
rently, from all qua'rters, and the improvements and general business of the plac'e
kept pace with the increase of population. Columbus, however, was a rough spot
in the woods, oS' from any public road of much consequence.
The east and west
118 OHI°-
travel passed through Zanesville, Lancaster and Chillicothe, and the mails came in
cross-line on horseback. The first successful attempt to carry a mail to or from
Columbus, otherwise than on horseback, was by Philip Zinn, about the year 1816,
once a week between Chillicothe and Columbus. The years from 1819 to 1826,
were the dullest years of Columbus ; but soon after it began to improve. The lo-
cation of the national road and the Columbus feeder to the Ohio canal, gave an
impetus to improvements.
The Ohio White Sulphur Springs are beautifully situated on the Scioto
River, in Delaware county, 17 miles north of Columbus, near the line of the
Springfield, Mt. Vernon and Pittsburg Railroad. Upon the estate are four
medicinal springs of different properties: one is white sulphur, one magne-
sian, and two chalybeate. The spring property consists of 320 acres, part
of it woodland, handsomely laid off in walks and drives. The healthiness
of the location and the natural attractions of the spot, joined to the liberal
and generous accommodations furnished by the proprietors, have rendered
this, at the present time, the most popular watering place in the west.
Newark, the capital of Licking county, on the Central Ohio Railroad, 33
miles easterly from Columbus, is a pleasant town of about 4,000 inhabitants.
Six miles west of Newark is Granville, noted for its educational institutions,
male and female, and the seat of Dennison University, founded in 1832, by
the Baptists. This was one of the early settled spots in Central Ohio. The
annexed historical items are from the sketches of Rev. Jacob Little:
In 1804, a company was formed at Granville, Mass., with the intention of making a
settlement in Ohio. This, called " the Scioto Company," was the third of that name which
effected settlements in this state. The project met with great favor, and much enthusiasm
was elicited; in illustration of which, a song was composed and sung to the tune of "Pleas-
ant Ohio," by the young people in the house and at labor in the field. We annex two
stanzas, which are more curious than poetical:
When rambling o'er these mountains Onr precious friends that stay behind,
And rocks, where ivies grow We're sorry now to leave ;
Thick as the hairs upon your head, But if they'll stay and break their shins,
'Mongst which you can not go; For them we'll never grieve;
Great storms of snow, cold winds that blow, Adieu, my friends I come on my dears,
We scarce can undergo; This journey we'll forego,
Says I, my boys, we'll leave this place And settle Licking creek,
For the pleasant Ohio. In yonder Ohio.
The Scioto company consisted of 114 proprietors, who made a purchase of 28,000 acres.
In the autumn of 1805, 234 persons, mostly from East Granville, Mass., came on to the
purchase. Although they had been forty-two days on the road, their first business, on their
arrival, having organized a church before they left the east, was to hear a sermon. The
first tree cut was that by which public worship was held, which stood just in front of the site
of the Presbyterian church. On the first Sabbath, November 16th, although only about a
dozen trees had be -n cut, they held divine worship, both forenoon and afternoon, at that
spot. The novelty of worshiping in the woods, the forest extending hundreds of miles
every way, the hardships of the journey, the winter setting in, the fresh thoughts of home,
with all the friends and privileges left behind, and the impression that such must be the
accommodations of a new country, all rushed on their nerves and made this a day of varied
interest. When they began to sing, the echo of their voices among the trees was so dif-
ferent from what it was in the beautiful meeting house they had left, that they could no
lonjrer restrain their tears. They wept when they rmu">nbered Zion. The voices of part of
the choir were for a season suppressed with emotion.
An incident occurred, which some Mrs. Sigourney should put into a poetical dress.
Deacon Theophilus Reese, a Welsh Baptist, had two or three yenrs before built a cabin a
mile and a halt north, and lived all this time without public worship. He had lost his
cows, mid he-iring a lowing of the oxen belonging to the company, set out toward them.
As he ascended the hills overlooking the town-plot, he heard the singing of the choir.
The reverberation of the sound from hill-tops and trees, threw the good man into a serious
dilemma. The music at first seemed to be behind, then in the tops of the trees or the
clouds. He stopped till, by accurate listening, he caught the direction of the sound, and
went on, till passing the brow of the hill, when he saw the audience sitting on the level
l.»ilow. He went home and told his wife that ''the promise of God is a bond;" a Welsh
OHIO.
119
phrase, signifying that we have security, equal to a bond, that religion will prevail every-
where, lie said, "these must be. (food pro/ilf. 1 am not afraid to go among them.'"
Q hough lie could not understand English, he constantly attended the reading meeting.
I! curing the music on that occasion made such an impression upon his mind, that when he
became old and met the first settlers, he would alwavs tell over this storv.
. • !
Court House, ZanesciUe.
E, tlie capital of Muskinguin county, is beautifully situated on
the cast bank of the Muskingutn River, opposite the mouth of the Licking
creek, 54 miles E. of Columbus, 82 from Wheeling:, and 179 E.N.E. from
Cincinnati. The Muskinjrum, in passing the town, has a natural descent of
nine feet in a distance of about a mile, which is increased by dams to sixteen
feet, thus affording great water-power, which is used by extensive manufac-
tories of various kinds. The number of factories using steam power is also
large, arising f'rc in the abundance of bituminous coal supplied from the sur-
rounding hills. Steamboats can ascend from the Ohio to this point, and
several make regular passages between Zancsville and Cincinnati. The Cen-
tral Ohio Railroad connects it with Columbus on one hand and Wheeling on
the other; the Z-mesville, Wilmington and Cincinnati Railroad, about 130
miles long, terminates here, and connects with another leading north to
Cleveland.
Five bridges cross the Muskingum here, including the railroad bridge,
connecting the city with Putnam, South Zanesville and West Zanesville, all
of which are intimately connected with the business interests of Zanes-ville
proper. There are 5 flouring mills, also iron founderies and machine shops,
which do an extensive business. The railroad bridge is of iron, 538 feet in
length, and contains 67 tuns of wrought iron and 130 tuns of cast iron.
The water of the river is raised, by a forcing pump, into a reservoir on a hill
100 feet high, containing nearly a million of gallons, and from thence dis-
tributed through the city in iron pipes. Zanesville has excellent schools,
among which is the Free School, supported by a fund of from $300,000 to
f.")(lii. (100, bequeathed by J. Mclntire, one of the founders of the place.
Within a circuit of a mile from the court house are about 16.000 inhabit-
ant?: within the city proper, about 10,000.
In May, 1736, congress passed a law authorizing Ebenczer Zane to open
120 OHI°-
a road from Wheeling, Va., to Limestone, now Maysville, Ky. In the fol-
lowing year, Mr. Zane, accompanied by his brother, Jonathan Zane, and his
son-in-law, John Mclutire, both experienced woodsmen, proceeded to mark
out the new road, which was afterward cut out by the latter two. As a com-
pensation for opening this road, congress granted to Ebenezer Zane the priv-
ilege of locating military warrants upon three sections of land, not to exceed
one mile square each. One of these sections was to bo at the crossing of the
Muskingum, and one of the conditions annexed to Mr. Zane's grant was, that
he should keep a ferry at that spot. This was intrusted to Win. M'Culloch
and II. Crooks. The first mail ever carried in Ohio was brought from Ma-
rietta to M'Culloch's cabin, by Daniel Convers, in 1798.
Tn 1799, Messrs. Zane and M'Intire laid out the town, which they called West-
bourn, a name which it continued to bear until a post-office was established by the
postmaster general, under the name of Zanesvillo, and the village soon took the
same name. A few families from the Kanawha, settled on the west side of the
river soon after M'Culloch arrived, and the settlement received pretty numerous
accessions until it became a point of importance. It contained one store and no
tavern. The latter inconvenience, however, was remedied by Mr. M'Intire, who,
for public accommodation, rather than for private emolument, opened a house of
entertainment It is due to Mr. M'Intire and his lady to say that their accommo-
dations, though in a log cabin, were such as to render their house the traveler's
home. Prior to that time there were several grog shops where travelers might
stop, and after partaking of a rude supper, they could spread their blankets and
bearskins on the floor, and sleep with their feet to the fire. But the opening of
Mr. M'Intire's house introduced the luxury of comfortable beds, and although his
board was covered with the fruits of the soil and the chase, rather than the luxu-
ries of foreign clim-es, the fare was various and abundant. This, the tirst hotel at
Zanesville, stood at what is now the corner of Market and Second-streets, a few
rods from the river, in an open maple grove, without any underbrush ; it was a
pleasant spot, well shaded with trees, and in full view of the falls. Louis Phillippe,
late king of France, was once a guest of Mr. M'Intire.
At that time, all the iron, nails, castings, flour, fruit, with many other articles
now produced here in abundance, were brought from Pittsburgh and Wheeling,
cither upon pack-horses across the country, or by the river in canoes. Oats and
corn were usually brought about fifty miles up the river, in canoes, and were worth
from 75 cents to §1 per bushel: flour, $6 to $8 per barrel. In 1802,' David Har-
vey opened a tavern at the intersection of Third and Main-streets, which was about
tho first shingle roofed house in the town. Mr. M'Intire having only kept enter- •
tainment for public accommodation, discontinued after the opening of Mr. Har-
vey's tavern.
In 1804, when the legislature passed an act establishing the county of Mus-
kiriiriim, the commissioners appointed to select a site for the county seat, reported
in favor of Zanesville. The county seat having been established, the town im-
proved more rapidly, and as the unappropriated United States military lands had
been brought into market during the preceding year (1803), and a land office
established at Za/iesville, many purchases and settlements were made in the
county.
The seat of government had been fixed temporarily at Chillicothe, but for sev-
oral reasons, many members of the legislature were dissatisfied, and it was known
tint a change of location was desired by them.
In February, 1810, tho desired law was passed, fixing the seat of government at
% inesviile, until otherwise provided. The legislature sat here during the sessions
of 'l!!-'ll and 'll-'J'J, when tbo present site of Columbus having been fixed upon
Cor t'.ic permanent scat, tho Chillicothe interest prevailed, and the temporary scat
was oiHH! more fixed at tiiat place, until suitable buildings could be erected at
Columbus.
Tho project of removing the seat of government had been agitated as early as
1S07 or' '8, and the anticipation entertained that Zanesville would be selected, gave
OHIO. 121
increased activity to the progress of improvement. Much land was entered in tho
county, and many settlements made, although as late as 1813, land was entered
within three miles of Zanesville. In 1809, parts of- the town plat were covered
with the natural growth of timber.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments, the first three in
the ancient graveyard, on the hill at the head of Main-street, in Zanesville,
the others in the extensive cemetery in Putnam, the village opposite :
Sacred to the memory of JOHN MC!N'TIRK, who departed this life July 29, 1815, aged 56
years, lie was born at Alexandria, Virginia, laid out the town of Zanesville in 1800, of
which he was the Patron and Father. He was a member of the Convention which formed
the Constitution of Ohio. A kind husband, an obliging neighbor, punctual to his engage-
ments; of liberal mind, and benevolent disposition, his death was sincerely lamented.
Sacred to the memory of WILLIAM RAYNOLDS, a native of Virginia, ho emigrated to Ohio
in 1804, and settled in the town at the foot of this hill, where he departed this life Nov. 12,
1844, aged 50 years.
AVho, though formed in an age when corruption ran high,
And folly alone seemed with folly to vie ;
When genius with traffic too commonly strain'd,
Recounted her merits by what she had gain'd,
Yet spurn'd at those walks of debasement and pelf,
And in poverty's spite, dared to think for himself.
Man goeth to his long home, and mourners go about the streets. Within this case lieth
the mortal part of DAVID HARVEY, who was born in the parish of Hogcn, county of Corn-
wall, England, June 21, 1746; arrived in Fredericktown, Md., June, 1774, and voted for
the Independence of the United States ; supported the war by furnishing a soldier during
the term thereof, according to an act of the Assembly of that State. Arrived on the bank
of the Muskingum River, at Zanesville, Ohio, 10th of Dec., 1800. Died May, 1845, aged
69 years.
WILLIAM WKLLES, born in Glastcnbury, Conn., 1754. Among the pioneers of the North
West Territory, he shared largely in their labors, privations and perils. In 1790, he lo-
cated at Cincinnati. As Commissary he was with the army of St. Clair, and was wounded
in its memorable defeat. In 1800, ho settled in Zanesville, subsequently he removed to
Putnam, where he lived respected and beloved by all who knew him, and died universally
lamented, on tho 26th of Jan., 1814.
DR. INCREASE MATTHEWS, born in Braintree, Massachusetts, Dec. 22, 1772. Died Juno
6,1850. " Blessed is the man in whose spirit there is no guile." Psalms xxxii, 2. Dr.
Matthews emigrated to Marietta, Ohio, 1803. In the spring of 1801 he removed to Zanes-
ville, find the same year bought the land which forms the cemetery, including the town plat
of Putnam. For some time he was the only physician in the county. Among the early
pioneers of the valley of tho Muskingum, his many unostentatious virtues, and the purity
und simplicity of his life and character were known and appreciated.
Cosliocton, the capital of Coshocton county, is a small village, 30 miles
above Zanesville, at the forks of the Muskingum, and on the line of the
Pittsburg, Columbus and Cincinnati Railroad. This vicinity was a favorite
residence of the Indians, especially the Shawnees, and they had numerous
villages on the Muskingum and its branches.
Before the settlement of the country, there were several military expeditions into
this ivgion. The first was made in the fall of 1764, by Col. Henry Boquet, with a
lurge body of British regulars and borderers of Pennsylvania and Virginia, Over-
awed by his superiority, and unable by his vigilance to effect a surprise, the
combined tribes made a peace with him", in which they agreed to deliver up their
captives. The delivery took place on the 9th of November, at or near the site of
Coshocton. The number brought in was 206, men, women and children, all from
122 OHIO.
the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia. The scene •which then took place was
very affecting, as related by Hutchins.
Language, indeed, can but weakly describe the scene, one to which the poet or painter
might have repaired to enrich the highest colorings of the variety of the human passions,
the philosopher, to find ample, subject for the mos-t serious reflection, and the man to exer-
cise all the tender and sympathetic feelings of the soul. There were to be seen fathers
and mothers recognizing and clasping their once lost babes, husbands hanging around the
necks of their newly recovered wives, sisters and brothers unexpectedly meeting together,
after a l"iig separation, scarcely able to speak the same language, or for some time to be
sure that they were the children of the same parents. In all these interviews joy and rap-
ture inexpressible were seen, while feelings of a very different nature were painted in the
looks of others, flVing from place to place, in eager inquiries after relatives not found;
trembling to receive an answer to questions; distracted with doubts, hopes and fears on
obtaining no account of those they sought for; or stiffened into living monuments of hor-
ror and woe, on learning their unhappy fate.
The Indians, too, as if wholly forgetting their usual savageness, bore a capital part in
hightening this most affecting scene. They delivered up their beloved captives with the
utmost reluctance — shed torrents of tears over them — recommending them to the care and
protection of the commanding officer. Their regard to them continued all the while they
remained in camp. They visited them from day to day, brought them what corn, skins,
horses, and other matters had been bestowed upon them while in their families, accompa-
nied with other presents, and all the marks of the most sincere and tender affection. Nay,
they didn't stop here, but when the army marched, some of the Indians solicited and ob-
tained permission to accompany their former captives to Fort Pitt, and employed them-
selves in hunting and bringing provisions for them on the way. A young Mingo carried
this still farther, and gave an instance of love which would make a figure even in romance.
A young woman of Virginia was among the captives, to whom he had formed so strong
an attachment as to call her his wife. Against all the remonstrances of the imminent
danger to which he exposed himself by approaching the frontier, he persisted in following
her, at the risk of being killed by the surviving relatives of many unfortunate persons who
had been taken captive or scalped by those of his nation.
But it must not be deemed that there were not some, even grown persons, who showed
an unwillingness to return. The Shawnees were obliged to bind some of their prisoners,
and force them along to the camp, and some women who had been delivered up, afterward
found means to escape, and went back to the Indian tribes. Some who could not make
their escape, clung to their savage acquaintances at parting, and continued many days in
bitter lamentations, even refusing sustenance.
In 1774, in Dunmore's war, a second expedition, of 400 Virginians, under
Col. Angus M'Donald, entered the country, and destroyed the Wakatomica
towns, and burnt the corn of the Indians. This was in the vicinity of Dres-
den, a few miles below the forks.
In the summer of 1780, a third expedition, called " ihe CosTircton campaign"
was made, under Col. Broadhead. The troops rendezvoused at Wheeling, and
inarched to the forks of the Muskingum. They took about 40 prisoners, whom they
tomahawked and scalped in cold blood. A chief, who, under promise of protec-
tion, came to make peace, was conversing with Broadhead, when a man, named
Wetzel, came behind him, and drawing a concealed tomahawk from the bosom of
his hunting shirt, lifted it on high and then buried it in his brains. The confiding
savage quivered, fell and expired.
In Tuscarawas county, which lies directly east and adjoining to Coshoc-
ton, as early as 1762, the Moravian missionaries, Rev. Frederick Post and
John Heckewelder, established a Mission among the Indians on the Tusca-
rawas, where, in 1781, Mary Heckewelder, the first white child born in Ohio,
first saw the light. Other missionary auxiliaries were sent out by that
society, for the propagation of the Christian religion among the Indians.
Among these was the Rev. David Zeisberger, a man whose devotion to the
cause was attested by the hardships he endured, and the dangers he encoun-
tered. Had the same pacific policy which governed the Friends of Penn-
sylvania, in their treatment of the Indians, been adopted by the white set-
OHIO. 123
tiers of the west, the efforts of the Moravian missionaries in Ohio would
have been more successful.
They had three stations on the Tuscarawas River, or rather three Indian villages,
viz : Booenbran, Gnadenhutten and Salem. The site of the first is about two miles
south of New Philadelphia; seven miles farther south was Gnadenhutten, in the
immediate vicinity of the present village of that name ; and about five miles below
that was Salem, a short distance from the village of Port Washington. The first
and last mentioned were on the west side of the Tuscarawas, now near the margin
of the Ohio canal. Gnadenhutten is on the east side of the river. It was here
that a massacre took place on the 8th of March, 1782, which, for cool barbarity, is
perhaps unequaled in the history of the Indian wars.
The Moravian villages on the Tuscarawas were situated about mid-way between
the white settlements near the Ohio, and some warlike tribes of Wyandots and
Delawures on the Sandusky. These latter were chiefly in the service of England, or at
least opposed to the colonists, with whom she was then at war. There was a Brit-
ish station at Detroit, and an American one at Fort Pitt (Pittsburg), which were
regarded as the nucleus of western operations by each of the contending parties.
The Moravian villages of friendly Indians on the Tuscarawas were situated, as the
saying is, between two fires. As Christian converts and friends of peace, both
policy and inclination led them to adopt neutral grounds.
Several depredations had Been committed by hostile Indians, about this time, on
the frontier inhabitants of western Pennsylvania and Virginia, who determined
to retaliate. A company of one hundred men was raised and placed under the
command of Col. Williamson, as a corps of volunteer militia. They set out for
the Moravian towns on the Tuscarawas, and arrived within a mile of Gnad^nhut-
ten on the night of the 5th of March. On the morning of the 6th, finding the In-
dians were employed in their corn-field, on the west side of the river, sixteen of
Williamson's men crossed, two at a time, over in a large sap-trough, or vessel used
for retaining sugar water, taking their rifles with them. The remainder went into
the village, where they found a man and a woman, both of whom they killed. The
sixteen on the west side, on approaching the Indians in the field, found them more
numerous than they expected. They had their arms with them, which was usual
on such occasions, both for purposes of protection and for killing game. The
whites accosted them kindly, told them they had come to take them to a place
where they would be in future protected, and advised them to quit work, and re-
turn with them to the neighborhood of Fort Pitt. Some of the Indians had been
taken to that place in the preceding year, had been well treated by the American
governor of the fort, and been dismissed with tokens of warm friendship. Under
these circumstances, it is not surprising that the unsuspecting Moravian Indians
readily surrendered their arms, and at once consented to be controlled by the ad-
vice of Col. Williamson and his men. An Indian messenger was dispatched to
Salem, to apprise the brethren there of the new arrangement, and both companies
returned to Gnadenhutten.
On reaching the village, a number of mounted militia started for the Salem settlement,
but e'er they reached it, found that the Moravian Indians at that place had already left
their corn-field?, by the advice of the messenger, and were on the road to join their breth-
ren at Gnadenhutten. Measures had been adopted by the militia to secure the Indians
whom they had at first decoyed into their power. They were bound, confined in two houses
and well guarded. On the arrival of the Indians from Salem (their arms having been pre-
viously secured without suspicion of any hostile intention), they were also fettered, and di-
vided between the two prison houses, the males in one, and the females in the other. The
number thus confined in both, including men, women and children, have been estimated
from ninety to ninety-six.
A council was then held to determine how the Moravian Indians should be disposed of.
This self constituted military court embraced both officers and privates. The late Dr.
Dodridge, in his published notes on Indian wars, etc., says: " Colonel Williamson put the
question, whether the Moravian Indians should be taken prisoners to Fort Pitt, or put to
death?'''1 requesting those who were in favor of saving their lives to step out and form a
second rank. Only eighteen out of the whole number stepped forth as the advocates of
mercy. In these the feelings of humanity were not extinct. In the majority, which was
large, no sympathy was manifested. They resolved to murder (for no other word can ex-
124
OHIO.
press the act), the whole of the Christian Indians in their custody. Among these were
several who had contributed to aid the missionaries in the work of conversion and civiii-
y.ation — two of whom emigrated from New Jersey after the death of their spiritual pastor,
Rev. David Braiuard. One woman, who could speak good English, knelt before the com-
mander and begged his protection. Her supplication was unavailing. They were ordered
to prepare for death. But the warning had been anticipated. Their firm belief in their
new creed was shown forth in the sad hour of their tribulation, by religious exercises of
preparation. The orisons of these devoted people were already ascending the throne of
the Most High! — the sound of the Christian's hymn and the Christian's prayer found au
echo in the surrounding woods, but 110 responsive feeling in the bosoms of their execution-
ers. With gun, and spear, and tomahawk, and scalping knife, the work of death pro-
gressed in these slaughter houses, till not a sigh or moan was heard to proclaim the exist-
ence of human life within — all, save two — two Indian boys escaped, as if by a miracle, to
be witnesses in after times of the savage cruelty of the white man toward their unfortu-
nate race.
Thus were upward of ninety human beings hurried to an untimely grave by those who
should have been their legitimate protectors. After committing the barbarous act, Wil-
liamson and his men set fire to the houses containing the dead, and then marched oft' for
Shoenbrun, the upper Indian town. But here the news of their atrocious deeds had pre-
ceded them. The inhabitants hud all fled, and with them fled for a time the hopes of the
missionaries to establish a settlement of Christian Indians on the Tuscarawas. The fruits
of ten years' labor in the cause of civilization were apparently lost.
Those engaged in the campaign, were generally men of standing at home. When the
expedition was formed, it was given out to the public that its sole object was to remove
the Moravians to Pittsburg, and by destroying the villages, deprive the hostile savages of
a shelter. In their towns, various articles plundered from the whites, were discovered.
One man is said, to have found the bloody clothes of his wife and children, who had re-
cently been murdered. These articles, doubtless, had been purchased of the hostile Indi-
ans. The sight of these, it is said, bringing to mind the forms of murdered relations,
wrought them up to an uncontrollable pitch of frenzy, which nothing but blood could
satisfy.
In the year 1799, when the remnant of the Moravian Indians were recalled by the United
States to reside on the same spot, an old Indian, in company with a young man by the
name of Carr, walked over the desolate scene, and showed to the white man an excava-
tion, which had formerly been a cellar, and in which were still some moldering bones of
the victims, though seventeen years had passed since their tragic death — the tears, in the
meantime, falling down the wrinkled face of this aged child of the Tuscarawas.
The Mission, having been resumed, was continued in operation until the
year 1823, when the Indians sold out their lands to the United States, and
removed to a Moravian station on the Thames, in Canada. The faithful
Zeisberger died and was buried at Goshen, the last abiding place of his flock.
In a small graveyard there, a little marble slab bears the following inscrip-
tion :
DAVID ZEISBERGER, who was born llth April, 1721, in Moravia, and departed this life 7th
Nov., 1808. aged 87 years, 7 months and 6 days. This faithful servant of the Lord labored
among the Moravian Indians, as a missionary, during the last sixty years of his life.
STBUBENVILLE, the capital of Jefferson county, is situated on the right
bank of the Ohio, on an elevated plain, 150 miles from Columbus, 36, in a
direct line, from Pittsburgh, and 75 by the river, and 22 above Wheeling,
Va. It is surrounded by a beautiful country, and is the center of an exten-
»ive trade, and nourishing manufactories of various kinds, which are supplied
with fuel from the inexhaustible mines of stone coal in the vicinity. The
Female Seminary at this place, situated on the bank of the river, is a flour-
ishing institution, and has a widely extended reputation. It contains about
9,000 inhabitants.
Steubenville was laid out in 1798, by Bezabel Wells and James Ross. It derives
it* name from Fort Steuben, which was erected in 1789, on High-street, near the
site of the Female Seminary. It was built of block-houses connected by palisade
fences, and was dismantled at the tune of Wayne's victory, previous to which it
OHIO.
125
had been garrisoned by the United States infantry, under the command of Colonel
Beatty.
The old Mingo town, three miles below Steubenville, was a place of note prior
to the settlement of the country. It was the point where the troops of Col. Wil-
liamson rendezvoused in the infamous Moravian campaign, and those of Colonel
Crawford, in his unfortunate expedition against the Sandusky Indians. It was
View in SteubenvUle.
Tno pnarravinrr shows tlip niminrnni'p nf Market -street, looking westward, near tlie Court Kouse, which
rp;:.-:trs on the rifrhr ; a portion of tii • Market on the left ; the Steubenville and Indiana Railroad crosses
IV arket-street in the distance, near which are Woolen I'ac-lorios.
also, at^one time, the residence of Logan, the celebrated Mingo chief, whose form
was striking and manly, and whose magnanimity and eloquence have seldom been
equaled. ^ He was a son of the Caynga chief Skikellimus, who dwelt at Shamokin,
3'a., in 1742, and was converted to Christianity under the preaching of the Mora-
vian missionaries. Skikellimns highly esteemed James Logan, the secretary of the
province, named his son from him, and probably had him baptized by the mission-
aries.
Logan took no part in the old French Avar, which ended in 1760, except that of
a peace maker, and was always the friend of the white people until the base mur-
der of his family to which has been attributed the origin of Dnmnore's war. This
event took place nenr the mouth of Yellow creek, in this county, about 17 miles
above Steubenville. During the war which followed, Logan frequently showed his
magnanimity to prisoners Avho fell into his hands.
Gmncaitf, in Ashtabula county, the north-eastern corner township of Ohio,
is on Lake Erie, and on the Lake Shore Railroad, 67 miles east of Cleve-
land ; it is distinguished as the landing place of the party who made the first
settlement of northern Ohio, in 1796; hence it is sometimes called the Ply-
mouth of the Western Reserve. There is a good harbor at the mouth of
Conneaut creek, and a light house.
On the 4th of July, 1796, the first surveying party of the Western Re-
serve landed at the mouth of Conneaut creek. Of this event, John Barr,
Esq., in his sketch of the Western Reserve, in the National Magazine for
December, 1845, has given the following sketch :
The sons of revolutionary sires, some of them sharers of themselves in the great
baptism of the republic, they made the anniversary of their country's freedom a
126 OHIO.
day of ceremonial and rejoicing. They felt that they had arrived at the place of
their labors, the — to many of them — sites of home, as little alluring, almost as
crowded with dangers, as were the levels of Jamestown, or the rocks of Plymouth
to the ancestors who had preceded them in the conquest of the sea-coast wilderness
of this continent. From old homes and friendly and social associations, they were
almost as completely exiled as were the cavaliers who debarked upon the shores of
Virginia, or the Puritans who sought the strand of Massachusetts. Far away as
they were from the villages of their birth and boyhood; before them the trackless
forest, or the un traversed lake, yet did they resolve to cast fatigue, and privation
and peril from their thoughts for the time being, and give to the day its due, to pa-
triotism its awards. Mustering their numbers, they sat them down on the east-
ward shore of the stream now known as Conneaut, and, dipping from the lake the
liquor in which they pledged their country — their goblets, some tin cups of no rare
workmanship, yet every way answerable, with the ordnance accompaniment of two
or three fowling pieces discharging the required national salute — the first settlers
of the Reserve spent their landing-day as became the sons of the Pilgrim Fathers
— as the advance pioneers of a population that has since made the then wilderness
of northern Ohio to " blossom as the rose," and prove the homes of a people as re-
markable for integrity, industry, love of country, moral truth and enlightened leg-
islation, as any to be found within the territorial limits of their ancestral New
England.
The whole party numbered on. this occasion, fifty-two persons, of whom two were fe-
males (Mr3. Stiles and Mrs. Gunn, and a child). As these individuals were the advance
of after millions of population, their names become worthy of record, and are therefore
given, viz: Moses Cleveland, agent of the company; Augustus Porter, principal surveyor;
Seth Pease, Moses Warren, Amos Spafford, Milton Hawley, Richard M. Stoddard, sur-
veyors; Joshua Stowe, commissary; Theodore Shepard, physician; Joseph Tinker, princi-
pal boatman; Joseph Mclntyre, George Proudfoot, Francis Gay, Samuel Forbes, Elijah
Gunn, wife and child, Amos Sawten, Stephen Benton, Amos Barber, Samuel Hungerford,
William B. Hall, Samuel Davenport, Asa Mason, Amzi Atwater, Michael Coffin, Elisha
Ayres, Thomas Harris, Norman Wilcox, Timothy Dunham, George Goodwin, Shadrach
Benham, Samuel Agnew, Warham Shepard, David Beard, John Briant, Titus V. Munson,
Joseph Landon, Job V. Stiles and wife, Charles Parker, Ezekiel Hawley, Nathaniel Doan,
Luke Hanchet, James Hasket, James Hamilton, Olney F. Rice, John Lock, and four
others whose names are not mentioned.
On the 5th of July, the workmen of the expedition were employed in the erection of a
large, awkwardly constructed log building; locating it on the sandy beach on the east
shore of the stream, and naming it " Stowe Castle," after one of the party. This became
the storehouse of the provisions, etc., and the dwelling place of the families. No perma-
nent settlement was made at Conneaut until 1799, three years later.
Judge James Kingsbury, who arrived at Conneaut shortly after the sur-
veying party, wintered with his family at this place, in a cabin which stood
on a spot now covered by the waters of the lake. This was about the first
family that wintered on the Reserve.
The story of the sufferings of this family have often been told, but in the midst of plenty,
where want is unknown, can with difficulty be appreciated. The surveyors, in the prose-
cution of their labors westwardly, had principally removed their stores to Cleveland, while
the family of Judge Kingsbury remained at Conneaut. Being compelled by business to
leave in the fall for the state of New York, with the hope of a speedy return to his family,
the judge was attacked by a severe fit of sickness confining him to his bed until the setting
in of winter. As soon as able he proceeded on his return as far as Buffalo, where he hired
an Indian to guide him through the wilderness. At Presque Isle, anticipating the. wants
of his family, he purchased twenty pounds of flour. In crossing Elk creek, on the ice,
he disabled his horse, left him in the snow, and mounting his flour on his own back, pur-
sued his way, filled with gloomy forebodings in relation to the fate of his family. On his
arrival late one evening, his worst apprehensions were more than realized in a scene ago-
nizing to the husband and father. Stretched on her cot lay the partner of his cares, who
had followed him through all the dangers and hardships of the wilderness without repin-
ing, pale and emaciated, reduced by meager famine to the last stages in which life can be
supported, and near the mother, on a little pallet, were the remains of his youngest child,
bom in his absence, who had just expired for the want of that nourishment which the
mother, deprived of sustenance, was unable to give. Shut up by a gloomy wilderness, she
OHIO.
127
was far distant alike from the aid or Sympathy of friends, filled with anxiety for an absent
husband, suffering with want, and destitute of necessary assistance, and her children ex-
piring around her with hunger.
Such is the picture presented, by which the wives and daughters of the present day mr.y
form some estimate of the hardships endured by the pioneers of this beautiful country. It
appears that Judge Kingsbury, in order to supply the wants of his family, was under the
necessity of transporting his provisions from Cleveland on a hand sled, and that himself
and hired man drew a barrel of beef the whole distance at a single load.
Mr. Kingsbury subsequently held several important judicial and legislative trusts, and
until within a few years since, was living at Newburg, about four miles distant from Cleve-
land. He was the first who thrust a sickle into the first wheat field planted on the soil of
the Reserve. His wife was interred at Cleveland, about the year 1843. The fate of her
child — the Jirst white child born on the Reserve, starved to death for want of nourishment —
will not soon be forgotten.
Vie to in Superior-street, Cleveland.
The view shows the appearance of Superior-street looking westward. The Weddel House is seen on the
right. The Railroad, (.'anal, and Cuyahogu liiver, all pass within a few rods westward of the torn1 story
building seeii at the head of the street.
CLEVELAND, the capital of Cuyahoga county, on the south shore of Lake
Erie, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga liiver, is, next to Cincinnati, the most
commercial city in the state, and with the exception of Chicago, Detroit and
Buffalo, of all the lake cities. It has great natural facilities for trade, and
is connected with the interior and Ohio River by the Ohio Canal and several
railroads. The various railroads terminating here are, the Cleveland and
Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Cleveland and Mahoning, Cleve-
land arid Pittflburg, Cleveland and Erie, and Cleveland, Zanesville and Cin-
cinnati. It has a good harbor, which has been improved by piers extending
into the lake. It is situated 135 miles E.N.E. from Columbus, 255 from
Cincinnati, 130 from Pittsburg, 130 from Detroit, 183 from Buffalo, and 455
from New York. The location of the city is beautiful, being on a gravelly
128
OHIO.
plain elevated nearly 100 feet above the lake. The streets cross each other
at right angles, and vary from 80 to 120 feet in width. Near the center is a
handsome public square of 10 acres. The private residences are mostly of
a superior order, and in almost every street are indications of wealth and
taste. Euclid-street is an avenue of extraordinary width, running easterly
from the city, and extending for two miles into the country. There is no
single street in any city in the Union, which equals it in the combination of
elegant private residences, with beautiful shrubbery and park like grounds.
The unusual amount of trees and shrubbery in Cleveland has given it the
appellation of "the Forest City:" it is a spot where "town and country ap-
pear to have met and shaken hands." The city is lighted with gas, and also
supplied with the very best of water from the lake. The manufactures of
the city are extensive and important, consisting of steam engines and various
kinds of machinery, mill irons, stoves, plows, carriages, cabinet ware, edge
tools, copper smelting works, woolen goods, tanning and the manufacture of
oils. The agricultural products of the interior of the state are forwarded
here in large quantities, which are reshipped for eastern or European mar-
kets. Ship and steamboat building is also carried on to a considerable ex-
tent. The lumber trade is one of great prominence. The packing of beef
and pork is largely carried on. The wholesale and jobbing business in the
various mercantile departments is increasing daily.
Cleveland has 2 medical colleges, one of which is the Western Reserve
Medical College, the other is of the Homoeopathic school, a fine female sem-
inary on Kinsman's-street, 2 Roman Catholic convents, and a variety of be-
nevolent institutions. Ohio City, on the west side of the city, formerly a
separate corporation, is now comprised in Cleveland. Population, in 1796,
3; 1798, 16; 1825, 500; 1840, 6,071; 1850,17.034; and in I860, it was
43,550.
As early as 17;35, there was a French station within the present limits of Cuya-
hoga county, that in which Cleveland is situated. On Lewis Evans' map of the
middle British colonies, published
that year, there is marked upon the
west bank of the Cuyahoga, the
words, " French house," which was
doubtless the station of a French
trader. The ruins of a. house sap-
posed to be those of the one alluded
to, have been discovered on Foot's
farm, in Brooklyn township, about
five miles from the mouth of the
Cuyahoga. The small engraving an-
nexed, is from the map of Evans, and
delineates the geography as in the
original.
In 1786, the Moravian missionary
Zeisherger, with his Indian converts,
left Detroit, and arrived at the mouth
of the Cuyahoga, in a vessel called
the Mackinaw. From thenco, they
f rccccdod up the river about ten miles from the site of Cleveland, and settle. 1 in
:.n abandoned village of the Ottawa?, within the present limits of indepeadenee,
which they called Pilgerrnh, i. e. Pilgrim's rest. Their stay was brief, for in the
April following, they left for Huron Kiver, and settled near the site of Milan, Erie
count}', at a locality they named New Salem.
The British, who, after the revolutionary war, refused to yield possession of the
lake country west of the Cuyahoga, occupied to its shores until 1790. Their tnv-
OHIO. 129
rfers had a house in Ohio City, north of the Detroit road, on the point of the hill,
near the river, when the surveyors first arrived here in 1796. From an early day,
Washington, Jefferson and other leading Virginia statesmen regarded the mouth
of the Cuyahoga as an important commercial position.
The city was originally comprised in lands purchased by the Connecticut Land
Company," and formed a portion of what is termed the Western Reserve. This
company was organized in 1795, and in the month of May following, it commis-
sioned Gen. Moses Cleveland to superintend the survey of their lands, with a staff
of forty-eight assistants. On July 22, 1796, Gen. Cleveland, accompanied by Agus-
tus Porter, the principal of the surveying department, and several others, entered
the mouth of the Cuyahoga from the lake, but as they were engaged in making a
traverse, they continued their progress to Sandusky Bay. In the interim, Job P.
Stiles and his wife and Joseph Tinker arrived in a boat with provisions, and were
employed in constructing a house about half way from the top of the bank to the*
shore of the river, a short distance north of Main (Superior) street. On the re-
turn of the party from Sandusky, they surveyed and made a plat of the present
city of Cleveland.
, The first building erected in Cleveland, is supposed to have been in 1786, by Col.
James Hillman, of Youngstown, Mahoning county, who was engaged in conveying
flour and bacon from Pittsburg to the mouth of the Cuyahoga, for the use of the
Kritish army in the upper lakes. He visited the site of Cleveland six times, and
on one occasion caused a small cabin to be erected "near a spring in the hill side,
within a short distance of what is now the western termination of Superior-street"
It is probable that Stiles and Tinker availed themselves of this site, and possibly
it furnished a part of the materials to erect their hut.
In the winter of ] 796-7, the population consisted of three inhabitants. Early
in the spring of 1797, James Kingsbury and family, from New England, and Elijah
Gunn removed to Cleveland. The next families who came here were those of Maj.
Carter and l5zekiol Hawley, from Kirtland, the family of the major being accom-
panied by Miss Cloe Inches. In the spring of the following year (1798), Maj. Car-
ser sowed two acres of corn on the west side of Water-street. He was the first
person who erected a frame building in the city, which he completed in 1802. On
the 1st of July, 1797, William Clement was married to Cloe Inches. The ceremony
of this first marriage was performed by Seth Hart, who was regarded by the sur-
veying party as their chaplain. In 1 799, Rodolphus Edwards and Nathaniel Doane
with their families, emigrated from Chatham, Conn., to Cleveland, being ninety-two
days on their journey. In the autumn of this year, the whole colony, without ex-
ception, were afflicted with the fever and ague.
The following historical items were taken from the Traveler, and pub-
lished in the Cleveland Weekly Herald, Jan. 5, 1859:
The first city school was held in Maj. Carter's house in 1802, and the children
were taught by Anna Spafford. The first postoffice was established here in 1804,
when letters were received and transmitted every seven days. In the same year
the first militia training occurred. The place of rendezvous was Doane's corner,
and the muster amounted to about fifty men. In 1805, the harbor was' made a
port of entry, and classed within the Erie district. In the same year the territory
on the west side of the Cuyahoga was ceded to the states by treaty. In 1809, Joel
Thorpe and Amos Simpson each built a boat at Newberg, of six or seven tuns, and
conveyed them in wagons to the harbor, where they were launched. The first
judicial trial took place in 1812. It was held in the open air, beneath the shade
of a cherry tree, which then stood at the corner of Water and Superior-streets : it
being a charge of murder against an Indian, called John O'Mic, who was convicted
find executed. A court house was erected this year on the public square, opposite
the place where the stone church now stands. It was an unique structure; dun-
geons were excavated underneath fora city jail. In 1815, Cleveland was incor-
E orated with a village charter, and Alfred Kelley was the first president. Mr.
[olley was the first attorney in Cleveland. The first brick house in the city was
that of J. R. and J. Kelley, in 1814, in Superior-street. This edifice was soon suc-
ceeded bv another, built by Alfred Kelley, still standing in Water-street. In 1816
9
130
OHIO.
the first bank was established in the city, under the title of the " Commercial Bank
of Lake Erie." The number of vessels enrolled as hailing this year from Cleve-
land was but seven, and their aggregate burden 430 tuns. In 1817, the first church
was organized, which was the Episcopal church of Trinity. On July 31, 1818, the
first newspaper, "jf'Ae Cleveland Gazette and Commercial Register" was issued.
On the 1st of Sept., the same year, steamed in the " Walk-in-the- Water," the first
steamboat which entered the harbor. It was commanded by Capt. Fish, hailed
from Buffalo, and was on its way to Detroit.
In 1819. Mr. Barber built a log hut on the west side of the harbor, and may be
considered as the first permanent settler in Ohio City. The first Presbyterian
church was organized in 1820, and the stone church was erected on the public
square in 1834. In 1821, the first Sunday school was established in Cleveland,
which was attended by twenty scholars. In 1825, an appropriation of $5,000 was
* made by the government for the improvement of the harbor, and during this year
the first steamboat was built here, and the Ohio Canal commenced. In 1827, the
Cuyahoga Furnace Company commenced their manufactory, being the first iron
works erected in the city. In 1830, the light house was built at the termination of
Water-street, the lantern of which is 135 feet above the water level. In 1832, the
Ohio Canal_was completed. It had occupied seven years in its construction, is 307
miles in length, and cost $5,000,001). In 1836, Cleveland was incorporated a city:
the first mayor was John Willey. In 1840, the population had increased to 6,071 ;
in 1845, to 12,206. In 1851, Feb. 231, the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati
Railroad Avas opened for travel, and on the same day, forty miles of the Cleveland
and Pittsburg Railroad were likewise completed. Population, this year, 21.140.
The United States Marine Hospital, on the banks of the lake, was completed in
1852; it was commenced in 1844.
Kdxh-ru cii'ir <>f Toledo.
The view riiowti the appearance of part uf Toledo, :is cei-n from tlie opposite* bank of the Manmec, »t one
of tin- K<Try landings. The Island House, tin- Union Passenger Depot, and the Telegraph Station appear
on the left.
TOLEDO, is a city and port of entry, in Lucas county, on the western
b;nik of the Maumec, 4 miles from its mouth, and 10 miles from Lake Erie,
134 miles N.W. of Columbus, 60 S.StW. of Detroit, and 100 W. of Cleve-
land, find 24fi, by canal, N. of Cincinnati. It is the terminus of the Wabash
and Erie Canal, the longest in the Union; also of the Miami and Erie Canal.
OHIO.
131
It is the port of north-eastern Indiana, and of a large region in north-western
Ohio. It is eminently a commercial town, has not only great natural fa-
cilities, but has also communication by canals and railroads in all direc-
tions.
The Michigan Southern Railroad and the air-line railroad passing through
northern Indiana, the Toledo, Wabash and Western Road, the Toledo and
Detroit Road, the northern and southern divisions of the Cleveland and To-
ledo Road, and the Dayton and Michigan Road, all terminate here in a com-
mon center at the Union Depot. The river is about half a mile wide here,
and forms a harbor admitting the largest lake vessels. Population in 1860,
13,784.
Toledo covers the site of a stockade fort, called Fort Industry, erected
about the year 1800, near what is now Summit-street. The site of the town
originally was two distinct settlements — the upper, Port Lawrence, the lower,
Vistula.
In the summer of 1832, Vistula, under the impetus given it by Captain
Samuel Allen, from Lockport, N. Y., and Major Stickney, made quite a
noise as a promising place for a town. At the same time arrangements were
being made by Major Oliver and Micajah T. Williams, of Cincinnati, with
Daniel 0. Comstock and Stephen B. Comstock, brothers, from Lockport, for
the resuscitation of Port Lawrence, at the mouth of Swan creek. The Corn-
stocks took an interest, and became the agents of the Port Lawrence prop-
erty.
No sales of any importance were made before 1833. In Vistula, the first
stoi'e was started by Mr. E. Briggs ; W. J. Daniels was his clerk. Soon after
Flagg & Bissell opened a more extensive store of goods — probably the first
pood assortment for the use of white people. In 1833, not much progress
was made toward building a town in Vistula or Port Lawrence. In 1834,
speculation in lots began, and with slight intermission continued until the
spring of 1837. Mr. Edward Bissell, from Lockport, a man of enterprise
and activity, became a part owner, and gave a great impetus to the growth
of Vistula. Through him and the Port Lawrence owners, many men of in-
fluence became interested in the new towns. Among these, Judge Mason,
from Livingston county, N. Y., deserves mention, as he became agent of
Mr. Bissell and the other chief owners, and made Vistula his place of resi-
dence.
In Port Lawrence the first Toledo steamer was built, and called the De-
troit. She was of one hundred and twenty tuns, and commanded by Capt.
Baldwin, son of a sea captain of that name, who was one of -the earliest set-
tlers in that place.
In 1836, Toledo was incorporated as a city. The same year the Wabash
and Erie Canal was located, but was not so far finished as to make its busi-
ness felt until 1845, when the Miami and Erie Canal was opened through
from Lake Erie to the Ohio, at Cincinnati.
In 1835, Toledo was the center of the military operations in the " Ohio and
Michigan war" — originating in the boundary dispute between the two states. The
militia of both states were called out and marched to the disputed territory, under
their respective governors — Lucas, of Ohio, and Mason, of Michigan. No blood
was shed, although, at one time, serious results were threatened. Michigan claimed
a narrow strip on her southern border of oight miles wide, which brought Toledo
into that state. The matter was referred to congress, who ceded to Michigan the
large peninsula between Lakes Huron, Superior and Michigan, now known as the
copper region in lieu of the territory in dispute.
132
OHIO.
PLAN ILLUSTRATING THE BATTLES OF THE MAUMEE.
[Explanations. — The map shews
about eight miles of the country along
each side of the Maumee, including
the towns of Perrysburg, Maumee
City and "YVaterville.
Just previous to the battle of the
Fallen Timbers, in August, 1794,
Wayne's army was encamped at a lo-
cality called Roche de Bceuf, a short
distance above the present site of
Waterville. The battle commenced at
the Presque Isle hill. The routed In-
dians were pursued to even under the
guns of the British Fort Miami.
fort Meigs, memorable from having
sustained two sieges in the year 1813,
is shown on the east side of the Mau-
mee, with the British batteries on both
sides of the river, and near the Brit-
ish fort, is the site of Proctor's en-
campment.]
The Maumee Valley in which Tole-
do is situated, is noted in the early his-
tory of the country. It was a favorite
point with the Indians, particularly
that part in the vicinity of the vil-
lages of Maumee City and Perrysburg,
about nine miles south of Toledo. As
early as 1680, the French had a trading
station just below the site of Maumee
City; and in 1794, the British built
Fort Miami on the same spot. This
was within American territory, and
from this point the British traders in-
stigated the Indians to outrages upon
the American settlements. Two im-
portant events occurred in this vicinity
— the victory of Wayne, August 20,
1794, and the siege of Fort Meigs,
in the war of 1812.
Wayne's battle ground is about three
miles south of Maumee City, on the
west side of the river. He approached
from the south, having with him about
three thousand men, of whom sixteen
hundred were Kentuckians under Gen.
Scott. From Wayne's official report we make the annexed extract, which
contains the principal points of this important victory :
The legion was on the right, its flanks covered by the Maumee : one brigade of
OHIO.
133
WAYNE'S BATTLE GROUND.
The view is from the north, showing on the left the Mau-
mee and in front Presque Isle Hill. On the right liy tho road-
side, is the noted Turkey Foot Rock.*
mounted volunteers on the left, under Brig. Gen. Todd, and the other in the rear,
under Brig. Gen. Barbee. A select battalion of mounted volunteers moved in front
of the legion, commanded by Major Price, who was directed to keep sufficiently
advanced, so as to give timely notice for the troops to form in case of action, it be-
ing yet undetermined whether the Indians would decide for peace or war.
After advancing about five miles,
Major Price's corps received so
severe a fire from the enemy, -who
were secreted in the woods and
high grass, as to compel them to
retreat. The legion was immedi-
ately formed in two lines, princi-
pally in a close thick wood, which
extended for miles on our left, and
for a very considerable distance
in front; the ground being cov-
ered with old fallen timber, prob-
ably occasioned by a tornado,
which rendered it impracticable
for the cavalry to act with effect,
and afforded the enemy the most
favorable covert for their mode of
warfare. The savages were form-
ed in three lines, within supporting distance of each other, and extending for near
two miles at right angles with the river. I soon discovered, from the weight of
the fire and extent of their lines, that the enemy were in full force in front, in
possession of their favorite ground, and endeavoring to turn our left flank. I there-
fore gave orders for the second line to advance and support the first; and directed
Major General Scott to gain and turn the right flank of the savages, with the whole
force of the mounted volunteers, by a circuitous route ; at the same time 1 ordered
the front line to advance and charge with trailed arms, and rouse the Indians
from their coverts at the point of the bayonet, and when up, to deliver a close and
well-directed fire on their backs, followed by a brisk charge, so as not to give them
time to load again.
I also ordered Captain Mis Campbell, who commanded the legionary cavalry, to
turn the left flank of the enemy next the river, and which afforded a favorable
field for that corps to act in. All these orders were obeyed with spirit and prompt-
itude; but such was the impetuosity of the charge by the first line of infantry, that
the Indians and Canadian militia and volunteers were driven from all their coverts
in so short a time, that although etery possible exertion was used by the officers
of the second line of the legion, and by Generals Scott, Todd and Barbee, of the
mounted volunteers, to gain their proper positions, but part of each could get up in
season to participate in the action ; the enemy being driven, in the course of one
hour, more than two miles through the thick woods already mentioned, by less than
one half their numbers. From every account the enemy amounted to two thousand
combatants. The troops actually engaged against them were short of nine hun-
dred. This horde of savages, with their allies, abandoned themselves to flight, and
dispersed with terror and dismay, leaving our victorious army in full and quiet pos-
session of the field of battle, which terminated under the influence of the guns of
the British garrison.
The loss of the enemy was more than that of the federal army. The woods were
* At this spot says tradition, an Indian chief named Turkey Foot, rallied a few of his
men and stood upon it fighting until his strength becoming exhausted from loss of blood, he
fell and breathed his last. Upon it have been carved by the Indians, representations of tur-
key's feet, now plainly to be seen, and it is said "the early settlers of and travelers through the
Mauinee valley, usually fourud many small pieces of tobacco deposited on this rock, which
had been placed there by the Indians as devotional acts, by way of sacrifices, to appease
the indignant spirit of the departed hero."
134 OHIO.
strewed for a considerable distance with the dead bodies of Indians and their white
auxiliaries, the latter armed with British muskets and bayonets.
We remained three days and nights on the banks of the Maumee, in front of the
field of battle, during which time all the houses and corn-fields were consumed
and destroyed for a considerable distance, both above and below Fort Miami, as
well as within pistol-shot of the garrison, who were compelled to remain tacit spec-
tators to this general devastation and conflagration, among which were the houses,
stores and property of Colonel M'Kee, the British Indian agent and principal stim-
ulator of the war now existing between the United States and the savages.
The loss of the Americans in this battle, was 33 killed and 100 wounded, inclu-
ding 5 officers among the killed, and 19 wounded. One of the Canadians taken in
the action, estimated the force of the Indians at about 1400. He also stated that
about 70 Canadians were with them, and that Col. M'Kee, Capt. Elliott and Simon
Girty were in the field, but at a respectable distance, and near the river.
When the broken remains of the Indian army were pursued under the British
fort, the soldiers could scarcely be restrained from, storming it This, independent
of its results in bringing on a war with Great Britain, would have been a desper-
ate measure, as the fort mounted 10 pieces of artillery, and was garrison by 450
men, while Wayne had no armament proper to attack such a strongly fortified place.
While the troops remained in the vicinity, there did not appear to be any commu-
nication between the garrison and the savages. The gates were shut against them,
and their rout and slaughter witnessed with apparent unconcern by the British.
That the Indians were astonished at the lukewarmness of their real allies, and re-
garded the fort, in case of defeat, as a place of refuge, is evident from various cir-
cumstances, not the least of which was the well known reproach of Tecumseh, in
his celebrated speech to Proctor, after Perry's victory. The near approach of the
troops drew forth a remonstrance from Major Campbell, the British commandant,
to General Wayne.* A sharp correspondence ensued, but without any special re-
sults. The morning before the ariny left, General Wayne, after arranging his force
in such a manner as to show that they were all on the alert, advanced with his nu-
merous staff and a small body of cavalry, to the glacis of the British fort, recon-
noitering it with great deliberation, while the garrison were seen with lighted
matches, prepared for any emergency. It is said that Wayne's party overheard
one of the British subordinate officers appeal to Major Campbell, for permission to
fire upon the cavalcade, and avenge such an insulting parade under his majesty's
guns; but that officer chided him with the abrupt exclamation, "be a gentleman !
be a gentleman /"f
After the defeat and massacre of the Kentuckians under "Winchester at the
River Raisin, near the site of Monroe, Michigan, in February, 1813, Gen.
Harrison cominander-in-chief of the army of the north-west, established his
advance post at the foot of the Maumee Rapids and erected a fort, subse-
quently named Meigs, in honor of Governor Meigs.
"On the breaking up of the ice in Lake Erie, General Proctor, with all his dispo-
sable force, consisting of regulars and Canadian militia from Maiden, and a large
body of Indians under their celebrated chief, Tecumseh, amounting in the whole
to two thousand men, laid siege to Fort Meigs. To encourage the Indians, he had
*Gen. Wayne was a man of most ardent impulses, and in the heat of action apt to forget
that he was the general — not the soldier. When the attack on the Indians who were con-
cealed behind the fallen timbers, was commencing by ordering the regulars up, the late Gen.
Harrison, then aid to Wayne, being lieutenant with the title of major, addressed his superi-
or— "Geu. Wayne, I am afraid you will get into the fight yourself, and forget to give mo
the necessary field orders." "Perhaps I may, replied Wayne, "and if I do, recollect the
standing order for the clay is, charge the rascals with the bayonet."
•(•That the Indian war was in a great measure sustained by British influences, admits of
ample proof. Gen. Harrison, in his letter to Hon. Thomas Chilton, shows this from his own
personal observation, and concludes it with this sentence. "If then the relation I have giv-
en is correct, the war of the revolution continued in the western country, until the peace of Green-
ville, in 1795."
OHIO. 135
promised them an easy conquest, and assured them that General Harrison should
be delivered up to Tecumseh. On the 26th of April, the British columns appeared
on the opposite bank of the river, and established their principal batteries on a
commanding eminence opposite the fort. On the 27th, the Indians crossed the
river, and established themselves in the rear of the American lines. The garrison,
not having completed their wells, had no water except what they obtained from the
river, under a constant firing of the enemy. On the first, second, and third of May,
their batteries kept up an incessant shower of balls and shells upon the fort. On
the night of the third, the British erected a gun and morter battery on the left bank
of the river, within two hundred and fifty yards of the American lines. The Indi-
ans climbed the trees in the neighborhood of the fort, and poured in a galling fire
upon the garrison. In this situation General Harrison received a summons from
Proctor for a surrender of the garrison, greatly magnifying his means of annoy-
ance; this was answered by a prompt refusal, assuring the British general that if
he obtained possession of the fort, it would not be by capitulation. Apprehensive
of such an attack, General Harrrison had made the governors of Kentucky and
Ohio minutely acquainted with his situation, and stated to them the necessity of
reinforcements for the relief of Fort Meigs. His requisitions had been zealously
anticipated, and General Clay was at this moment descending the Miami with twelve
hundred Kentuckians for his relief.
"At twelve o'clock in the night of the fourth, an officer* arrived from General
Clay, with the welcome intelligence of his approach, stating that he was just above
the rapids, and could reach them in two hours, and requesting his orders. Harri-
son determined on a general sally, and directed Clay to land eight hundred men on
the right bank, take possession of the British batteries, spike their cannon, imme-
diately return to their boats, and/cross over to the American fort. The remainder
of Clay's force were ordered to land on the left bank, and fight their way to the
fort, while sorties were to be made from the garrison in aid of these operations.
Captain Hamilton was directed -to proceed up the river in a pirogue, land a sub-
altern on the left bank, who should be a pilot to conduct Gen. Clay to the fort: and
then cross over and station his pirogue at the place designated for the other di-
vision to land. General Clay, having received these orders, descended the river in
order of battle in solid columns, each officer taking position according to his rank.
Col. Dudley, being the eldest in command, led the van, and wasorderecj to take the
men in the twelve front boats, and execute General Harrison's orders on the right
bank. He effected his landing at the place designated, without difficulty. General
Clay kept close along the left bank until he came opposite the place of Col. Dudley's
landing, but not finding the subaltern there, he attempted to cross over and join
Col. Dudley; this was prevent by the violence of the current on the rapids, and he
again attempted to land on the left bank, and effected it, with only fifty men amid
a brisk fire from the enemy on shore, and made their way to the fort, receiving their
fire until within the protection of its guns. The other boats under the command
of Col. Boswell, were driven further down the current, and landed on the right
to join Col. Dudley. Here they were ordered to re-embark, land on the left bank,
and proceed to the fort. In the mean time two sorties were made from the garri-
son, one on the left, in aid of Col. Bosweil, by which the Canadian militia and In-
dians were defeated, and he was enabled to reach the fort in safety, and one on the
right against the British batteries, which was also successful."
"Col. Dudley, with his detachment of eight hundred Kentucky militia, complete-
* This messenger was Capt. William Oliver, post master at Cincinnati in Taylor's admin-
istration, then a young man, noted for his heroic bravery. He had previously been sent
from the fort at a time when it was surrounded by Indians, through the wilderness, with
instructions to General Clay. His return to the fort was extremely dangerous. Capt. Les-
lie Coombs, now of Lexington, Ky., had been sent by Col. Dudley to communicate with Har-
rison. He approached the fort, and when within about a mile, was attacked by the Indians
find after a gallant resistance was foiled in his object and obliged to retreat with the loss of
nearly all of his companions. Oliver managed to get into the fort through the cover of the
darkness of the night, by which he eluded the vigilance of Tecumseh and his Indians, who
were very watchful and had closely invested it.
136 OHI°-
Iy succeeded in driving the British from their batteries, and spiking the canno~«.
Having accomplished this object, his orders were peremptory to return immedi-
ately to his boats and cross over to the fort : but the blind confidence which gener-
ally attends militia when successful, proved their ruin. Although repeatedly or-
dered by Col. Dudley, and warned of their danger, and called upon from the fort to
leave the ground; and although there was abundant time for that purpose, before
the British reinforcements arrived; yet they commenced a pursuit of the Indians,
and suffered themselves to be drawn into an ambuscade by some feint skirmishing,
while the British troops and large bodies of Indians were brought up, and inter-
cepted their return to the river. Elated with their first success, they considered
the victory already gained and pursued the enemy nearly two miles into the woods
and swamps, where they were suddenly caught in a defile and surrounded by
double their numbers. Finding themselves in this situation, consternation pre-
vailed ; their line became broken and disordered, and huddled together in unre-
sisting crowds, they were obliged to surrender to the mercy of the savages. For-
tunately for these unhappy victims of their own rashness, General Tecumseh com-
manded at this ambuscade, and had imbibed since his appointment more humane
feelings than his brother Proctor. After the surrender, and all resistance had
ceased, the Indians, finding five hundred prisoners at their mercy, began the work
of massacre with the most savage delight. Tecumseh sternly forbade it, and buried
his tomahawk in the head of one of his chiefs who refused obedience. This order
accompanied with this decisive manner of enforcing it, put an end to the massacre.
Of eight hundred men only one hundred and fifty escaped. The residue were slain
or made prisoners. Col. Dudley was severely wounded in the action, and after-
ward tomahawked and scalped.*
*This defeat was occasioned by the impetuous valor of his men. In one of the general
orders after the 5th of May, Harrison takes occasion to warn his men against that rash
bravery which he says " is characteristic of the Kentucky troops, and if persisted in is as fatal
in its results as cowardice."
After Dudley had spiked the batteries, which had but few defenders, some of his men
loitered about the banks and filled the air with cheers. Harrison, and a group of officers,
who were anxiously watching them from the grand battery, with a presentiment of the hor-
rible fate that awaited them, earnestly beckoned them to return. Supposing they were re-
turning their cheers, they reiterated their shouts of triumph. Harrison seeing this, ex-
claimed in tones of anguish, '' they are lost I they are lost! — can I never get men to obey my
orders? " He then offered a reward of a thousand dollars to any man who would cross the
river and apprise Col. Dudley of his danger. This was undertaken by an officer, but ha
was too late.
Hon. Joseph R. Underwood, then a lieutenant, has given some extremely interesting de-
tails of the horrible scenes which ensued ; says he:
"On our approach to me uid garrison, the Indians formed a line to the left of the road,
there being a perpendicular bank to the right, on the margin of which the road passed. I
perceived that the prisoners were running the gauntlet, and that the Indians were whipping,
shooting and tomahawking the men as they ran by their line. When I reached the start-
ing place, I dashed off as fast as I was able, and ran near the muzzles of their guns, know-
ing that they would have to shoot me while I was immediately in front, or let me pass, for
to have turned their guns up or down their lines to shoot me, would have endangered them-
selves, as there was a curve in their line. In this way I passed without injury, except some
strokes over the shoulders with their gun-sticks. As I entered the ditch around the garri-
son, the man before me was shot and fell, and I fell over him. The passage for a while
was stopped by those who fell over the dead man and myself. How many lives were lost
at this place I can not tell — probably between 20 and 40. The brave Captain Lewis was
among the number. When we got within the walls, we were ordered to sit down. I lay
in the lap of Mr. Gilpin, a soldier of Captain Henry's company, from Woodford. A new
scene commenced. An Indian, painted black, mounted the dilapidated wall, and shot one
of the prisoners next to him. He reloaded and shot a second, the ball passing through him
into the hip of another, who afterward died, I was informed, at Cleveland, of the wound.
The savage then laid down his gun and drew his tomahawk, with which he killed two
others. When ho drew his tomahawk and jumped down among the men, they endeavored
to escape from him by leaping over the heads of each other, and thereby to place others
between themselves and danger. Thus they were heaped upon one another, and as I did
not rise, they trampled upon me so that I could see nothing that was going on. The con-
fusion and uproar of this moment can not be adequately described. There was an excite-
OHIO. 137
Proctor seeing no prospect of taking the fort, and finding his Indians fast leav-
ing him, raised the siege on the 9th of May, and returned with precipitation to
Maiden. Tecumseh and a considerable portion of the Indians remained in ser-
rice; but large numbers left in disgust, and were ready to join the Americans.
On the left bank, in the several sorties of the 5th of May, and during the siege,
the American loss was eighty-one killed and one hundred and eighty-nine wounded.
The British force under Proctor, during the siege, amounted, as nearly a's could
be ascertained, to 3,200 men. of whom 600 were British regulars, 800 Canadian
militia, and 1,800 Indians. Those under Harrison, including the troops who arrived
on the morning of the 5th, under Gen. Clay, were about 1,200. The number of
his men fit for duty, was, perhaps, less than 1,100."*
On the 20th of July, the enemy, to the number of 5,000, again appeared
before Fort Meigs, and commenced a second siege. The garrison was, at
the time, under the command of Gen. Green Clay, of Kentucky. Finding
the fort too strong, they remained but a few days.
SANDUSKY CITY, port of entry, and capital of Erie county, is situated o-n
the southern shore of Sandusky Bay, 3 miles from Lake Erie, 105 miles N.
from Columbus, 47 E. from Toledo, 210 N.N.E. from Cincinnati, and 60
from Cleveland and Detroit. It is also on the northern division of the Cleve-
land and Toledo Railroad, and is the terminus of the Sandusky, Mansfield
and Newark, and Sandusky, Dayton and Cincinnati Railroads. The bay
is about 20 miles long and 5 or 6 wide, forming an excellent harbor, into
which vessels of all sizes can enter with safety in storms. The ground on
which the city stands, ri?es gently from the shore, commanding a fine view
of the bay with its shipping. The town is based upon an inexhaustible
quarry of fine limestone, which is not only used in building elegant and sub-
men t among the Indian!), and a fierceness in their conversation, which betokened on the
part of some a strong disposition to massacre the whole of us. The British officers and
soldiers seemed to interpose to prevent the further effusion of blood. Their expression was
" Oh, nicliee, wah I " meaning, " oh 1 brother, quit! " After the Indian who had occasioned
this horrible scene, had scalped and stripped his victims, he left us, and a comparative calm
ensued. The prisoners resumed their seats on the ground. While thus situated, u tall,
stout Indian walked into the midst of us, drew a long butcher knife from his belt and com-
menced whetting it. As he did so, he looked around among the prisoners, apparently se-
lecting one for the gratification of his vengeance. I viewed his conduct, and thought it
probable that he was to give the signal for a general massacre. But after exciting our fears
sufficiently for his satisfaction, ho gave a contemptuous grunt and went out from among us.
When it was near night, we were taken in open boats about nine miles down the river,
to the British shipping. On the day after, we were visited by the Indians, !n their bark
canoes, in order to make a display of their scalps. These they strung on a pole, perhaps
two inches in diameter, and about eight feet high. The pole was set up perpendicularly in
the bow of their canoes, and near the top the scalps were fastened. On some poles I saw
four or five. Each scalp was drawn closely over a hoop about four inches in diameter; and
the fle^h sides. I thought, were painted red. Thus their oanocs were decorated with a flag-
staff of a most appropriate character, bearing human scalps, the horrid ensigns of savage
warfare."
*" During the siege," says an eye witness, "one of our militia men took his station on
the embankment, and gratuitously forewarned us of every shot. In this he became so
skillful that he could, in almost every case, predict the destination of the ball. As soon as
the smoke issued from the muzzle of the gun, he would cry out, "shot," or "bomb," as the
case might be. Sometimes ho would exclaim, " block-house No. 1," or " look-out main bat-
tery ;" "now for the meat-home; " " yood-bij, if you will pass." In spite of all the expostu-
lations of his friends, he maintained his post. One day there came a shot that seemed to
defy all his calculations. He stood silent — motionless — perplexed. In the tame instant he
wan swept into eternity. Poor man ! ho should have considered, that when there is no ob-
liquity in the issue of the smoke, either to the right or left, above or below, the fatal mes-
senger would travel in the direct line of his vision. Ha reminded me of the peasant, in
the siege of Jerusalem, who cried out, " woe to the city I woe to the temple I woe to myself I "
138
OHIO.
stantial edifices in the place, but is an extensive article of export. It has a
large trade, and its manufactures, chiefly of heavy machinery, are important.
Population, about 12,000.
North-eastern view of Public Square, Sandusky.
The view shows, first, beginning nt tlie left, tlie Episcopal Church, then successively the Dutch Reformed
Church, the Court House, Catholic Church, tlie High School, Congregational Church, Methodist, Baptist,
and the Presbyterian Churches.
The French established a small trading post at the mouth of Huron River, and
another on the shore of the bay on or near the site of Sandusky City, which were
abandoned before the war of the revolution. The small map annexed is copied
from part of Evans' map of the Middle British Colonies, published in 1755. The
render will perceive upon the east bank
of Sandusky River, near the bay, a French
fort there described as " Fort Junandat,
built i)i 1754." The words Wandots are,
doubtless, meant for Wyandot towns.
Erie, Huron, and a small part of Otta-
wa counties comprise that portion of the
Western Reserve* known as " the Jire
.lands" being a tract of about 500,000
acres, granted by the state of Connecticut
to the sufferers by fire from the British in
their incursions into that state.
It is quite difficult to ascertain who the first
settlers were upon the fire lands. As early,
if not prior to the organization of the state,
several persons had squatted upon the lands,
at the mouth of the streams and near the
shore of the lake, led a hunter's life and
trafficked with the Indians. But they wore a
race of wanderers and gradually disappeared
before the regular progress of the settlements.
Those devoted missionaries, the Moravians, made a settlement, which they called New
* The Western, or Connecticut Reserve, comprises the following counties in northern Ohio,
viz : Ashtabula, Lake, Cuyahoga, Lorain, Erie, Huron, Medina, Summit, Portage, Trum-
bull, and the northern part of Mahoning.
OHIO. 139
Salem, as early as 1790, on Huron River, about two miles below Milan, on the Hathaway
farm. They afterward settled at Milan.
The first regular settlers upon the fire lands were Col. Jerard Ward, who came in the
spring of 1808, and Almon Ruggles and Jabez Wright, in the autumn succeeding. Ere the
close of the next year, quite a number of families had settled in the townships of Huron,
Florence, Berlin, Oxford, Margaretta, Portland and Vermillion. These early settlers gen-
erally erected the ordinary log cabin, but others of a wandering character built bark huts,
which were made by driving a post at each of the four corners, and one higher between
each of the two end corners, in the middle to support the roof, which were connected to-
gether by a ridge pole. Layers of bark were wound around the side of the posts, each up-
per layer lapping the one beneath to shed rain. The roof was barked over, strips being
bent across from one eave over the ridge pole to the other, and secured by poles on them.
The occupants of these bark huts were squatters, and lived principally by hunting. They
were the semi-oivilized race that usually precedes the more substantial pioneer in the west-
ern wilderness.
Fremont, formerly Lower Sandusky, on the west bank of Sandusky River,
is the county seat of Sandusky county, 30 miles easterly from Toledo, by the
Cleveland and Toledo Railroad. Population about 4,000.
The defense of Fort Stephenson, at this point, Aug. 2, 1813, just after
the siege of Fort Meigs, was a memorable event in the war of 1812.
This post had been established by Gen. Harrison, on Sandusky River, eighteen
miles from its mouth, and forty east of Fort Meigs. It was garrisoned by one
hundred and fifty men, under Major .
Bniiiiiiiif.!i:i,!i!e George Croghan, a young Kentuckinn,
just past twenty-one years of age. This
fort being indefensible against heavy
cannon, which it was supposed would
be brought against it by Proctor, it was
judged best by Harrison and his officers
in council, that it should be abandoned.
But the enemy appeared before the gar-
rison on the 31st of July, before the or-
der could "be executed ; they numbered
thirty-three hundred strong, including
the Indians, and brought with them six
FORT SANDUSKY.* pieces of artillery, which, luckily, were
of light caliber. To Proctor's summary
demand for its surrender, he was informed that he could only gain access over the
corpses of its defenders. The enemy soon opening their fire upon them, gave
Croghan reason to judge that they intended to storm the north-west angle of the
fort. In the darkness of night, he placed his only piece of artillery, a six pounder,
at that point, and loaded it to the muzzle with slugs. On the evening of the 2d,
three hundred British veterans marched up to carry the works by storm, and
when within thirty feet of the masked battery it opened upon them.f The effect
was decisive, twenty-seven of their number was slain, the assailants recoiled, and
having the fear of Harrison before them, who was at Fort Seneca, some ten miles
south, with a considerable force, they hastily retreated the same night, leaving be-
hind them their artillery and stores.
Upper Sanditsky, the county seat of Wyandot county, is a village of about
* Reference* to the Fort. — Line I — Pickets. Line 2 — Embankment from the ditch to and
against the picket. Line 3 — Dry ditch, nine feet wide by six deep. Line 4 — Outward em-
bankment or glacis. A — Block-house first attacked by cannon, b. B — Bastion from which
the ditch was raked by Croghan's artillery. C — Guard block-house, in the lower left cor-
ner. D — Hospital during the attack. E E E — Military store-houses. F — Commissary's
store-house. G — Magazine. H — Fort gate. K K K — Wicker gates. L — Partition gate.
"fCol. Short, who commanded this party, was ordering his men to leap the ditch, cut down
the pickets, and give the Americans no quarters, when he fell mortally wounded into the
ditch, hoisted his white handkerchief on the end of his sword, and begged for that mercy
which he had a moment before ordered to be denied to his enemy.
140 OHIO.
1,500 inhabitants, 63 miles N. of Columbus, ou the W. bank of the Sandus-
ky, and on the Pittsburg, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad. It was for-
merly the chief town of the Wyandot Indians, who ceded their land to the
United States in 1843.
About three miles north of the town is the battle ground, where Col. Crawford
was defeated by the Indians, in 1782. After the massacre of the Moravian Indi-
ans on the Tuscarawas, the remainder settled in this vicinity among the hostile In-
dians. A second expedition was projected on the upper Ohio, to invade the Wy-
andot country, finish the destruction of the Christian Indians, and then destroy
the Wyandot towns in the vicinity. Four hundred and eighty men assembled at
the old Mingo towns, near the site of Steubenville, and elected Col. Wm. Craw- '
ford, a resident of Brownsville, as their commander. This officer was a native of
Virginia, and an intimate friend of Washington. At this time he was about 50
years of age.
It was determined to carry on a war of extermination — " no quarter was to
be given to any man, woman or child." On the 7th of June, while marching
through the Sandusky plains, they were attacked by the Indians, concealed in the
high grass. The action continued until night closed in upon them. It was then
determined to retreat. Unfortunately, instead of doing so all in a body, one part
broke up into small parties, and these being pursued by detachments of Indians,
mostly fell into the hands of the enemy. Some were killed and scalped at the
time, while others were reserved for torture. Among the latter was Col. Crawford,
who perished at the stake.*
* The account of the burning of Crawford is thus given by Dr. Knight, his companion,
who subsequently escaped. When we went to the fire, the colonel was stripped naked, or-
dered to sit down by the fire, and then they beat him with sticks and their fists. Presently
after, I was treated in the same manner. They then tied a rope to the foot of a post about
fifteen feet high, bound the colonel's hands behind his back and fastened the rope to the
ligature between his wrists. The rope was long enough for him to sit down "or walk round
the post once or twice, and return the same way. The colonel then called to Girty, and
asked him if they intended to burn him ? Girty answered, yes. The colonel said he would
take it all patiently. Upon this, Captain Pipe, a Delaware chief, made a speech to the In-
dians, viz : about thirty or forty men, and sixty or seventy squaws and boys. When the
speech was finished, they all yelled a hideous and hearty assent to what had been said. The
Indian men took up their guns and shot powder into the colonel's body, from his feet as far
up as his neck. I think that not less than seventy loads were discharged upon his naked
body. They then crowded about him, and to the best of my observation, cut off his ears ;
when the throng had dispersed a little, I saw the blood running from, both sides of his head
in consequence thereof.
The fire was about six or seven yards from the post to which the colonel was tied ; it was
made of small hickory poles, burnt quite through in the middle, each end of the poles re-
maining about six feet in length. Three or four Indians, by turns, would take up, indi-
vidually, one of these burning pieces of wood, and apply it to his naked body, already
burr.t black with powder. These tormentors presented themselves on every side of him
with the burning fagots and poles. Some of the squaws took broad boards, upon which
they would carry & quantity of burning coals and hot embers, and throw on him, so that in
a short time, he had nothing but coals of fire and hot ashes to walk upon. In the midst of
these extreme tortures, he called to Simon Girty, and begged of him to shoot him ; but
Girty making no answer, he called to him again. Girty then, by way of derision, told the
colonel that he had no gun, at the same time turning about to an Indian who was behind
him, laughed heartily, and by all hia gestures, seemed delighted with the horrid scene.
Girty then came up to me and bade me prepare for death. He said, however, I was not to
die at that place, but to be burnt at the Shawnese towns. He swore by G — d I need not
expect to escape death, but should suffer it in all its extremities.
Col. Crawford, at this period of his sufferings, besought the Almighty to have mercy on
his soul, spoke very low, and bore his torments with the most manly fortitude. He con-
tinued in all the extremities of pain for an hour and three quarters or two hours longer, as
near as I can judge, when at last, being almost exhausted, he lay down on his belly ; they .
then scalped him, and repeatedly threw the scalp in my face, telling me, " that was my great
captain." An old squaw (whose appearance every way answered the ideas people entertain
of the devil) got a board, took a parcel of coals and ashes and laid them on his back and
bead, after he had been scalped; he then raised himself upon his feet and began to walk
OHIO.
141
Near the town of Upper Sandusky stands the old Wyandot Mission Church,
built about the year 1824, from government funds, by Rev. James B. Fin-
ley. The Methodists here sustained the mission among the Indians for many
years. In 1816, John Stewart, a mulatto, a Methodist, came here, and gain-
ing much influence over the na-
tives, paved the way for a regular
mission, which was soon after
formed^ by Mr. Finley, who es-
tablished both a church and a
school. This was the first Indian
mission formed by the Methodists
in the Mississippi Valley. Mr.
Finley was very happy in his
efforts, and in his interesting his-
tory of Ae mission, gives the fol-
lowing touching anecdote of the
chief Sumniundewat, one of his
converts, who was subsequently
murdered by some vagabond
whites in Hancock county, while
extending to them hospitalities :
\\T\NPOT MISSION CHURCJI.
" Sum-mun-de-wat amused me after
he came home by relating a circumstance that transpired one cold evening, just before
sun-down. « I met,' said he, • on a small path, not far from my camp, a man who ask me
if I could talk English.' I said. ' Little.' He ask me, ' How far is it to a house? ' I an-
swer, ' I don't know — may be 10 miles — may be 8 miles.' ' Is there a path leading to it?'
' No — by and by dis go out (pointing to the path they were on), den all woods. You go
home me — sleep — me go show you to-morrow.' Then he come my camp — so take horse
— tie — give him some corn ami brush — then my wife give him supper. He ask where I
come. I say, 'Sandusky.' He say,' You know Finley? ' ' Yes,' I say, 'he is my brother
— my father.' Then he say,' He is my brother.' Then I feel something in my heart burn.
I say, ' You preacher? ' Ke say, ' Yes; ' and I shook hands and say, ' My brother! ' Then
we try talk. Then I say, ' You sing und pray.' So he did Then he say to me, ' Sing
and pray.' So I did; and I so much cry I can't pray. No go to sleep — I can't — I wake —
my heart full. All night I pray and praise God, for his send me preacher to sleep my
camp. Next morning soon come, and he want to go. Then I go show him through the
woods, until come to big road. Then he took my hand and say, 'Farewell, brother; by
and by we meet up in heaven.' Then me cry, and my brother cry. We part — I go hunt.
All day I cry, and no see deer jump up and run awrfy. Then I go and pray by some log.
My heart so full of joy, that I can not walk much. I sny, ' I can not hunt.' Sometimes
I sing — then I stop and clap my hands, and look up to God, my heavenly Father. Then
the love come so fast in my heart, I can hardly stand. So I went home, and said, ' Thia
is my happiest day.' "
DAYTON, a city, and capital of Montgomery county, is situated on the E.
bank of the Great Miami, at the mouth of Mad River, 60 miles from
Cincinnati, 67 from Columbus, and 110 from Indianapolis. This is the
round the post ; they next put a burning stick to him, as usual, but ho seemed more insen-
sible of pain than before.
The Indian fellow who had me in charge, now took me away to Captain Pipe's house,
about three quarter? of a mile from the place of the colonel's execution. I was bound all
night, and thus prevented from seeing the last of the horrid spectacle. Next morning,
being June 12th, the Indian untied me ; painted me black, and we set off for the Shawncc
town, which he told me was somewhat less than forty miles distant from that place. We
soon came to the spot where the colonel had been burnt, as it was partly in our way ; I saw
his bones lying among the remains of the fire, almost burnt to ashes; I suppose, after he
was dead, they laid his body on the .fire. The Indian told me that was my big captain, and
gave the scalp halloo.
142 OHI°-
tliircl city in Ohio, in population and wealth, and has extensive manufac-
tures and respectable commerce. Its manufactures consist principally of
railroad equipments, iron ware, paper, cotton, and woolen fabrics, etc.
The city is laid out with streets 100 feet wide, crossing each other at right
North-eastern view of the Cmirt House, Dai/ton.
Erected at an expense of about $100,000, and 127 feet in length by 62 in breadth. The style of architec-
ture is that of the Parthenon, with some slight variations.
angles. The public buildings are excellent, and much taste is displayed in
the construction of private residences, many of which are ornamented by
fine gardens and shrubbery. The abundant water power which Dayton pos-
sesses is one of the elements of its prosperity. In 1845, a hydraulic canal
was made, by which the water of Mad River is brought through the city.
Numerous macadamized roads diverge from the town, and radiate in all di-
rections; several railroads terminate at Dayton, and by this means communi-
cation is had with every point in the Union. The Southern Ohio Lunatic
Asylum is established here. There are 27 churches, in 7 of which the Ger-
man language is used. Population in I860, 20,1;}2.
The first families who made a permanent residence in the place, arrived oiv
the 1st day of April, 1796. The first 19 settlers of Dayton, were Win. Ga-
hagan, Samuel Thompson, Benj. Van Cleve, Win. Van Cleve, Solomon (J <>.-<,
Thomas Davis, John Davis, James M'Clure, John M'Clure, Daniel Fen-ell,
William Hamer, Solomon Hamer, Thomas Hamer, Abraham Glussmire, John
Dorough, Win. Chenoweth, Jas. Morris, Wm. Newcom and George Newcom.
In 1803, on the organization of the state government, Montgomery county
was established. Dayton was made the seat of justice, at which time only
five families resided in the town, the other settlers having gone on to farms
in the vicinity, or removed to other parts of the country. The increase of
the town was gradual, until the war of 1812, which made a thoroughfare for
the troops and stores on their way to the frontier.
Springfield, a beautiful city and capital of Clarke county, is situated on
the National Road, on Mad River, 43 miles W. from Columbus, and 84 N.
from Cincinnati. It has great water power, well improved by a variety of
mills and manufacturing establishments. It is surrounded by a rich ar
populous country. Several macadamized roads terminate here, and railroauv
OHIO.
143
connect it with the principal towns in the state. Wittemberg College, un-
der the patronage of the Lutheran Church, chartered in 1845, is a short dis-
tance without the town, and is surrounded with spacious grounds. Popula-
tion, 8,000.
Springfield was laid out in 1803, by James Demint. The old Indian town,
Piqua, the ancient Piqua of the Shawnees, and the birth-place of TECUMSEII,
the celebrated Indian warrior, was situated on the N. side of Mad River,
about five miles W. from Springfield.
Xenia, the county seat of Green, is a well built town on the Little Miami
Railroad, 64 miles north of Cincinnati, in a rich country. The town was
laid off in 1803, by Joseph C. Vance. The name, Xenia, is said to be au
old French word, signifying a New Year's gift. Wilberforce University is
three and a half miles north-east of Xenia, an institution under the care of
the Methodist Episcopal Church North, for the special purpose of educating
colored youth of both sexes. Population about 5,000.
About three miles north, on the Little Miami, is the site of the Shawnee
town, Old Chillicothe. It was a place of note in the early history cf the
country, and a point to which Daniel Boone, with 27 other Kentuckians,
were brought prisoners in 1778.
Antioch College is at Yellow Springs, 9 miles north of Xenia. It is an
institution of considerable celebrity, the one over which the late Horace
Mann presided, with so much reputation to himself and benefit to his pupils.
First Court House in Greene county.
The engraving is a correct representation of the first court house in Greene. It
was erected five and a half miles north of the site of Xenia, near the Dayton road.
It was built by Gen. Bi-nj. Whiteman, as a residence for Peter Borders.
The first court for the trial of causes was held in it, in August, 1803, Francis
Dnnlnvy, presiding judge. A grand jury of inquest were sworn " for the body of
Greene county." After receiving the charge, "they retired out of court" — a cir-
cumstance not to be wondered at, as there was but one room in the house. Their
place of retirement, or jury room, was a little squat shaped pole hut, shown on the
right of the view. But it appears there was nothing for them to do.
"But they wore not permitted to remain idle long: the spectators in attendance
promptly took the intittcr into consideration. They, doubtless, thought it a great
144 OHIO.
pity to have a learned court and nothing for it to do; so they set to and cut out
employment for their honors by engaging in divers hard fights at fisticuffs, right
on the ground. So it seems our pioneers fought for the benefit of the court. At
all events, while their honors were waiting to settle differences according to law,
they were making up issues and settling them by trial " l>y combat" — a process by
which they avoided the much complained of "laws' delay," and incurred no other
damages than black eyes and bloody noses, which were regarded as mere trifles,
of course. Among the incidents of the day, characteristic of the times, was this :
A Mr. , of Warren county, was in attendance. Owen Davis, the owner of a
mill near by, and a brave Indian fighter, as well as a kind-hearted, obliging man,
charged this Warren county man with speculatiny in pork, alias stealing his
neighbor's hogs. The insult was resented — a combat took place forthwith," in which
Davis proved victorious. He then went into court, and planting himself in front
of the judges, he" observed, addressing himself particularly to one of them, ' Well,
Ben, I've whipped that hog thief- — what's the damage — what's to pay ? and,
thereupon, suiting the action to the word, he drew out his buckskin purse, contain-
ing 8 or 10 dollars, and slammed it down on the table — then shaking his fist at the
judge whom he addressed, he continued, ' Yes, Ben, and if you'd steal a hog,
yon, I'd whip you too.' He had, doubtless, come to the conclusion, that, as there
was a court, the luxury of fighting could not be indulged in gratis, and he was for
paying up as he went. Seventeen witnesses were sworn and sent before the grand
jury, and nine bills of indictment were found the same day — all for affrays and
assaults and batteries committed after the court was organized. To these indict-
ments the parties all pleaded guilty, and were fined — Davis among the rest, who
was fined eight dollars for his share in the transactions of the day."
Greenville, the capital of Darke county, on the Greenville and Miami
Railroad, is about 121 miles W. from Columbus. It contains some 1,500
inhabitants. In 1793, Gen. Wayne built Fort Greenville on the site of the
present town, and here the treaty of Greenville was concluded, between Gen.
Wayne and the Indians. Gen. St. Clair, at the head of 1,400 men, was de-
feated by the Indians in the north-west corner of Darke county, upward of
20 miles from Greenville, Nov. 4, 1791. The great object of St. Glair's
campaign was to establish a line of military posts between Fort Washington
(Cincinnati), and the junction of St. Mary and St. Joseph Rivers, now Fort
Wayne. The description of the battle is from Monette's history:
On the 3d of November, the army encamped in a wooded plain, among the
sources of a Wabash tributary, upon the banks of several small creeks, about fifty
miles south of the Miami towns. The winter had already commenced, and the
ground was covered with snow three inches deep.
Next morning, Nov. 4th, just before sunrise, and immediately after the troops
had been dismissed from parade, the Indians made a furious attack upon the mili-
tia, whose camp was about a quarter of a mile in advance of the main camp of
the regular troops. The militia immediately gave way, and fled with great pre-
cipitation and disorde' , with the Indians in close pursuit; and, rushing through the
camp, they threw the battalions of Majors Butler and Clark into confusion. The
utmost exertions of those officers failed to restore complete order. The Indians,
pressing close upon the militia, immediately engaged Butler's command with great
intrepidity and fury. The attack soon became general both in the front and second
lines, but the weight of the enemy's fire was directed against the center of each
line, where the artillery was stationed. Such was the intensity of the enemy's fire,
that the men were repeatedly driven from their guns with great loss. Confusion
was spreading among the troops, from the great numbers who were constantly fall-
ing, while no impression was made by their fire upon the enemy. " At length re-
sort was had to the bayonet. — Col. Darke was ordered to charge with part of the
second line, and endeavor to turn the left flank of the enemy. This order was ex-
ecuted with great spirit. The Indians instantly gave way, and were driven back
three or four hundred yards; but, for want of a sufficient number of riflemen to
pursue this advantage, the}7 soon rallied, and the troops were obliged in turn to
OHIO.
145
fall back. At this moment, the Indians had entered our camp by the left flank,
having driven back the troops that were posted there. Another charge was made
here by the second regiment, Rutler's and Clark's battalions, with equal effect, and
it was repeated several times, and always with success; but in each charge several
men were lost, and particularly the officers; which, with raw troops, was a loss
altogether irremedia-
ble." In the last charge
Major Butler was dan-
gerously wounded, and
every officer of the
second regiment fell
except three. The ar-
tillery being now si-
lenced, and all the of-
ficers killed except
Capt Ford, who was
severely wounded, and
more than half the
army having fallen, it
became necessary to
make a retreat, if pos-
sible. This was im-
mediately done, while
Major Clark protected
the rear with his bat-
talion. The retreat
was precipitous : it was
a perfect flight. The
camp and artillery was
abandoned; not a horse
Avas alive to draw the
cannon. The men, in
their flight and conster-
nation, threw away their arms and accouterments after pursuit had ceased, and
the road was strewed with them for more than four miles. The rout continued to
Fort Jefferson, twenty-nine miles. The action began half an hour before sunrise,
the retreat commenced at half past nine o'clock, and the remnant of the army
reached Fort Jefferson just after sunset The savages continued the pursuit for
four miles, when, fortunately, they returned to the scene of action for scalps and
plunder.
In this most disastrous battle, thirty-eight commissioned officers were killed on
the field. Six hundred non-commissioned officers and privates were either killed
or missing. Among the wounded were twenty-one commissioned officers, and two
hundred and forty-two non-commissioned officers and privates. Many of the
wounded died subsequently of their wounds. The Indian loss did not exceed sixty
warriors killed.
The grand error in this campaign was the impolicy of urging forward on a dan-
gerous service, far into the Indian country, an army of raw troops, who were un-
willing to enter upon the campaign, as was fully evinced by frequent desertions as
they approached the hostile towns. The army was fatally reduced by the detach-
ment sent to overtake the deserters from the Kentucky militia; and Gen. St. Clair
PLAN or ST. GLAIR'S BATTLE FIELD.*
* References. — A — High ground, on which the militia were encamped at the commence-
ment of the action. B C — Encampment of the main army. D — Retreat of the militia at
the beginning of the battle. E — St. Glair's trace, on which the defeated array retreated.
F — Place where Gen. Butler and other officers were buried. G — Trail to Girty's Town, on
the River St. Marys, at what is now the village of St. Marys. H — Site of Fort Recovery,
built by Wayne ; the line of Darke and Mercer runs within a few rods of the site of the
fort. I — Place where a brasa cannon was found buried, in 1830 ; it is on the bottom where
the Indians were three times driven to the high land with the bayonet.
10
146 OHIO.
himself was quite infirm, and often unable to attend to his duties as commander-
in-chief. On the fatal day of his defeat, he was scarcely able to bo mounted upon
his horse, either from physical infirmity or culpable intemperance.*
The Indians engaged in this terrible battle comprised about nine hundred war-
riors. Among them were about four hundred Slia\vnese, commanded by Blue
Jacket, and chiefly from the waters of the Wabash. The remainder were com-
manded by Little Turtle, Buckongahelas, consisting of Delawares, Wyandots, Pota-
watamies, and Mingoes. The Delawares alone numbered nearly four hundred war-
riors, who fought with great fury. On the ground, during the battle, were seen
several British officers in full uniform from Detroit, who had come to witness the
strife which they had instigated. Simon Girty commanded a party of Wyandots.
Among the camp-followers in this campaign were nearly two hundred and fifty
women, of whom fifty-six were killed during the carnage; the remainder were
chiefly captured the Indians.
Wayne's troops subsequently built a fort, called Fort Recovery, on the sito
of the battle ground. In the summer of 1794, a second battle was fought
under the walls of the fort, between 140 Americans, under Major McMahon,
and a party of Indians, led on by British officers. McMahon and 22 others
'were killed, but the survivors gained the fort, which the enemy also attacked
but were driven off with severe loss.
Within Ohio, beside those already noticed are a large number of city-
like towns, most of which are on the lines of railroads, are capitals of their
respective counties, have numerous churches, literary institutions, manufac-
tories, and varied branches of industry — some are lighted with gas, have
*St. Clair was an unfortunate officer in the Revolution, but still retained the confidence
and friendship of Washington. In Rush's " Washington in Domestic Life," is an account
of the interview between Mr. Tobias Lear, his private secretary, and Washington, imme-
diately after the reception by the latter of the news of St. Glair's defeat:
" The general now walked backward and forward slowly for some minutes without speak-
ing. Then he sat down on a sofa by the fire, telling Mr. Lear to sit down. To this moment
there had been no change in his manner since his interruption at table. Mr. Lear now per-
ceived emotion. This rising in him, he broke out suddenly, ' It's all over — St. Glair's de-
feated— routed; the officers nearly all killed, the men by wholesale; the rout complete —
too shocking to think of — and a surprise in the bargain 1 '
He uttered all this with great vehemence. Then he paused, got up from the sofa and
walked about the room several times, agitated but saying nothing. Near the door he stopped
short, and stood still a few seconds, when his wrath became terrible.
' Yes,' he burst forth, ' here on this very spot, I took leave of him ; I wished him success
and honor; you have your instructions, I said, from the secretary of war, I had a strict eyo
to them, and will add but one word — beware of a surprise. I repeat it, BEWARK OF A SUR-
PRISE— you know how the Indians fight us. He went off with that as my last solemn warn-
ing thrown into his ears. And yetl to suffer that ariny to bo cut to pieces, hack'd, butch-
ered, tomahaw'd by a surprise — the very thing I guarded him against) ! Oh, God, oh, God,
he's worse than a murderer! how can he answer it to his country: — the blood of the slain is
upon him — the curse of widows and orphans — the curse of Heaven? '
This torrent came out in tones appalling. His very frame shook. It was awful, said
Mr. Lear. More than once he threw his hands up as he hurled imprecations upon St. Glair.
Mr. Lear remained speechless, awed into breathless silence.
Washington sat down on the sofa once more. He seemed conscious of his passion, and
uncomfortable. He was silent. His warmth beginning to subside, he at length said in an
altered voice : 'This must not go beyond this room.' Another pause followed — a longer
one — when he said, in a tone quite low, ' General St. Glair shall have justice ; I looked
hastily through the dispatches, saw the whole disaster, but not all the particulars ; I will
receive him without displeasure; I will hear him without prejudice ; he shall have full jus-
tice.'
He was now, said Mr. Lear, perfectly calm. Half an hour had gone by. The storm was
over; and no sign of it was afterward seen in his conduct, or heard in his conversation.
The result is known. The whole case was investigated by congress. St. Clair was excul-
pated and regained the confidence Washington had in him when appointing him to that
command. He had put himself into the thickest of the fight und escaped unhurt, though
co ill as to be carried on a litter, and unable to mount his horse without help."
OHIO.
147
fire companies, and are, indeed, small cities. We mention the more promi-
nent, giving their populations, according to the census of 1860.
Mount Vernon City, Knox county. Population 4,147. Five miles east of
it, is Grambier, the seat of Kenyon College, founded in 1827, and named
after Lord Kenyon, one of its principal benefactors.
Mansfield City, Richland county, a manufacturing town, a great railroad
center, with 11 churches, 70 stores, six manufactories, and a population of
4,540. Wooster, Wayne county, has 60 stores, 10 churches, and in 1858,
4,837 inhabitants. Canton, Stark county, has 4,042 people. Massillon, in
the same county, has a population of 3,680. Youngstown, in Mahoning
county has 2,758 inhabitants. All of the above are in the northern section .
of the state, in the richest WHEAT counties of Ohio.
Akron, Summit county, had lOOstores of various kinds, and 7,000 inhab-
itants. It is on the summit level of the Ohio canal, and has abundance of
water power from the canal and Cuyahoga River, which is employed in a
variety of manufactures. The manufacturing village of Cuyahoga Falls, is
six miles north-east of Akron : the river falls there, in the space of two and
a half miles, more than 200 feet. Western Reserve College is at Hudson,
eight and a half miles northerly from the last. Norwalk, Huron county,
has 2,867 inhabitants. -E/yn'a,Lorain county, has 1,615 inhabitants, Oberlin
in the same county, 2,012 inhabitants: the collegiate institute at Oberlin is
a flourishing institution, numbering several hundred pupils of both sexes.*
Warren, Trumbull county, has 2,402 inhabitants. Ravenna, Portage county,
has 36 stores, and a population of 1,797. Painesville, Lake county, has
2,615 inhabitants. Aslitubula, in Ashtabula county, 1,427 inhabitants. The
above are on the WESTERN RESERVE.
Tiffin, Seneca county, is the seat of Heidelberg College, and a theological
seminary of the German Reformed Church. It has 12 churches and 4,010
inhabitants. Bucyrus, Crawford county, has 40 stores and 2,210 inhabitants.
Delaware, Delaware county, has 14 churches and 3,895 inhabitants. It is
the seat of the Ohio Wesleyan University and two female colleges. Belle-
fontaine, Logan county, has 2,600 inhabitants. Sidney, Shelby county, has
2,055 inhabitants. Urbana, Champaign county, the seat of Urbana Univer-
sity and a female seminary, has a population of 3,429. Piqua, Miami
county, has 40 stores, numerous manufactories, mechanic shops, and 4,620
inhabitants. Troy, in the same county, has 2,640 inhabitants. Lima, in Allen
* Many of the pupils at Oberlin, male and female, are of African origin, and mingle on
terras of social equality with the others. This singularity is in accordance with the an-
nexed published synopsis of the institution:
1. To educate youths of both sexes, so as to secure the development of a strong mind in
a .sound body, connected with a permanent, vigorous, progressive piety — all to be aided by a
judicious system of manual labor.
2. To beget and to confirm in the process of education the habit of self-denial, patient
endurance, a chastened moral courage, and a devout consecration of the whole being to
God, in seeking the best good of man.
3. To establish universal liberty by the abolition of every form of sin.
4. To avoid the debasing association of the heathen classics, and make the bible a text-
book in all the departments of education.
5. To raise up a church and ministers who shall be known and read of all men in deep
sympathy with Christ, in holy living, and in efficient action against all which God forbids.
6. To furnish a seminary, affording thorough instruction in all the branches of an edu-
cation for both sexes, and in which colored persons, of both sexes, shall be freely admitted,
and on the terms of equality and brotherhood.
148 OHI°-
county, has 2079 inhabitants. All of the above are in the north-western
quarter of the state, north of the national road and west of Columbus.
Lebanon, Warren county, has 2,498 inhabitants. .Eaton, Preble county,
and Germantown, Montgomery county, have each about 1,500 inhabitants,
as also have 'Wilmington, Hillsboro1 and Greenfield. Ripley, on the Ohio
River in Brown county, has 2,715 inhabitants. The above are all in the
south-western quarter of Ohio.
Lancaster, Fairfield county, has 4,320 inhabitants. Logan, Hocking
county, M ' Connelhville, in Morgan, Wellsville, in Columbiana, New Lisbon,
in Columbiana, and Cambridge, in Guernsey county, have each about 1500
inhabitants. Pomeroy, on the Ohio River, in Meigs county, is in the midst
of the great coal producing region of the state, to which it owes its impor-
tance ; its population is 6,480. Ironton, on the Ohio River, in Lawrence
county has 3,700 inhabitants. This town was laid out in 1849, by the Ohio
Iron and Coal Company, and derives its importance from the iron business,
the principal furnaces of the Ohio iron district being in its vicinity. All of
the above, excepting Wellsville and New Lisbon, are in the south-eastern
quarter of Ohio.
Beside the above, Ohio contains many villages ranging from 1,000 to
2,000 inhabitants.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, MISCELLANIES, ETC.
Tecumseh, the renowned warrior and chieftain of the Shawnees, was born
about the year 1768, at the Indian town of Piqua, situated on the north side
__=;— — _, - ..... •===. of Mad River, some five miles
west of the site of Springfield,
Clarke county. He early showed
a passion for war, and at 17
years evinced signal prowess in
the capture of some boats on the
Ohio ; but when his party burned
a prisoner, he was struck with
horror, and by his eloquence
SITE OP PIQUA. persuaded them never to be
An Indian village and the birth-place of Tecnm8eh. Qf &
1795, he became a chief, and soon rose to distinction among his people.
In 1805, Tecumseh and hia brother Laulewasikaw, the prophet, established
themselves at Greenville and gained a great influence over the Jndians, through
the pretended sorcery of the latter. Shortly after the great project of Tecumseh
was formed of a confederacy of all the western tribes against the whites. In this
he was backed, it is supposed, by the insiduous influence of British agents, who
presented the Indians with ammunition, in anticipation, perhaps, of hostilities be-
tween the two countries, in which event the union of all the tribes against the
Americans was desirable.
The battle of Tippecanoe, fought Nov. 7, 1811, with the brother of Tecumseh, in
which the prophet was defeated, for a time annihilated the hopes of the brothers.
Tecumseh was hot in this battle. In the war which soon after ensued with Eng-
land, Tecumseh was the ally of King George, and held the rank of brigadier-
general, having, under his command, about 2,000 Indians. He was present at
several engagements, and was eventually killed in the battle of Moravian towns,
in Canada, near Detroit, Oct. 5, 1813.
" Thus fell the Indian warrior Tecumseh, in the 44th year of his age. He was five feet
ten inches high, and with more than usual stoutness, possessed all the agility and perse-
OHIO.
149
verance of tho Indian character. His carriage was dignified, his eye penetrating, hia
countenance, which even in death, betrayed the indications of a lofty spirit, rather of the
sterner cast. Had he not possessed a certain austerity of manners, he could never have
controlled the wayward passions of those who followed him to battle. He was of a silent
habit ; but when his eloquence became roused into action by the reiterated encroachment
of the Americans, his strong intellect could, supply him with a flow of oratory that enabled
him, as he governed in the rield, so to prescribe in the council."
" William Henry Harrison was born in Charles county, Virginia, Feb. 9, 1773 ;
was educated at Hauipden Sidney College, and afterward studied medicine. He
received, from Washington, a military com-
mission in 1791, and fought under Wayne in
1792. After the battle of Maumee Rapids, he
was made captain, and placed in command of
Fort Washington. In 1797, he was appointed
secretary of the North-west Territory; and in 1799 and 1800, he was a delegate to
congress. Being appointed governor of Indiana, he was also superintendent of
Indian affairs, and negotiated thirteen treaties. He gained a great victory in the
battle of Tippecanoe, Nov. 7,1811. In the war with Great Britain, he was com-
mander of the North-west army, and was distinguished in the defense of Fort
Meigs, and the victory of the Thames. From 1816 to 1819, he was a representa-
tive in congress, from Ohio; and from 1825 to 1828, United States Senator. In
1828, he was minister to the Republic of Colombia; and on his return he resided
upon his farm, at North Bend, Ohio. In 1840, he was elected president of the
United States, by 234 votes out of 294, and inaugurated March 4, 1841. He died
in the presidential mansion, April 4, 1841."
In traveling through the west, one often meets with scenes that remind
him of another land. The foreigner who makes his home upon American
soil, does not at orice assimilate
in language, modes of life, and
current of thought with those
congenial to his adopted coun-
try. The German emigrant ia
peculiar in this respect, and so
much attached is he to his
fatherland, that years often
elapse ere there is any percepti-
ble change. The annexed en-
graving, from Howe's Ohio, il-
lustrates these remarks,: "It
shows the mud cottage of a
German Swiss emigrant, now
standing in the neighborhood
of others of like character, in
the north-western part of Co-
luuibiana county, Ohio. The
frame work is of wood, with the interstices filled with light colored clay, and
the whole surmounted by a ponderous shingled roof, of a picturesque form.
Beside the tenement, hop vines are clustering around their slender support-
ers, while hard by stands the abandoned log dwelling of the emigrant— de-
serted for one more congenial with his early predilections."
Return Jonathan Meigs * was born in Middletown, Connecticut, in 1740. He
Swiss I^IIGKAXT'S COTTAGE.
* Lossing gives this pleasant anecdote of the origin of his name, RETURN. "A bright-eyed
Connecticut girl was disposed to coquette with her lover, Jonathan Meigs ; and on one oc-
150
was a colonel in the army of the revofution, and saw much service. He was with
Arnold at Quebec, was one of the first to mount the parapet at the storming of
Stony Point, and received an elegant sword and a vote of thanks for a gallant ex-
ploit at Sagg Harbor, where, with 70 of his "Leather Cap Battalion," composed of
Connecticut men, he stormed a British post, and carried off nearly a hundred pris-
oners. After the war he became a surveyor for the Ohio Land Company, and was
one of the first settlers of Marietta. He drew up a system of laws for the first emi-
grants, which were posted on a large oak near the mouth of the Muskingum. He
was appointed a judge by Gen. St Clair, and in 1801 Indian agent by Jefferson
among the Cherokees, among whom he continued to reside until his death, in 1823,
at the age of 83 years. The Indians loved and revered him as a father. His son,
Return Jonathan Meigs, represented Ohio in the United States Senate, from 1808 to
1810; was governor of the state from 1810 to 1814, and post-master-general of the
United States from 1814 to 1823. He died at Marietta in 1825.
Rvfus Putnam, who has been styled "the FATHER OP OHIO," was born at Sutton,
Massachusetts, in 1738. He was distinguished in the war of the revolution, hold-
ing the office of brigadier-general. From 1783 to 1787, he was busy organizing a
company for emigrating to, and settling, the Ohio country. On the 7th of April,
1788, he landed with the first pioneer party at the mouth of the Muskingum, and
there founded Marietta, the first settlement in Ohio. He was appointed surveyor-
general of the United States by Washington, in 1796, was a member of the con-
vention which formed the first Constitution of Ohio, and died in 1824.
Gen. Duncan McArthur, was born of Scotch parentage, in Dutchess county, N.
Y., in 1782, and at the age of 18 entered the army, and was in several Indian cam-
paigns. By force of talent he rose, in 1808, to the post of major general of the
state militia. At Hull's surrender he was second in command, but on his release
as a prisoner of war, the democratic party, by an overwhelming majority, elected
him to congress. On the resignation of Gen. Harrison, in 1814, he was in supreme
command of the north-west arrny, and projected an expedition into Canada, where,
at or near Malcolm's Mill, he defeated a body of Canadians. He was a represent-
ative in congress again from 1823 to 1825; in 1830, was chosen governor of the
state, and died a few years later. He was a strong-minded, energetic man, and
possessed a will of iron.
Gen. Nathaniel Massie was born in Virginia, in 1763, and was bred a surveyor.
In 1791, he made the first settlement within the Virginia Military District, the
fourth in Ohio, and the only one between the Scioto and Little Miami, until after
the treaty of Greenville in 1795. This was at Manchester, on the Ohio, opposite
Maysville, Ky. His business, for years, was the surveying of lands in the military
district His payments were liberal, as he received in many cases one half of the
land for making the locations; yet the risk was immense, for, during the Indian
hostilities, every creek that was explored and every line that was run, was done
by stealth and at the risk of life from the lurking Indians, from whom he had sev-
eral narrow escapes.
After the defeat of the Indians by Wayne, the surveyors were not interrupted
by the Indians ; but on one of their excursions, still remembered as " the starving
tour" the whole party, consisting '-r ?S men, suffered extremely in a driving snow
storm for about four days. They a?ie in a wilderness, exposed to this severe
storm, without hut, tent, or covering, and what was still more appalling, without
provision, and without any road or even track to retreat on, and were nearly 100
miles from any place of shelter. On the third day of the storm, they luckily killed
casion, when ho had pressed his suit with great earnestness, and asked for a positive an-
swer, she feigned coolness, and would give nim no satisfaction. The lover resolved to be
trifled with no longer, and bade her farewell, forever. She perceived her error, but he was
allowed to go far down the lane before her pride would yield to the more tender emotions
of her heart. Then she ran to the gate and cried, "Return, Jonathan 1 Return, Jonathan!"
He did return, they were joined in wedlock, and in commemoration of these happy words
of the sorrowing girl, they named their first child, Return Jonathan — afterward a hero in
our war for independence, a noble western pioneer, and a devoted frinnd of the Cheroiees "
OHIO.
151
GKAVB OF SIMON KE.NTON.
two wild turkeys, which were boiled and divided into 28 parts, and devoured with
great avidity, heads, feet, entrails and all.
In 1796, Massie laid the foundation of the settlement of the Scioto valley, by lay-
ing out on his own land the now large and beautiful town of (Jhillicothe. The
progress of the* settlements brought large quantities of his land into market.
Gen. Massie was a member of the convention which formed the first state consti-
tution. In 1807, he was a competitor with Return Jonathan Meigs for governor,
they being the two most popular men in Ohio. Meigs was elected by a slight
majority. Massie contested the election, Meigs having lost his residence by absence.
The legislature decided in Massie's favor, whereupon he magnanimously resigned.
In 1813, this noble pioneer was gathered to his fathers.
Simon Kenton, a native of Culpeppcr county, Virginia, and one of the
bravest and noblest of
western pioneers, and the
friend of Daniel Boone,
resided in the latter part
of his life, on the head
waters of Mad River,
about five miles north of
Bellefontaine, in Logan
county. His dwelling
was the small log house
shown on the extreme
right of the annexed view.
There he died, in 183G,
at the advanced age of
81 years. When 16 years
of age, he had an affray
with a young man who Lad married his lady love. Supposing, erroneously,
that he had killed his rival, he fied to the wilderness of Kentucky. This
was in the year 1771. From that time, during the whole of the revolution-
ary war, down to the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, he was probably in more
expeditions against the Indians, encountered greater peril, performed more
heroic feats, and had more narrow escapes from death, than any man of his
time.
In 1778, he was captured by the Indians, compelled to run the gauntlet, and then
condemned to be burnt at the stake. He was saved by the interposition of Simon.
Girty, a renegade white, who had known Kenton in Dunmore's campaign. Shortly
after he was again sentenced to death, and a second time was saved by a Canadian
Frenchman, who prevailed upon the Indians to send him" to the British at Detroit
From thence he finally escaped, and again engaged in Indian warfare.
In 1782, hearing he had not killed his rival in love, he returned to Virginia, in
order to remove his father's family to his new home in Kentucky. Notwithstand-
ing the great services he had rendered his country, on account of some defect in
his land titles, he lost his property, aod was imprisoned twelve months for debt, on
the very spot where he had built bis cabin in 1775. In 1802, he settled in Urbana,
Ohio, where he remained some years, and was elected brigadier general of militia.
He was in the war of 1812, under Harrison, at the battle of Moravian town, whore
he displayed his usual intrepidity. About the year 1820, he removed to the head
of Mad River. At the time of his death the frosts of more than 80 winters had
fallen on his head without entirely whitening his locks. His biographer thus de-
scribes his personal appearance and character:
" General Kenton was of fair complexion, six feet one inch in hight. He stood
and waJked very erect; and, in the prime of life, weighed about one hundred and
ninety pounds. He never was inclined to be corpulent, although of sufficient full,
ness to form a graceful person. He had a soft, tremulous voice, very pleasing to
152
OHIO.
the hearer. He had laughing gray eyes, which seemed to fascinate the beholder.
He was a pleasant, good-humored and obliging companion. When excited, or pro-
voked to anger (which was seldom the case), the fiery glance of his eye would al-
most curdle the blood of those with whom he came in contact. His rage, when
roused, was a tornado. In his dealing, he was perfectly honest; his confidence in
man, and his credulity, were such, that the same man might cheat him twenty
times; and if he professed friendship, he might cheat him still"
Jacob Burnet was born in Newark, N. J., in 1770, educated at Princeton, and
in 1796 admitted to the bar. He then emigrated to Cincinnati, and commenced
the practice of his profession. Until the formation of the constitution of Ohio, in
1802, he attended court regularly at Cincinnati, Marietta and Detroit, the last of
which was then the seat of justice for Wayne county. The jaunts between these
remote places were attended with exposure, fatigue, and hazard, and were usually
performed on horseback, in parties of two or more, through a wilderness country.
At that period the whole white population between Pennsylvania and the Missis-
sippi, the Ohio and the lakes, was only about 5,000 souls. Mr. Burnet at once rose
to the front rank in his profession. He was appointed, in 1799, a member of the
lirst territorial legislature of the North-West Territory; and the first code of laws
were almost wholly framed by him. In 1821, he became one of the judges of the
supreme court of Ohio; and in 1828, was elected to the national senate, as suc-
cessor of Gen. Harrison. Nearly his entire life was passed in positions of honor
and responsibility. On the recommendation of Lafayette, he Avas elected a mem-
ber of the French Academy of Sciences. His Notes upon the North-West Terri-
tory are among the most valuable contributions to the history of the west extant
Judge Burnet died in 1853, aged 83 years.
BRADY'S LEAP.
It was across the Cuyahoga River, in northern Ohio, near the site of Franklin Mills,
and a few miles east ot the village of Cuyahoga Falls, that the noted Capt. Sum'l Brady
made his famous leap for life, about
the year 1780, when pursued by a
party of Indians. Brady was the
Daniel Boone of the north-east part
of the valley of the Ohio, which is
full of traditions of his hard}' adven-
tures and hairbreadth escapes. Bra-
dy's Pond is the spot where Brady
concealed himself after his leap, the
circumstances of which we quote be-
low. It is a small, beautiful sheet of
water, two and a half miles from the
village, a little north of the Ravcuna
road :
" Having in peaceable times often
hunted over this ground with the In-
dians, and knowing every turn of the
Cuyahoga as familiarly as the villager
knows the streets of his own hamlet, Brady directed his course to the river, at a spot where
the whole stream is compressed, by the rocky cliffs, into a narrow channel of only 22 feet
across the top of the chasm, although it is considerably wider beneath, near the water, and
in highth more than twice that number of feet above the current. Through this pass the
water rushes like a race horse, chafing and roaring at the confinement of its current by the
rocky channel, while, a short distance above, the steam is at least fifty yards wide. As he
approached the chasm, Brady, knowing that life or death was in the effort, concentrated
his mighty powers, and leaped the stream at a single bound. It so happened, that on the
opposite cliff, the leap was favored by a low place, into which he dropped, and grasping the
bushes, he thus helped himself to ascend to the top of the cliff". The Indians, for a few
moments, were lost in wonder and admiration, and before they had recovered their recol-
lection, he was half way up the side of the opposite hill, but still within reach of their
rifles. They could easily have shot him at any moment before, but being bent on taking
him alive for torture, and to glut their long delayed revenge, they forbore to use the riile;
but now seeing him likely to escape, thev nil fired upon him: one bullet severely wounded
BUADV'S POND.
OHIO.
153
him in the hip, but not so badly as to prevent his progress. The Indians having to make
a considerable circuit before they could cross the stream, Brady advanced a good distance
ahead. His limb was growing stiff' from the wound, and as the Indians gained on him, he
made for the pond which now bears his name, and plunging in, swam under water a con-
siderable distance, and came up under the trunk of a large oak, which had fallen into the
pond. This, although leaving only a small breathing place to support life, still completely
sheltered him from their sight. The Indians, tracing him by the blood to the water, made
diligent search all round the pond, but finding no signs of his exit, finally came to the
conclusion that he had sunk and was drowned. As they were at one time standing on the
very tree, beneath which lie was concealed, Brady, understanding their language, was very
glad to hear the result of their deliberations, and after they had gone, weary, lame, and
hungry, he made good his retreat to his own home. His followers also returned in safety.
The chasm across which he leaped is in sight of the bridge where we crossed the Cuyu-
hoga, and is known in all that region by the name of ' Brady's Leap.' "
In the center of the beautiful public square in Cleveland stands the statue
of Oliver Hazard Perry, the " Hero of Lake Erie." It was inaugurated with
great ceremony on the 10th
of September, 1860, the an-
niversary of his signal vic-
tory. Among those pres-
ent were the governor and
legislature of Ehode Island,
Perry's native state, soldiers
of the last war, survivors
of the battle of Lake Erie,
military from Rhode Island,
New York, Pennsylvania,
and aliout 70,000 visitors
from the surrounding coun-
try. Among the ceremo-
nies of the occasion was a
mock battle on the lake in
imitation of that which ter-
minated in the victory of
Perry. Hon. Geo. Bancroft
was the orator of the day.
The statue is of Carrara
marble, standing upon a
high pedestal of Illiode
Island granite. The figure
can not be better described
than in the words of Mr.
THK PERKY STATUE, AT CLEVELAND. Walcutt, the artist, after he
had unvailed the statue: "It is the Commander — bold and confident — giving
directions to his men, while watching through the smoke of battle the effect
of his broadsides on the enemy. Figuratively, it is the impersonation of
the triumphant hero, gazing with pride and enthusiasm over the beautiful
land he saved by his valor, and pointing to the lake as if reminding us of
the scene of his victory." The drapery represents the official dress of a
commodore in the United States navy. On the front of the pedestal is an
alto-relievo, representing the incident of Perry's passage from the Lawrence
to the Niagara, with an inscription recording the date of the engagement.
On either side of the pedestal is a figure, representing a sailor-boy and mid-
shipman.
154 OHIO.
Arthur St. Glair, the first governor of the North-west Territory, was a native
of Scotland. He was a lieutenant under Wolfe, and a major general in the Revo-
lution; subsequently was a delegate to congress from Pennsylvania, and, in 1787,
•was chosen its president. While governor of the North-west Territory, from 1788
to 1802, he was much esteemed by the people, being easy and frank in his address,
of great integrity and uprightness of purpose, and of extensive information. He
had the respect and friendship of Washington. The great misfortune of his life
was his sore defeat by the Indians, Nov. 4, 1791. He died in abject poverty, in
1818, in a cabin amojig the mountains of Pennsylvania.
Col. Jared Mansfield was born in New Haven, Conn., in 1759. He was edu-
cated at Yale College, and was subsequently professor of natural philosophy at
West Point. He was appointed, by President Jefferson, surveyor general of the
United States, upon which he introduced and perfected the present admirable sys-
tem of dividing the public land, by north and south and east and west lines, into
ranges, townships and sections. This simple plan has been of an untold benefit to
the rapid and easy settlement of the west. He died in 1830. Ed. D. Mansfield,
Esq., the commissioner of statistics for the state of Ohio, is his son.
Charles Hammond was born in Maryland in 1779, and died in Cincinnati in
1840, where most of his life was passed. He was one of the most able of lawyers
and as a journalist acquired a greater reputation than any man who ever resided
in the west. For many years he edited the Cincinnati Gazette.
Nathan Guilford, lawyer and journalist of Cincinnati, was born in Spencer,
Mass., in 1786, and died in 1854. His memory is especially revered for his long
and eminent services in laying the foundation of the common schools of Ohio —
" a state which has one third of a million of men capable of bearing arms, but
keeps no standing army but her school teachers, of whom she pays more than,
20,000, which provides a library for every school district, and registers as students
more than 600,000 children. These growing in beauty and strength in this land
of the wheat, the corn and the vine, where the purity of domestic morals is main-
tained by the virtue and dignity of woman, constitutes its present glory and ita
future hope."
INDIANA.
INDIANA was originally included in the limits of "New France," and
afterward in the " North-west Territory." Its territory was traversed by the
French traders and Catholic mission-
aries at an early period. According
to some historians, Vincennes was
occupied as a French military post in
1716, and as a missionary station as
early as 1700. The first original
settlers were, probably, mostly, or en-
tirely, French soldiers from Canada,
belonging to the army of Louis XIV.
Their descendants remained an almost
isolated community, increasing very
slowly for nearly one hundred years,
and in the mean time they imbibed a
taste for savage life, from habits of
intercourse with their Indian neigh-
bors exclusively, with whom they
often intermarried. In consequence
of this fraternization with the In-
dians, they became somewhat degenerated as a civilized community.
By the treaty of peace between France and Great Britain in 1763, all the
French possessions in this region were transferred to Great Britain, but the
settlers still retained their original rights. During the revolutionary war,
the French settlers displayed their hereditary animosity against the English.
In 1778, a Spanish resident gave such information respecting the strength
and position of the British force at Vincennes, that by his directions, Gen.
Clark, of Virginia, easily obtained possession. By the treaty of 1783, the
territory comprised in the limits of Indiana came into the possession of the
United States.
In the Indian war which succeeded the first settlement of what is now the
state of Ohio, several military expeditions were sent into the present limits
of Indiana. The first, in order of time, was that of Gen. Harmar, who
marched, in the autumn of 1790, with a large body of troops from Fort
Washington, at Cincinnati, against the Indian towns on the Maumee, on or
near the site of Fort Wayne. The towns were destroyed, but detached par-
ties of the army were defeated in two separate engagements.
155
ARMS OF INDIANA.
150 INDIANA.
In May, of the next year, 750 Kentuckians, under Gen. Charles Scott,
rendezvoused at the inouth of the Kentucky River, and, crossing the Ohio
on the 23d, inarched northward with great rapidity. In about three weeks
the expedition returned to Kentucky, without the loss of a man, after hav-
ing surprised and destroyed several towns on the Wabash and Eel Rivers,
killed 32 of the enemy in skirmishes, and taken 58 prisoners.
In the succeeding August, Col. James Wilkinson left Fort Washington
with 550 mounted Kentucky volunteers, to complete the work which had
been so successfully begun by Gen. Scott, against the Indians on the Wabash
and its tributaries. The expedition was successful. Several towns were de-
stroyed, the corn was cut up and 34 prisoners taken.
By the treaty of Greenville, in 1795, the United States obtained valuable
tracts of land, for which they paid the Indians money and goods. Other
tracts were obtained, afterward, in the same manner. But, notwithstanding
this, a part of the Indians still remained hostile, and being excited by the
eloquence of Tecumseh, the celebrated Shawnee warrior, several of the Indian
tribes united in resistance to the progress of the whites at the west.
Although by the ordinance of 1787, slavery was forever prohibited in the
territory north-west of the Ohio, strong and repeated efforts were made to es-
tablish the institution temporarily within the Indiana Territory. The first
of these was made in 1802—3, through the instrumentality of a convention
presided over by the territorial governor, William Henry Harrisouj which
petitioned congress to temporarily suspend the operation of the anti-slavery
clause of the ordinance. These attempts were repeated through a succession
of years, until the winter of 1806-7, when a final effort was made by the ter-
ritorial legislature to this end. All were without avail, although some of the
committees of congress, to whom the subject was referred, reported in favor of
the measure. *
Just previous to the war of 1812, with Great Britain, Indiana was ha-
rassed by the hostile movements of the Shawnees, led on by Tecumseh and
his brother the Prophet. To oppose these proceedings, bodies of regular
troops and militia were concentrated at Vincennes, and placed under the
command of William Henry Harrison, then governor. On Nov. 7, 1811, the
governor appeared before Prophet's town, or TIppecanoc, on the Wabash,
and demanded restitution of the property which the Indians had carried off.
After a conference it was agreed that hostilities should not commence until
*'The arguments by which this policy was advocated, are thus set forth in the following
extract of a report of a congressional committee, made in favor of the prayer of the peti-
tioners on the 14th of February, 1806. " That, having attentively considered the facts
stated in the said petitions and memorials, they are of opinion that a qualified suspension,
for a limited time, of the sixth article of compact between the original states, and the peo-
ple and states west of the River Ohio, would be beneficial to the people of the Indiana Ter-
ritory. The suspension of this article is an object almost universally desired in that terri-
tory.
It appears to your committee to be a question entirely different from that between slavery
and freedom ; inasmuch as it would merely occasion the removal of persons, already slaves,
from one part of the country to another. The good effects of this suspension, in the pres-
ent instance, would be to accelerate the population of that territory, hitherto retarded by
the operation of that article of compact, as slave-holders emigrating into the western coun-
try might then indulge any preference which they might feel for a settlement in the Indiana
Territory, instead of seeking, as they are now compelled to do, settlements in other states
or countries permitting the introduction of slaves. The condition of the slaves themselves
would be much ameliorated by it, as it is evident, from experience, that the more they are
separated and diffused, the more care and attention are bestowed on them by their masters,
each proprietor having it in his power to increase their comforts and conveniences, in pro-
portion to the suiallness of their numbers."
INDIANA. 157
*tfxt morning. The enemy, however, attempted to take Harrison by sur-
prise the night after the conference. The governor knowing the character of
his wily foe, arranged his troops in battle order as they encamped. Just be-
fore day they were attacked by the Indians, but the Americans being pre-
pared for the onset, they successfully repelled the savages. The conflict,
though short, was unusually severe ; the Indians fought with desperate cour-
age, but the fate of the battle was soon decided, and the Indians fled in every
direction, having lost, it is supposed, about 150 of their number. Harrison
now laid waste their country, and soon afteward the tribes sued for peace.
The war of 1812, with Great Britain, gave a fresh impetus to Indian hos-
tilities. Seduced into the British service, the Indians, after committing
great cruelties, received full retribution from the Americans; their villages
were destroyed and their country laid waste.
The outline of the military events which occurred within the present boun-
daries of the state, are as follows :
Fort Harrison, situated on the Wabash, 60 miles above Vincennes, was attacked
on the night of the 4th of September, 1812, by several hundred Indians from the
Prophet's town. In the evening previous, 30 or 40 Indians appeared before the
fort with a flag, under the pretense of obtaining provisions. The commander,
Capt Zachary Taylor (since president}, made preparations for the expected at-
tack. In the night, about 11 o'clock, the Indians commenced the attack by firing
on the sentinel. Almost immediately, the lower block-house was discovered to
have been set on fire. As this building joined the barracks which made part of
the fortifications, most of the men panic stricken, gave themselves up for lost. In
the ine^n time, the yells of several hundred savages, the cries of the women and
children, and the despondency of the soldiers, rendered it a scene of confusion.
But the presence of mind of the captain, did not forsake him. By the most stren-
uous exertions on his part, the fire was prevented from spreading, and before day
the men had erected a temporary breast-work seven feet high, within the spot
where the building was consumed. The Indians kept up the attack until morning,
when, finding their efforts ineffectual, they retired. At this 'time, there were not
more than 20 men in the garrison fit for duty.
Shortly after, Gen. Hopkins, with a large force, engaged in two different expe-
ditions against the Indians on the head waters of the Wabash and the Illinois.
The first was in October. With 4,000 mounted volunteers from Kentucky, Illi-
nois and Indiana, he left Vincennes early in the month, relieved Fort Harrison on
the 10th, and from thence, marched for the Kickapoo villages, and the Peoria
towns — the first 100, and the last 160 miles distant. But his men mutinizing, he
was obliged to return before reaching the hostile towns. On the llth of Novem-
ber, lie marched from Fort Harrison, on his second expedition, with a detachment
of regular troops and volunteers. On the 20th, he arrived at the Prophet's tovrn,
at which place and vicinity, he destroyed 300 wigwams, and large quantities of
Indian corn. Several other expeditions were successfully accomplished, against
the Indians on the Wabash, the Illinois, and their tributaries, by which the se-
curity of that frontier was effected.
Immediately after the massacre at Chicago, Fort Wayne was closely besieged
by several hundred Miami and Pottawatomie Indians. The garrison numbered
only some 60 or 70 effective men. The siege continued until near the middle of
September, when Gen. Harrison marched to its relief with 2,500 men, upon which
the Indians fled.
From Franklinton, in Central Ohio, Harrison, in November, sent Col. Camp-
bell, with 600 men, against the Indian towns on the Missininneway, a branch of
the Wabash. They destroyed several of their towns, and defeated the Indians in
a. hard fought battle, but the severity of the weather compelled them to return.
Until 1800, the territory now included in Indiana, remained a portion of
the North-west Territory. In this year it was, including the present state
158 INDIANA.
of Illinois, organized under the name of Indiana Territory. In 1809, tho
western part of the territory was set off as " Illinois Territory." In 1816,
Indiana was admitted into the Union as a sovereign state. In 1851, a new
constitution was adopted by the people.
Until 1818, the central part of Indiana was an unbroken wilderness, in-
habited by the Miami, Delaware, and Shawnee Indians. By a treaty at St.
Mary's, Ohio, October 2, 1818, between Lewis Cass, Jonathan Jennings,
arid Benjamin Park, commissioners, and the Delaware Indians, the latter
ceded all their territory in Indiana to the United States, covenanting to de-
liver the possession in 1821. This region was afterward called "the New
Purchase." Its reported fertility and beauty attracted settlers, who imme-
diately entered the country and made settlements at various points.
Indiana is bounded N. by Michigan and Lake Michigan, W. by Illinois,
E. by Ohio, and S. by the Ohio River. It lies between 37° 45' and 41° 52'
N. Lat., and 85° 49' 30" and 88° 2' 30" W. Long. Its extreme length from
north to south is 276 miles, and its greatest width 176, containing 33,809
square miles, or 21, 637,760 acres. The soil of the state is generally good,
and much of it highly fertile. The richest lands are found in the river bot-
toms, where the soil is very deep. This is especially the case in the valleys
of the Wabash and its tributaries, and in some parts of the Ohio valley.
There are no mountains in Indiana, but the country bordering on the Ohio,
and in some other parts is hilly and broken. It is estimated that about two
thirds of the state is level, or at most slightly undulating. Bordering on all
the principal streams, except the Ohio, are strips of bottom and prairie land
from three to five miles in width. Remote from the rivers, the country is
broken and the soil light. Between the Wabash and Lake Michigan, the
surface is generally level, interspersed with woodlands, prairies and swamps.
On the shores of Lake Michigan are sand hills 210 feet high, back of which
are sandy hillocks with a growth of pine. The prairies bordering on the
Wabash have a soil from two to five feet in depth.
The principal agricultural production of Indiana is Indian corn : great
quantities of pork and flour are annually exported. It is stated that Indiana
has beds of coal within her limits covering 7,700 square miles, capable of
yielding 50,000,000 bushels to the square mile. The population of Indiana
in 1800 was 4,875; in 1820, 147,178; in 1840, 685,886; in 1850, 988,393 ;
and in 1860, 1,359,802.
VINCENNES, the county seat of Knox county, is pleasantly situated on the
left bank of Wabash River, 120 miles S.W. of Indianapolis, 192 from Cin-
cinnati, 147 from St. Louis, and 56 N. of Evansville, on the Ohio. It is on
the line of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad, and is connected with Evans-
ville at the south, and with Terra Haute and other places at the north, by
railroad. The town is regularly laid out on a fertile level prairie. The
Wabash is navigable for steamboats to this point. Vincennes contains eight
churches. It is the seat of a Catholic bishopric, and a large, spacious Cathe-
dral is erected here. Considerable attention is paid to education, and of the
principal institutions, several are Catholic, viz: an ecclesiastical seminary,
female academy, and two orphan asylums. The Vincennes University has
125 students. Population about 6,000.
Vincennes is the oldest town in the state: it was settled by a colony of
French emigrants from Canada, in 1735. Some historians claim that it was
occupied as a French post as early as 1720. It received its present name in
INDIANA.
159
1735, from M. de Vincennes, a French officer who was killed that year among
the Chickasaws. For a long period nothing of much moment seems to have
occurred in the history of St. Vincent, as Vincennes was sometimes called.
At the commencement of the American Revolution, most of the old French
South view of the Harrison House, Vincennes.
The honse here represented was erected by (Jen. Harrison, when governor of the territory. Tt stands
»n the banks of tho Wabash, a few rods easterly from the railroad bridge. The grove in which Tecnmseh
met the council is immediately in front of the house, two trees of whinh, seen on the left, are the only ones
remaining. The track of tho Uhio and Mississippi Railroad appears in the foreground.
posts were garrisoned with British troops, who incited the Indian tribes in
their vicinity to take up arms against the Americans. In 1778, Col. George
Rogers Clark was sent by the legislature of Virginia, with a small force, to
take possession of the British posts on the western frontiers. By his address
he succeeded in obtaining possession of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes,
without bloodshed.
In Dec., 1778, Hamilton, the British governor at Detroit, came down upon
St. Vincent, or Vincennes, with a large body of troops in an unexpected
manner. At this time, Post Vincennes was garrisoned by two men only,
Capt. Helm, of Virginia, and one Henry. " Helm, however, was not dis-
posed to yield, absolutely, to any odds; so, loading his single cannon, he
stood by it with a lighted match. When the British came nigh he bade
them stand, and demanded to know what terms would be granted the garri-
son, as otherwise he should not surrender. The governor, unwilling to lose
time and men, offered the usual honors of war, and could scarcely believe
his eyes when he saw the threatening garrison to be only one officer and one
private." On the 24th of Feb., 1779, Col. Clark, with a force of one hun-
dred and seventy men, including pack-horsemen, etc., re-appeared before
Vincennes, and demanded its surrender. It was garrisoned at this time by
seventy-nine men, under the command of Lieut. Gov. Hamilton, who was
called the "hair buyer," for his. offering the Indians a certain sum for each
scalp they brought in. He was compelled to give up "Fort Sackville," and
with some others, was sent prisoner to Virginia.
With the capture of Vincennes and the other British posts, of Kaskaskia,
160
INDIANA.
Cahokia, etc., in the Illinois country, by Clark, Virginia acquired the coun-
try then known as the North-west Territory, which she ceded to the gen-
eral government, in 1789. When the Indiana Territory was organized in
1800, Vincennes was made the capital, and so remained until 1313, when
Corydon became the capital of the Territory and in 1816 of the state. In
1825, Indianapolis, within the " New Purchase," became the state capital.
The following account of the celebrated interview between Tecumseh and
Gen. Harrison, in front of the Harrison House, now standing in Vincennes,
is from Judge Law's " Colonial History of Post Vincennes, etc.:"
In the spring of 1810, Gen. Harrison, being governor of the North-western Ter-
ritory, and residing at Vincennes — the seat of government — had learned from va-
rious quarters that Tecumseh had been visiting the different Indian tribes, scat-
tered along the valleys of the Wabash and Illinois, with a view of forming an alli-
ance and making common cause against the whites, and that there was great prob-
ability that his mission had been successful. Aware, as he was, that if this was
the case, and that if the combination had been formed, such as was represented,
the settlements in the southern portion of Indiana and Illinois were in great dan-
ger; that Vincennes itself would be the first object of attack, and that, with a
handful of troops in the territory, a successful resistance might not be made; and
not probably fully aware of the extent of the organization attempted by Tecumseh,
and desirous of avoiding, if he could, the necessity of a call to arms, he sent a
message to him, then residing at the "Prophet's Town," inviting him to a council,
to be held at as early a period as possible, for the purpose of talking over and
amicably settling all difficulties which might exist between the whites and the
Shawnees. It was not until the month of August of the same year, that Tecum-
seh, accompanied by about seventy of his warriors made his appearance. They
encamped on the banks of the Wabash, just above the town, and Tecumseh gave
notice to the governor that, in pursuance of his invitation, he had come to hold a
talk " with him and his braves." The succeeding day was appointed for the meet-
ing. The governor made all suitable preparations for it. The officers of the ter-
ritory and the leading citizens of the town were invited to be present, while a por-
tion of a company of militia was detailed as a guard — fully armed and equipped
for any emergency. Notice had been sent to Tecumseh, previous to the meeting,
that it was expected that himself and a portion of his principal warriors would be
present at the council. The council was held in the open Jawn before the gov-
ernor's house, in a grove of trees which then surrounded it. But two of these, I
regret to say, are now remaining. At the time appointed, Tecumseh and some
fifteen or twenty of his warriors made their appearance. With a firm and elastic
step, and with a proud and somewhat defiant look, he advanced to the place where
the governor and those who had been invited to attend the conference were sitting.
This place had been fenced in, with a view of preventing the crowd from encroach-
ing upon the council during its deliberations. As he stepped forward he seemed
to scan the preparations which had been made for his reception, particularly the
mi-litary part of it, with an eye of suspicion — by no means, however, of fear. As he
came in front of the dais, an elevated portion of the place upon which the governor
and the officers of the territory were seated, the governor invited him, through his
interpreter, to come forward and take a seat with him and his counsellors, premis-
ing the invitation by saying: "That it was the wish of their 'Great Father,' the
President of the United States, that he should do so." The chief paused for a
moment, as the words were uttered and the sentence finished, and raising his tall
form to its greatest hight, surveyed the troops and the crowd around him. Then
with his keen eyes fixed upon the governor for a single moment, and turning them
to the sky above, with his sinewy arm pointing toward the heavens, and with a tone
and manner indicative of supreme contempt for the paternity assigned him, said,
in a voice whose clarion tone was heard throughout the whole assembly:
"My Father? — The sun is my father — the earth is my mother — and on her bosom
INDIANA.
I icill recline." Having finished, he stretched himself with his warriors on the
green sward. The effect, it is said, was electrical, and for some moments there was
perfect silence.
The governor, through the interpreter, then informed him, " that he had under-
stood he had complaints to make and redress to ask for certain wrongs which he,
Tecumseh, supposed had been done his tribe, as well as the others; that he felt
disposed to listen to the one and make satisfaction for the other, if it was proper
he should do so. That in all his intercourse and negotiations with the Indians, he
had endeavored to act justly and honorably with them, and believed he had done
so, and had learned of no complaint of his conduct until he learned that Tecumseli
was endeavoring to create dissatisfaction toward the government, not only among
the Shawnees, but among the other tribes dwelling on the Wabash and Illinois;
and had, in so doing, produced a great deal of trouble between them and the
whites, by averring that the tribes whose land the government had lately pui-chascd,
had no right to sell, nor their chiefs any authority to convey. That he, the gov-
ernor, had invited him to attend the council, with a, view of learning from his own
lips, whether there was any truth in the reports which he had heard, and to learn
whether he, or his tribe, had any just cause of complaint against the whites, and,
if so, as a man and a warrior, openly to avow it. That as between himself and as
great a warrior as Tecumseh, there should be no concealment — all should be done
by them under a clear sky, and in an open path, and with these feelings on his own
part, he was glad to meet him in council." Tecumseh arose as soon as the gov-
ernor had finished. Those who knew him speak of him as one of the most splen-
did specimens of his tribe — celebrated for their physical proportions and fine forms,
even among the nations who surrounded them. Tall, athletic and manly, digni-
fied, but graceful, he seemed the beau ideal of an Indian chieftain. In a voice
first low, but with all its indistinctness, musical, he commenced his reply. As he
wanned with his subject, his clear tones might be heard, as if " truinpet-tongued,"
to the utmost limits of the assembled crowd who surrounded him. The most per-
fect silence prevailed, except when the warriors who surrounded him gave their
gutteral assent to some eloquent recital of the red man's wrong and the white
man's injustice. Well instructed in the traditions of his tribe, fully acquainted
with their history, the /councils, treaties, and battles of the two races for half a
century, he recapitulated the wrongs of the red man from the massacre of the Mo-
ravian Indians, during the revolutionary war, down to the period he had met the
governor in council. lie told him " he did not know how he could ever ajsjain be
the friond of the white man." In reference to the public domain, he asserted
"that the Great Spirit had given all the country from the Miami to the Mississippi,
from the lakes to the Ohio, as a common property to all the tribes that dwelt within
those borders, and that the land could not, and should not be sold without the con-
sent of all. That all the tribes on the continent formed but one nation. That if
the United States would not give up the lands they had bought of the Miamis, the
Delawares, the Pottowatomies, and other tribes, that those united with him were
determined to fall on those tribes and annihilate them. That they were deter-
mined to have no more chiefs, but in future to be governed by their warriors.
That their tribes had been driven toward the setting sun, like a galloping horse
(Ne-kat-a cush-e Ka-top o-lin-to.) That for himself and his warriors, he had de-
termined to resist all further aggressions of the whites, and that with his consent,
or that of the Shawnees, they should never acquire another foot of land. To those
who have never heard of the Shawnee language, I may here remark it is the
most musical and euphonious of all the Indian languages of the west. When
spoken rapidly by a fluent speaker, it sounds more like the scanning of Greek and
Latin verse, than anything [ can compare it to. The effect of this address, of
which I have simply given the outline, and which occupied an hour in the delivery,
may be readily imagined.
William Henry Harrison was as brave a man as ever lived. All who knew him
will acknowledge his courage, moral and physical, but he was wholly unprepared
for such a speech as this. There was a coolness, an independence, a defiance in
the whole manner and matter of the chieftain's speech which astonished even him.
He knew Tecumseh well. He had learned to appreciate his high qualities as a
11
162 INDIANA.
man and warrior. He knew his power, his skill, his influence, not only over his
own tribe, but over those who dwelt on the waters of the Wabash and Illinois. He
knew he was no braggart — that what he said he meant — what he promised he in-
tended to perform. He was fully aware that he was a foe not to be treated light —
an enemy to be conciliated not scorned — one to be met with kindness not contempt.
There was a stillness throughout the assembly when Tecumseh had done speaking
which was painful. Not a whisper was to be heard — all eyes were turned from
the speaker to the governor. The unwarranted and unwarrantable pretensions of
the chief, and the bold and defiant tone in which he had announced them, stag-
gered even him. It was some moments before he arose. Addressing Tecumseh,
who had taken his seat with his warriors, he said : " That the charges of bad faith
made against the government, and the assertion that injustice had been done the
Indians in any treaty ever made, or any council ever held with them by the United
States, had no foundation in fact. That in all their dealings with the red man,
they had ever been governed by the strictest rules of right and justice. That
while other civilized nations had treated them with contumely and contempt, ours
had always acted in good faith with them. That so far as he individually was con-
cerned, he could say in the presence of the 'Great Spirit,' who was watching over
their deliberations, that his conduct, even with the most insignificant tribe, had
been marked with kindness, and all his acts governed by honor, integrity and fair
dealing. That he had uniformly been the friend of the red man, and that it was
the first time in his life that his motives had been questioned or his actions im-
peached. It was the first time in his life that he had ever heard such unfounded
claims put forth, as Tecumseh had set up, by any chief, or any Indian, having the
least regard for truth, or the slightest knowledge of the intercourse between the
Indian and the white man, from the time this continent was first discovered."
What the governor had said thus far had been interpreted by Barren, the inter-
preter to the Shawnees, and he was about interpreting it to the Miamis and Potta-
watomies, who formed part of the cavalcade, when Tecumseh, addressing the in-
terpreter in Shawnec, said, ;' Tie lies!" Barron, who had, as all subordinates (es-
pecially in the Indian department) have, a great reverence and respect for the
"powers that be," commenced interpreting the language of Tecumseh to the
governor, but not exactly in the terms made use of, when Tecumseh, who under-
stood but little English, perceived from his embarrassment and awkwardness, that
he was not giving his words, interrupted him and again addressing him in Shaw-
nee, said: "No, no; tell Mm he lies." The gutteral assent of his party showed
they coincided with their chief's opinion. Gen. Gibson, secretary of the territory,
who understood Shawnee, had not been an inattentive spectator of the scene, and
understanding the import of the language made use of, and from the excited state
of Tecumseh and his party, was apprehensive of violence, made a signal to the
troops in attendance to shoulder their arms and advance. They did so. The
speech of Tecumseh was literally translated to the governor. He directed Barron
to say to him, "he would hold no further council with him," and the meeting broke
up.
One can hardly imagine a more exciting scene — one which would be a finer sub-
ject for an " historical painting," to adorn the rotunda of the capitol, around which
not a single picture commemorative of western history is to be found. On the
succeeding day, Tecumseh requested another interview with the governor, which
was granted on condition that he should make an apology to the governor for his
language the day before. This he made through the interpreter. Measures for
defense and protection were however taken, lest there should be another outbreak.
Two companies of militia were ordered from the country, and the one in town
added to them, while the governor and his friends went into council fully armed
•and prepared for any contingency. The conduct of Tecumseh upon this occasion
was entirely different from that of the day before. Firm and intrepid, showing
not the slightest fear or alarm, surrounded as he was with the military force quad-
rupling his own, he preserved the utmost composure and equanimity. No one
could have discerned from his looks, although he must have fully understood the
object of calling in the troops, that he was in the slightest degree disconcerted.
He waa cautious in his bearing, dignified in his manner, and no one from observ-
INDIANA.
ing him would for a moment have supposed he was the principal actor in the
thrilling scene of the previous day.
In thie interval between the sessions of the first and second council, Tecumseh
had told Barron, the interpreter, " that he had been informed by the whites, that
the people of the territory were almost equally divided, half in favor of Tecumseh,
and the other adhering to the governor." The same statement he made in council.
He said " that fwo Americans had made him a visit, one in the course of the pre-
ceding winter, the other lately, and informed him that Governor Harrison had pur-
chased land from the Indians without any authority from the government, and that
one half of the people were opposed to the purchase. He also told the governor
that he, Harrison, had but two years more to remain in office, and if he, Tecumseh,
could prevail upon the Indians who sold the lands not to receive their annuities
for that time, that when the governor was displaced, as he would be, and a good
man appointed as his successor, he would restore to the Indians all the lands pur-
chased from them." After Tecumseh had concluded his speech, a Wyandot, a
Kickapoo, a Pottawatomie, an Ottowa, and a Winnebago chief, severally spoke, and
declared that their tribes had entered into the " Shawnee Confederacy," and would
support the principles laid down by Tecumseh, whom they had appointed their
leader.
At the conclusion of the council, the governor informed Tecumseh " that he
would immediately transmit his speech to the president, and as soon as his answer
was received would send it to him; but as a person had been appointed to run the
boundary line of the new purchase, he wished to know whether there would be
danger in his proceeding to run the line." Tecumseh replied, " that he and his
allies were determined that the old boundary line should continue, and that if the
whites crossed it, it would be at their peril." The governor replied, "that since
Tecumseh had been thus candid in stating his determination, he would be equally
so with him. The president, he was convinced, would never allow that the lands
on the Wabash were the propert}' of any other tribes than those who had occupied
them, and lived on them since the white people came to America. And as the title
to the lands lately purchased was derived from those tribes by fair purchase, he
might rest assured that the right of the United States would be supported by the
e word."
"So be it," was the stern and haughty reply of the "Shawnee chieftain," as he
and his braves took leave of the governor and wended their way in Indian file to
their camping ground. And thus ended the last conference on earth between the
chivalrous and gallant Tecumseh, the Shawnee chief, and he who since the period
alluded to has ruled the destinies of the nation as its chief magistrate. The bones
of the first lie bleaching on the battle-field of the Thames — those of the last are
deposited in the mausoleum that covers them on the banks of the Ohio.
INDIANAPOLIS, the capital of Indiana, and seat of justice for Marion
county, is on the west fork of White River, at the crossing of the National
Road, 109 miles N.W. from Cincinnati, 86 N.N.W. from Madison, on the
Ohio, and 573 W. by N. from Washington. The city is located on a fertile
and extensive plain, two miles N.W. of the geographical center of the state,
which was formerly covered with a dense growth of timber. The original town
plat was a mile square, but it has extended itself on all^ sides. Washington-
street through which the National Road passes, the principal street in the city, is
120 feet wide, Circle-street 80 feet, the others 90 feet. On the 1st of Jan.,
1825, the public offices of the state were removed from Corydon, the former
capital, to Indianapolis, and the ^eat of government established here; but
the legislature held its sessions in the county court house, until Dec., 1834,
when tha- state house was completed. This showy structure, 180 feet long
by 80 wide, is on the model of the Parthenon at Athens, and was built at •-
cost of about 860,000.
164
INDIANA.
Indianapolis is one of the greatest railroad centers in 'the world, nearly
one hundred different trains pass in and out of the city daily, and from 3,000
to 5,000 persons visit the place in twenty-four hours. It is stated that the
citizens of 80 of the 91 counties in the state, can coine to Indianapolis, attend
View of the State House, from Wasltiny ion-street, Indianapolis.
to business, and return the same day. The completion of the Madison and
Indianapolis Railroad gave a great, impetus to the growth of the place : then
the population was about 4,000, in I860. 18,612.
The streets of the city are broad, laid out at right angles, well shaded and
adorned with a number of very superior buildings. The benevolent institu-
tions of the state, for the insane, deaf and dumb, and the blind, are located
at this place, and are an ornament to the city and state. The city has 16
churches, a system of free graded schools, and is the seat of the North-west-
ern Christian University, a nourishing institution under the patronage of
the Christian Church. The university building is an elegant edifice in the
Gothic style.
The following historical items are extracted from Howard's Historical
Sketch of Indianapolis, in the city directory for 1857 :
In IS 18, Dr. Douglass ascended White River from the lower counties, tarrying
at the bluffs for a short time, and Col. James Paxton descended it from its he;id-
waters, reaching this place in January or February, 1819. He ao;ain returned ia
1820, and made some preparations for settlement, but never completed them. The
honor due to the 'first settler,' belongs to John Pogue, who came from White-
water and settled here on the 2d day of March, 1819. His cabin stood by a hirire
spring, close to the east bank of ' Pogue' s Run,' near the present residence of W.
P. Xoble. Its ruins were visible until withya a few years, and perhaps exist at
this time. Pogue was killed by the Indians in April, 1821. His horses were
missing one morning in that month, and as some disturbance had been heard
among them during the night, he concluded the Indians had stolen them, and
armed himself for pursuit. When last seen he was near the Indian camp, and as
his horses and clothes were afterward seen in their possession, little doubt re-
INDIANA.
165
mained as to his fate. His death greatly excited the settlers, but their numerical
weakness prevented an effort to avenge it. The little stream which once pursued
a very torturous course through the south-east part of the city, alarming the few
inhabitants of that section by its high floods, but which is now so changed that its
old character is utterly lost, was named after Pogue, and will be a memorial of
him as 'the first settler' of Indianapolis.
Main Passenger Railroad Station, Union Depot, Indianapolis.
Showing the appearance of the Station as it is entered from the west.
In February, 1820, John and James McCnrmick built a cabin near the present
river bridge. In the early part of March, John Msixwell and John Cowen built
cabins in the north-west corner of the donation, near the Michigan road. Fall
creek bridge. In April, IS2I, Mr. Maxwell was appointed a justice of the pence
by Gov Jennings, nnd was the first judicial officer in 'the New Purchase.' He
retained the olHce until June, and then resigned. The citizens held an informal
election, and selected James Mcllvaine, who was thereupon appointed a justice by
Gov. Jennings, in Oct., 1821.
In the latter part of March, and in April and May of 1820. a number of emi-
grants arrived, and at the end of the latter month there were 15 families on the
donation. Among them were Messrs. Davis, Bainhill, Corbley, Wilson, Van Blari-
cuin and Harding. Emigrants now began to turn their faces toward the infant
settlement, and it slowly and steadily increased for a year afterward.
The eagerness of the settlers to appropriate lands in the New Purchase, found
its counterpart in the action of the state, concerning the location of the new seat
of government. The act of Congress, of April 19, 1816, authorizing the formation
of a state government, donated four sections of the unsold public lands to the
state, for a permanent seat of government, giving the privilege of selection. The
subject was considered immediately after the treaty at St. Marys, and on the llth
of January, 1820, the legislature, by law, appointed George Hunt, John Conner,
John Gilliland, Stephen Ludlow, Joseph Bartholomew, John Tipton, Jesse B. Dun-
ham, Frederick Rapp, Win. Prince, and Thomas Emerson, commissioners to select
a location for a permanent seat of government. * * * The present site was selected,
which gave the place instant reputation, and in the spring, and summer, and fall
of 1819, it rapidly increased in population. Morris Morris, Dr. S. G. Mitchell, J.
and J. Given, Wm. Reagan, M. Nowland, J. M. Ray, James Blake, Nathaniel Cox,
Thomas Anderson, John Hawkins, Dr. Dunlap, David Wood, D. Yandes, Col. Rua-
acll, N. M. Clearty, Dr. Coe, D. Maguire, and many others arrived, and the cabins
16
INDIANA.
rapidly increased along the river bank. On January 6, 1821, the legislature con-
firmed the selection of the site and named it Indianapolis.
The settlement afterward moved east, the unparalleled sickness of 1821 con-
vincing the settlers that a residence away from the river was the best for them. A
fine grove of tall straight sugar trees stood on the 'Governor's Circle.' On Sun-
days the early settlers assembled there to hear preaching by Rev. John McClung.
They sat on the logs and grass about him in Indian style. This gentleman was
probably ffie first preacher in the place, and preached the first sermon on this spot
in the summer or fall of 1821. Other authorities say that the first sermon was
preached this year where the state house now stands, by Rev. Risen Hammond.
Calvin Fletcher, Esq., who now lives just north of the city, was then the only
attorney-at-law in the new settlement, and the ultimate judge in all knotty cases.
There was no jail nearer than Connersville, and the culprit sentenced to imprison-
ment, had to be conveyed by the constable and his posse, on horseback through
the woods to that place. This involved much time, trouble and expense, and the
shorter plan was afterward adopted to scare them away. An instance occurred on
Christmas day, 1821. Four Kentucky boatmen, who had 'whipped their weight
in wild-cats,' came from ' the bluffs' to 'Naples' (as they called the town), to have
a jolly Christmas spree. The 'spree' began early, and the settlers were aroused
before the dawn, by a terrible racket at Daniel Larken's grocery. A hasty recon-
noissance revealed the four heroes busily engaged in the laudable work of 'taking
it down.' A request to desist provoked strong expletives, attended by a display of
large knives, which demonstration caused the citizens to 'retire' to consult. They
were interested ia the grocery, .and besides that, such lawless proceedings could
not be tolerated. They therefore determined to conquer at all hazards. James
Blake volunteered to grapple the ring leader, a man of herculean size and strength,
if the rest would take the three other.*. The attack was made at once, the party
conquered, and marched under guard through the woods to Justice Mcllvaine's
cabin. They were tried and heavily fined, and in default of payment ordered to
jail. They could not pay, and it was deemed impossible to take them through the
woods to Connersville at that season of the year. A guard was, therefore, placed
over them, with the requisite instructions, and during the night the doughty he-
roes escaped to more congenial climes.
Toward the end of the summer [1821], and during the fall, epidemic, remittent,
and intermittent fevers and agues assailed the people, and scarcely a person was
left untouched. Although several hundred cases occurred, not more than five ter-
minated fatally.
After escaping death by disease, the people were threatened with starvation.
Jn consequence of sickness, the influx of people and the small amount of grain
raised, the supply of provisions in the settlement became very meager in the fall
and winter of 1821. No roads had been opened to the town, and all goods and
provisions had to be packed on horseback, 50 or/ 60 miles through the woods, or
brought up the river in keel boats. The latter method was adopted in 1822, and
the arrival of each boat was greeted by a concourse of ' the whole people,' and duly
announced in the 'Indianapolis Gazette.' Coffee was worth 50 cents a pound,
tea, $2 00; corn, $1 00 per bushel; flour, $4 00 to $5 00 per hundred; coarse
muslin, 45 cents per yard, and other goods in proportion. To relieve the people
ami prevent starvation, flour and other articles were brought from the White-
water Valley, and corn was purchased at the Indian villages up the river and
boated down to the town. The nearest mill was Goodlandin on Whitewater River,
and the arrival of a cargo of meal and flour, or of other articles from that quarter,
produced general joy in the settlement. The settlers generously relieved each
other's distress in this case, as in the preceding sickness, and many pecks of meal,
sacks of flour, parcels of fish, meat, and other articles of food, were distributed to
some more destitute neighbor.
After the October sale of lots, the weather, which, during the summer, had been
very wet and changeable, and in the fall cold and gloomy, changed, and a long and
beautiful Indian summer began. The sick quickly recovered their health, strength
and spirits. The settlement rapidly tended to the east, for the sickness had been
worse near the river, and the new comers and older settlers built their cabins
INDIANA. 167
along Washington-street much farther from it than before. The dreary appear-
ance of the settlement during the fall, no longer clung to it, and notwithstanding
the threatened famine, the hopes of the settlers rose higher than ever. Washing-
ton-street was the first street cleared, and during the fall of 1821, was completely
blocked up by felled trees and prickly ash bushes. John Hawkins built a large
log tavern where the Capitol House now stands, using logs cut from the site and
adjoining street in its erection. The main settlement was still west of the canal,
near the spot now occupied by the Carlisle House-. A group of cabins in this vi-
cinity, was dignified by ' Wilmot's Row,' from a man of that name who kept a store
in the vicinity, and who was one of the first merchants of the place. The first
merchant was a man named Nicholas Shaffer. He had a little store on the high
ground, south of Pogue's Run, commencing in the spring of 1821. He was the
first person who died on the donation. He died in May or June. 1821, and was
buried in Pogue's Run Valley, near the present site of the sixth ward school
house.
The first marriage, the first birth, and the first death, occurred in 1821. The
first wedding was between Miss Reagan and Jeremiah Jolmson. He walked to
Connersville and back, 120 miles, for his marringe license; and others did the
same until the county was organized The first Presbyterian minister was
0. P. Gaines, who came in Aug. 1821 : the first Baptist minister was John Water,
who came in the fall of 1821 : the first Methodist minister was James Scott, who
came in Oct. 1822. The first physician was Isaac Coe, who came in 1821. The
ih-st attorney was Calvin Fletcher, who came in Sept., 1821. Joseph C. Reed, who
came in 1821. was the first school teachor : the first school house stood just north
of the State Bank, near a large pond. The first market house was built-in 1822,
in the maple grove on the Governor's Circle. The first brick house was bj^Jt in
1822, by John Johnson, on the lot east of Robert's Chapel: the first frame house
vas built by James Blake, in 1821-2, on the lot east of the Masonic Hall, it was
also the first plastered house On Jan. 28, 1822, the first number of the
'Indiana Gazette' was published in a cabin south-east of the Carlisle House, and west
of the canal. This paper, the first in the town or in the 'New Purchase,' was edited
arid printed by George Smith and Nathaniel Botton. In 1823, the Presbyterians
erected the first church on the lot just north of Maj. A. F. Morrison's residence.
It cost, with the lot, about $1,200, and was regarded as a very fine and expensive
one for the town. It now forms part of a carriage manufactory.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the grave-yard
in this place:
NOAH NOBLE, born in Virginia, Jan. 15, A. D., 1791. Governor of Indiana from 1831 to
1837. Died at Indianapolis Feb. A. D. 1844.
ANDREW KENNEDY, late a Representative to Congress from Indiana, born July 24, 1810.
Died Dec.*31, 1847. This stone is erected to his memory by his friends, in token of their
love of the man, and their respect for his ability and integrity as a Statesman.
JAMES WHITCOMB, a native of Vermont, Born Dec. 1795, brought to Ohio when 11 years
old. SELF-TAUGHT, commenced practice of Law 1822, at Bloomington, Indiana, was State
and Circuit Attorney ; State Senator ; Commissioner of General Land Office ; twice Governor
of Indiana. Died Oct. 1852, at the City of New York, while Senator of the United States.
Eminent in learning, Devoted to Country and God.
ISAAC COE, M.D., born July 25, 1782, died July 30, 1855, the founder of Sabbath Schools
in Indianapolis.
TERRE HAUTE, city, and the county seat for Vigo county, is situated on
the left or eastern bank of the Wabash River, 73 miles west of Indianapolis;
109 N. from Evansville; 69 N. from Vincennes, and 187 E. from St. Louis
168
INDIANA.
The town site is elevated about 60 feet above low water, and somewlut above
the contiguous prairie which is about 10 miles long and two wide. It is on
the line of the Wabash and Erie Canal. The National Road here crosses
the river on a fine bridge. Being situated in a fertile district, having steam-
boat and railroad communication in various directions. Terre Haute is the
Cuurt House and other baildinys, Terre Haute.
A* soon from the north-west corner of the Public Square. Tlie Sfiite B:ink un<l the spire of the Metho-
dist Church appear on the. riirht ; the Mayor's office, or Town Rnll, and tho tower of the Uoirersulist
Church on the left. A grove of Locust trees formerly surrounded the Court House.
center of large business operations, among which pork packing is extensively
carried on. Several fine educational establishments are also in operation,
among which are two female colleges. In the vicinity, some three or four
miles distant, is the nunnery and highly popular Catholic Female College,
named "St. Mary of the Woods." Great taste is displayed here in the
grounds, shrubbery and lawns surrounding the private dwellings. Its early
settlers made their homes attractive by a generous attention to the planting
of shade trees on the streets, and throughout the public grounds.
Terre Haute offers great inducements for all kinds of manufacturing busi-
ness; fuel and labor are cheap and abundant. It is surrounded by extensive
coal fields; good quarries of building stone lie near; iron ores of superior
quality are in close proximity, and with every facility for transportation by
canal, river and railroad. The city contains 10 churches, and about 10,000
inhabitants.
Terre Haute (French words for high land), was founded in 1816; in 1830
it contained 600 inhabitants: in 1840, about 2,000. The first settlement
was made on the river bank. Fort Harrison was situated about three miles
to the north : and in the war of 1812, was successfully defended by Capt.
Zachary Taylor, from an attack by the Indians as related on page 1017.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the grave yard
at this place :
WILLIAM C. LIXTOX, born in 1795, died Jan. 31, 1S35. He was one of the earliest settlers
INDIANA.
of Terra Haute, one of the most successful merchants. The Friend and Patron of the yc ung.
Hundreds yet survive to revere his memory, and their children rise up to call it ble.?scd.
The impress of his genius and his enterprise, will long survive all that is mortal of the up-
right citizen, the kind friend and the public benefactor.
Here lie the remains of THOMAS II. BI,AKK, born in Calvert Co., Md., July 25, 1792, died
in Cincinnati Nov. 28, 1849. He was one of the earliest settlers of this place; had boon
Presiding Judge of a circuit ; a Representative in Congress; Commissioner of the General
Land Office ; tilled other offices of responsibility under the State and General Governments,
and was, at the time of Lis death, the President Trustee of the Wabash and Erie Canal.
For honor, frankness, and integrity, as a firm and generous friend, he was extensively
known, and died without reproach upon his name, leaving a memory for noble manly vir-
tues that will lonj' be cherished.
RICHMOND, in Wayne county, is situated 4 miles from the eastern bound-
ary of the state, on the east fork of Whitewater River, where it is crossed
by the National Road and Cen-
tral Railroad, G8 miles from In-
dianapolis, 40 from Dayton, 0.,
and 64 N.N.W. from Cincin-
nati. It is the center of an ac-
tive trade, possesses railroad
communications in various di-
rections, and has flourishing
manufactories of cotton, wool,
flour, iron, paper, etc.. for which
the river affords abundant mo-
tive power. In the vicinity are
22 flouring mills and 24 saw
in ills. A large number of agri-
cultural implements are manu-
factured here. The principal
street is the old National Road,
running east and west, which is
thickly built upon for about a
mile. There is a fine bridge
erected here, with stone abut-
ments, over which the National Road passes, containing tablets or monu-
ments erected by the citizens, on which are engraved the names of the con-
tractors and builders of the bridge. The Friends Boarding School, about a
mile from the post-office, is the principal literary institution, and has about
100 students of both sexes. Population about 7,000.
The first emigrants to the neighborhood were principally from Kentucky, North
Carolina, and Ohio. Richmond was laid out in 1816, and the lands patented to
John Smith and Jeremiah Cox. In 1818, Ezra Boswell, Thomas Swain, Robert
Morrison, and John McLnne were elected trustees, the number of voters at the
time being twenty-four. The town was first called Smithfield, from the name of
the proprietor.
•Until 1817, the early emigrants procured their flour at Germantown, or some
other distant settlement in the Miami valley. In the year named a " tub mill " was
erected by Jeremiah Cox, where the present oil mill stands. The first opening in
the forest was made by Woodkirk, on the land now owned by C. W. Starr, near
where J. Cox built his brick house. The making of the National Road through
Richmond, in 1828, gave an impulse to the place. Dr. J. T. Plummer, in his His-
torical Sketch of Richmond, states, " 1 hold in distinct remembrance the old log
meeting house of 1823, standing near the site of the present large brick one. 1 re-
FRIF.NUS' BOAIUUNG SCHOOL
170
INDIANA.
member its leaky roof, letting the rain through upon the slab benches with throe
pair of legs and no backs ; its charcoal fires, kept in sugar kettles (for as yet no
stoves were procured), and the toes pinched with cold of the young who sat re-
mote from the kettles," etc.
The first post office was established in 1818, Robert Morrison being the first post-
master. The first tavern stood at the north-east corner of Main and Pearl-street?,
with the sign of a green tree : it was kept by Jonathan Bayles. The first lawyer,
pays Dr. Plummer, *' was one Hardy, who boarded at Ephraim Lacey's tavern, and
walked the pavement (such as it was) with his thumbs stuck in the arm-holes of
his vest, and his head pompously thrown back spouting the phrase lQui facit per
alhun,facit per se:' but still no business came, and he concluded to go further
south where merit was better rewarded." A Dr. Cushman came here in 1820, who
afterward returned to Fort Wayne, where he was an associate judge. He opened
a distillery at the south part of the town, on the side of the hill on Front-street,
near a spring. A large portion of the inhabitants at that time being Friends (com-
monly called Quakers), this enterprise did not succeed, and the establishment
passed into the hands of Dr. Ithamer Warner, who also soon abandoned it, and it
went down to rise no more. Dr. Warner was the principal physician for many
years. He came into the county about 1815, and died in March, 1835. Dr. T hos.
Carroll, now of Cincinnati, settled in Richmond in 1819, and left in 1823; he was
probably the first regular physician in Richmond.
The first newspaper published in Richmond was the Richmond Weekly Intelli-
gencer. This was in 1821. The printing office was on Front-street; the editor
was Elijah .Lacy. The second was the Public Ledger, first issued in 1824; the
Richmond Palladium was first issued in 1831. The Jeffersonian, was established
in 1836, by a democratic association, under the title of " Hickory Club," and was
principally edited by S. E. Perkins, now a judge of the supreme court. The In-
diana Fanner was commenced in 1851 : the Broad Axe of Freedom was first
issued by .Jamison & Johnson, in 1855. The Richmond Library was incorporated
and established in 1326. In 1853 a railroad communication was opened to Cin-
cinnati, by way of Dayton.
Most of the earliest residents of Wayne county, were members of the Society
of Friends. The first meeting of the society was held in 1807, in a log building
vacated by Jeremiah Cox. Jesse Bond, John Morrow and Wm. William* were
among their earliest ministers. The next religious society was the Methodist Epis-
copal, who held their first meeting in 1819, in a small log house on Front-street.
Daniel Fraley was, perhaps, the first Methodist preacher in this section. John W.
Sullivan was the first stationed minister in Richmond. The first Presbyterian
church was established in 1837, by T. 111. Hughes and P. H. Golliday, with 28
members; their first preacher was Charles Sturdevant. The English Evangelical
Lutheran congregation was organized in 1853. The Catholic church was organized
in 1846. St. Paul's Episcopal church was organized in 1838. George Fiske was
their first minister. The German Evangelical Lutheran was organized in 1845.
The African Methodist Episcopal church was organized in 1836. The gas works
were built in 1855.
EVANSVILLE, the county seat of Vanderburgh county, is situated on the
high northern bank of the Ohio River, 200 miles from its entrance into the
Mississippi, 200 miles below Louisville, Ky., and 144 S.S.AV. of Indianapo-
lis. The Wabash and Erie Canal, 462 miles in extent, the longest on the
continent, terminates here. It is a place of much trade, being the chief
mart of the rich valley of Green River, in Kentucky. The annual exporta
of the city exceed seven millions of dollars in value, of which pork, lard
and tobacco are the principal articles. It has four extensive iron founderies,
several large ,flour mills, a brass foundery, and upward of sixty steam engines
are employed in the various manufactories. The Bodian coal mine, about a
mile from the court house, supplies the work-shops with fuel. It contains
14 churches, in about half of which the German language is used. The
INDIANA.
171
Marine Hospital here is a fine building, erected at a cost of $75,000. Popu-
lation about 13,000.
Evansville received its name from Robert Morgan Evans, a native of Virginia,
who, with James W. Jones, of Kentucky, and Hugh McGary, were the three orig-
inal proprietors of the place. The plat of the city was laid out in 1836, by these
proprietors, and was originally covered by a dense forest. The first house in
South-westertt view of Evansville.
As it nppears from the Kentucky side of the Ohio Hiver. The side-walk in front of the line of houses,
seen iu the view, is 21 inches above the highest rise of water ever known.
Evansville was built by Hugh McGary, the patentee of the land. It was a log
structure, occupying the site of the Pavilion House, shown in the view; the second
house was built by Jonathan Robinson, on the river bank, between Mulberry and
Green streets. David Hart, of Fayette county, Ky., Isaac Blackford, now judge
of the court of claims, in Washington, and Elisha Harrison, from Ohio, were among
the first settlers of the place.
The first school house was erected, in 1831, by joint stock, and stood directly in
the rear of the Washington House, opposite the court house. The New School
Presbyterian church, now standing, was erected in 1832, and was the first house
of worship built in the place. It was used at first as a kind of union house, where
ministers of various denominations preached. Rev. Calvin Butler, a Congrega
tional clergyman from the east, was the first regular preacher who occupied the
pulpit. The Freewill Baptists, in or about 1837, erected the next church build-
ing; Rev. Benoni Stinson was their first minister. The German Lutheran and
Catholic chm-ches were established at or about the same period. The court house
was erected in 1856. The first tavern was kept by Wood, on Main, between
Second and Third-streets.
The city limits extend to Pigeon creek, the village of Lamasco being included.
The name La-mas-co is compounded of the names of Law, Me Call and Scott, the
original proprietors of the tract on both sides of Pigeon creek. The village was
laid out in 1856, and the Bodian coal mine opened the same year. This mine re-
ceived its appellation from the maiden name of Mrs. Kersteman, the wife of the
superintendent. It is opened 280 feet below the surface, about 200 feet lower
than the bed of the river. The vein is 5 feet thick. The coal is delivered to the
inhabitants of the city at ten cents per bushel, fixed by law at 75 pounds to the
bushel.
172
INDIANA.
K.U>I'"S ClHHU'K.
From a [x'tiril pkntcli, iiiafl<-
Rlmiit tlii' yc;ir ISI'O. l>y 1'rof.
liirliani Owen. Tlie olinrch is
cruciform in utiapo, about 110 liy
Kid ft-rt, iiml is yet standing,
tliougli divestal of the cupola.
NEW HARMONY is a village of about 800 inhabitants, in Poscy county, in
that part of Indiana called " the Pocket." It stands on the Wabash, about
100 miles from its mouth, following its meanders, but only 15 from the Ohio
at Mount Vernon, its nearest point, and the south-westernmost town )f the
state. The place has acquired a wide reputation
from two socialistic experiments — the first by George
Rapp, of Germany, and the last by Robert Owen,
of Scotland.
The Rappites, or, as they are sometimes called,
Harmon-ties, first emigrated from Wirtemburg, in
Germany, about the year 1803, having left their
country, as they asserted, on account of persecution
for their religious opinions, and first built a town
in western Pennsylvania, which they called Har-
mony. But having the cultivation of the grape
very much at heart, which did not appear to thrive
as well as they wished, they sold out their estab-
lishment at Harmony, and in 1814, under the
guidance of their pastor. Rev. George Rapp, moved
to the Wabash, where the climate was supposed to
be more congenial to their wishes. There they
cleared the land, built a beautiful village, which
they called New Harmony, containing about 150
houses, planted orchards and vineyards, erected
mills and factories of various kinds, and made "the
wilderness blossom like the rose." According to tlieir system, all property
was held in common, there being no such thing known to them as an indi-
vidual owning any. After remaining some eight or ten years, the Rappites
discovered that the unhcalthiness of this then new country, called for a
change of climate, so they beat a speedy retreat. The society, therefore, re-
turned to Pennsylvania in 1825, and selecting a site on the Ohio, 18 miles
below Pittsburg, cleared the land, and built the present handsome town of
Economy, which contains some 500 inhabitants. It is yet a thriving com-
rnunity, and since the death of its founder, is governed by nine trustees.
The Duke of Saxe Weimer, who visited Economy about the year 1826, haf
left some interesting facts, upon the peculiarities of the Rappites :
At the inn, a fine large frame house, we were received by Mr. Rapp, the princi
pal, at the head of the community. He is a gray-headed and venerable old man
most of the members emigrated 21 years ago from Wirtcmburg along with him.
The elder Rapp is a large man of 70 years old, whose powers age seems not U
have diminished ; his hair is gray, but his blue eyes, overshadowed by strons
brows, are full of life and fire. Rapp's system is nearly the same as Owen's coin
munify of goods, and all members of the society work together for the common in
torost, by which the welfare of each individual is secured. Rapp does not hold
his society together by these hopes alone, but also by the tie of religion, which is
entirely wanting in Owen's community; and results declare that Ilapp's system is
the better. No great results can be expected from Owen's plan; and a sight of it
is very little in its favor. What is most striking and wonderful of all is, that so
plain a man as Rapp can so successfully bring and keep together a society of
nearly 700 persons, who, in a manner, honor him as a prophet. Equally so 1'or
example is his power of government, which can suspend the intercourse of the
sexes. lie found that the society was becoming too numerous, wherefore the mem-
bers agreed to lice with their wives as sisters. All nearer intercourse is forbidden,
as well as marriage; both are discouraged. However, some marriages constantly
occur, and children are born every year, for whom there is provided a school and
INDIANA.
173
a teacher. The members of the community manifest the very highest degree of
veneration for the elder Rapp, whom they address and treat as a father. Mr.
Frederick Rapp is a large, good-looking personage, of 40 years of age. He pos-
sesses profound mercantile knowledge, and is the temporal, as his father is the
spiritual chief of the community. All business passes through his hands; he re-
presents the society, which, notwithstanding the change in the name of residence,
is called the Harmony Society, in all their dealings with the world. They found
that the farming and cattle raising, to which the society exclusively attended in
both their former places of residence, were not sufficiently productive for their in-
dustry, they therefore have established factories.
The warehouse was shown to us, where the articles made here for sale or use
are preserved, and I admired the excellence of all. The articles for the use of the
society are kept by themselves, as the members have no private possessions, and
everything is in common; so must they in relation to all their personal wants be
supplied from the common stock. The clothing and food they make use of is of
the best quality. Of the latter, flour, salt meat, and all long keeping articles, are
served out monthly; fresh meat, on the contrary, and whatever spoils readily, is
distributed whenever it is killed, according to the size of the family, etc. As every
house has a garden, each family raises its own vegetables, and some poultry, and
each family has its own bake oven. For such things as are not raised in Economy,
there is a store provided, from which the members, with the knowledge of the di-
rectors, may purchase what is necessary, and the people of the vicinity may also
do the same.
Mr. ilapp finally conducted us into the factory again, and said that the girls had
especially requested this visit, that 1 might hear them sing. When their work is
done, they collect in one of the factory rooms, to the number of 60 or 70, to sing
spiritual and other songs. They have a peculiar hymn book, containing hymns
from the Wirtemburg psalm book, and others written by the elder Rapp. A chair
was placed for the old patriarch, who sat amidst the girls, and they commenced a
hymn in a very delightful manner. It was naturally symphonious and exceedingly
well arranged. The girls sang four pieces, at first sacred, but afterward, by Mr.
Rapp's desire, of a gay character. With real emotion did I witness this interest-
ing scene. The factories and workshops are wanned during winter by means of
pipes connected with the steam-engine. All the workmen, and especially the fe-
males, had very healthy complexions, and moved me deeply by the warm-hearted
friendliness with which they saluted the elder Rapp. I was also much gratified to
see vessels containing fresh sweet-smelling flowers standing on all the machines.
The neatness which universally reigns here is in every respect worthy of praise.
The second socialistic experiment here, proved less successful than the
first. We give its history in the annexed communication from a corres-
pondent familiar with the details :
In 1824, the village of the Rappites, including 20,000 acres of land, was pur-
chased by Mr. Robert Owen, of New Lanark, Scotland, who, after a most success-
ful experiment in ameliorating the physical and moral condition of the laboring
classes in that manufacturing village, believed that New Harmony would be a
highly suitable place for testing his "social system," as explained in his "New
Views of Society." As soon, therefore, as the Harmonites had removed, to estab-
lish themselves at Economy, Pennsylvania, he gave a general invitation for those
favorable to the community, in opposition to the competitive system, to give its
practicability a fair trial at New Harmony. The call was responded to by about
seven or eight hundred persons, and Mr. Owen was also joined by another wealthy
gentleman from Scotland, Mr. William Maclure, who purchased from Mr. Owen
part of the property; and for one year the community progressed, in some respects,
rather favorably, but chiefly at their expense, under the name of "The Prelimina-
ry Society." As all institutions, however, to be permanent, must be self-sustain-
ing, unless largely endowed, the above society, hoping better to effect the desired
object by a division into departments having more immediately similar views and
interests, formed agricultural, educational, and other similar subdivisions, or com-
munities, which sustained themselves, at the furthest, two years more; being
174
INDIANA.
broken up partly by designing individuals, who joined the society only from selfish
motives; partly also from inexperience in so novel an experiment; and partly,
doubtless, from the difficulty of any large number of persons ever having views
sufficiently similar to enable them to co-operate successfully for the common good.
Since that social experiment, a period to which (although a failure as regards its
pecuniary sustaining power) many of the older inhabitants still look back with
pleasure, as a prornotive of benevolent, unselfish feeling, the houses, lots and ad-
joining lands have passed into the hands of individuals; and New Harmony pro-
gresses gradually, on the old system, being a quiet, orderly country town, geograph-
ically out of the great commercial thoroughfare.
The entire surviving family of the late Robert Owen, comprising three sons, one
daughter, and numerous grandchildren, still resides there. The eldest son, Robert
Dale Owen, represented the first district in congress, and has since been minister
to Naples; the second son, William, died there some years since. The third son,
Dr. D. D. Owen, has conducted two geological surveys for the United States, and
is state geologist for three western states; he possesses, in New Harmony, one of
the best scientific collections in the west, and a well-appointed laboratory. The
fourth son, Dr. Richard Owen, was for nearly ten years professor of geology in the
Western Military Institute (latterly the literary department of the University of
Nashville, Tennessee), and later connected with the geological survey of Indiana.
The daughter, Mrs. Fauntleroy, is widow of the late R. II. Fauntleroy, who lost
his life in the service of the IT. S. coast survey.
New Harmony was, at one period, the home of various distinguished individu-
als, who united in the social experiment, such as : Dr. (r. Troost, the celebrated
mineralogist, afterward state ideologist of Tennessee, and professor in the Univer-
sity of Nashville; of Win. P. D'Arusmont, who married Miss Frances Wright; of
Thomas Say, the naturalist, to whose memory a fine monument was erected in
New Harmony ; of Joseph Neef, formerly an associate with Pestalozzi ; of C. A.
Lesneur, the ichthyologist, who was naturalist in the voyage of La Perouse to New
Holland, afterward curator of the Havre museum; and the town is still the resi-
dence of several scientific persons, and the seat of the Indiana School of Practical
Sciences.
As noted above, the celebrated Fanny Wright, was connected with the
social scheme of Mr. Owen, at New Harmony. Thirty years ago her name
was in the public papers of the day, as the most prominent of "the strong
minded" of her sex in all the land. She was gifted with mental powers
which impressed every one who approached her. The annexed sketch of
this extraordinary woman is from a published source:
She was born at Dundee, in Scotland, it is believed, in 1 796, and was better
known by her maiden name, Fanny Wright, than by that of her husband, Darus-
mont. Her father, Mr. Wright, was intimate with Dr. Adam Smith, Dr. Cullen,
and other men of literary and scientific eminence in his day. Hence, probably,
his daughter, Fanny, became tinctured with an ambition to distinguish herself as
a propagandist of social and political novelties. At the age of eighteen she wrote
a little book, called " A Few Days in Athens," in which she defended the opinions
and character of Epicurus.
In 1818 she visited America, where she remained three years, and soon after pub-
lished her observations under the title of " Vriews on Society and Manners in Amer-
ica." She afterward visited Paris in compliance with an invitation from La Fayette.
After her return to America, about the year 1825, she purchased 2,000 acres of
land in Tennessee, subsequently the site of Memphis, and peopled it with a num
ber of slave families whom she had redeemed.
In 1833, she appeared as a public lecturer. Her deep soprano voice, her com-
manding figure, and marvelous eloquence, combined with her zealous attacks on
negro slavery, and some other prominent features in American institutions, soon
made her famous throughout our country. Her powers of oratory drewcroAvds of
listeners, especially in Nc\v York: Fanny Wright Societies were formed, resemb-
ling those of the French Communists.
Elated by her powers of oratory, she visited all .the principal cities of the Amer-
INDIANA.
175
ican Union ; but as she too frequently made the philosophy of her " Few Days in
Athens " the groundwork of her discourses, she aroused the hostility of the press
and the clergy. During two years she battled, as it were single-handed, by means
of her pen and verbally, with her powerful foes, and kept her name ringing through-
out the country. Meanwhile she had her redeemed slaves taught agricultural pur-
suits, and educated in general knowledge ; but although lor a time promising well,
from some cause not generally known, the experiment failed, and the slaves were
sent to Hayti.
She then joined Robert Owen in his Communist scheme at New Harmony, edit-'
ing the Gazette, and lecturing in behalf of the enterprise, in some of the large
cities and towns of the western states, but with a success which did not equal her
expectations. Subsequently, Miss Wright married M. A'Drusmont, a man who pro-
fessed her own system of philosophy; but they soon separated, and she resided
during the remainder of her life Jin America, with an only daughter, the fruit of
her marriage. Her husband's suit at law, to obtain possession of her property,
added still further to her notoriety.
This circumstance, and her ill health, tended to cool her political enthusiasm, if
not to modify her opinions. Her experience did not, on the whole, afford much
cause for self-gratulation, or furnish encouragement to others to embark in any sim-
ilar enterprises for the reformation of society. She died at Cincinnati, January
13, 1853, aged 57 years.
Smith eastern view in Calhoun-street, Furl Wayne.
FORT WAYNE, the county seat of Allen county, is situated on the line of
the Wabash and Erie Canal, at the confluence of the St. Joseph's and St.
Mary's Rivers, which here unite and form the Mauniee, 112 miles N.E. from
Indianapolis, 110 E.N.E. from Lafayette, and 96 W. from Toledo. It is a
flourishing place, and by means of its railroad, canal and plank road com-
munications, is quite a center of business.. It is regularly laid out on level
and fertile prairie land. About half the population are of recent foreign de-
scent. Four newspapers are published in this place, one of which is in the
German language. Population in 1800, 10,388.
The Twightees, a branch of the Miami tribe, had a village at Fort Wayne,
in their language called Ke-ki-o-que. At one time it was called " French
Store," as it was for a long time a trading post of that nation, and the site
of a military post. About the year 1764 the English built a fort here.
Old Fort Wayne was erected here in 1794, and was continued a military post
until 1819, until the removal of the Miamis and Pottawatomies, in 1841: it
was resorted to by them for the disposal of their furs, and to spend their
176
INDIANA.
annuities. It was against the Indian villages in this vicinity, that Harmar's
expedition -was directed, the particulars of which we annex:
" In the autumn of 1790, about 1,300 troops, of whom less than one fourth were
regulars, marched from Cincinnati, under General llarmer, against the Indian
towns on the Maumec, near the site of Fort Wayr*. When within a short dis-
tance of their point of destination, Col. Hardin was detached with six hundred and
fifty men. This advance, on reaching the Indian villages found them deserted.
The next day, the main body having arrived, their towns, containing three hun-
dred wigwams, were burnt, the fruit trees girdled, and 20,000 bushels of corn de-
stroyed. While the troops were at the villages, a detachment of one hundred and
fifty Kentucky militia and thirty regulars, under Col. Hardin, were sent on an In-
dian trail, when they fell into an ambush of seven hundred warriors under Little
Turtle. At the first fire the militia fled without firing a shot, but the thirty regu-
lars resisted with the greatest obstinacy untilKa.il were killed, except two officers
"and two or three privates. Ensign Armstrong was saved by falling behind a log
while on the retreat, which screened him from his pursuers; while Captain Arm-
strong was preserved by plunging up to his neck in a swamp. There he remained
all night a spectator of the war dance over the bodies of the dead and wounded
soldiers, and the shrieks of the latter, as they were tortured, mingling with the
yells of the savages.
When the army had proceeded one day on the return march, Col. Hardin and
Maj. Willis were sent back with four hundred men, of whom sixty were regulars,
to surprise the Indians, whom it was supposed would return. On entering the
town a few of the enemy were seen, who immediately fled, and decoyed the iniiitia
into an irregular pursuit in different directions. This being accomplished, Little
Turtle fell, with his main body, upon the regulars with great fury. They threw
down their guns, and with their tomahawks, rushed upon the bayonets of the sol-
diers. While a soldier was engaged in the use of his bayonet upon one Indian,
two others would sink their tomahawks in his head. The result was that every
regular fell, together with their gallant major. Ere the conflict was over, a part
of the militia who had returned from the pursuit, joined iu the contest, but were
compelled to retreat, leaving the dead and wounded in the hands of the enemv.
The expedition, in destroying the Indian villages, had accomplished the great
object of its mission, although under circumstances of misfortune. It was suc-
ceeded by such vigorous exertions, on the part of the savages, that they must have
succeeded in breaking up the American settlements, were it not for the total de-
struction of their property and provision* just at the approach of winter."
The siege of Fort Wayne, iu the war of 1812, was a memorable event in
the history of this regioi^ the particulars of which we derive from Howe's
"Great West:"
In August, 1812, immediately after the disgraceful surrender of Hull, about five
hundred Indian warriors laid siege to Fort Wayne, a dilapidated structure of wood
which had been built in Wayne's campaign, near the north-eastern corner of In-
diana, at the junction of the St. Joseph s and St. Mary's Rivers, main branches of
the Maumee. The garrison, amounting to less than one seventh of their number,
was commanded by Capt. Rhea, an old officer broken down by intemperance, and
of a timid disposition. As at that period the whole surrounding region was a wil
derness, and they were far from succor, their danger was imminent.
They were finally saved from the horrors of an Indian massacre, by the daring
bravery and address of a young Virginian, named William Oliver. This young
man, scarce twenty-one years of age, to a slender and delicate, though active iigure,
united in a high degree the qualities of undaunted courage, enthusiasm, firmness,
and sagacity. A resident of Fort Wayne, he was at this time, temporarily absent
at Cincinnati, and learning on his return route that the Indians had appeared be-
fore the fort, he voluntarily hurried back to the city to urge the troops stationed
at that point to hasten to its relief. This being accomplished, he set out again with
all speed toward the fort, intending to reach it, and penetrate through its swarm
of surrounding savages in adv.\nce of the relief, for the purpose of encouraging
the garrison to persevere in its defense until their arrival.
INDIANA.
177
At St. Mary's River he came to an encampment of Ohio militia, with whom was
Thomas Worthington, of Chillicothe (afterward governor of Ohio), then on t e
frontier as Indian commissioner, to whom Oliver communicated his intention <f
entering the fort, or of perishing in the attempt. Worthington had been originally
opposed to the policy of declaring war ; hut now that it had been commenced, was
zealous for its vigorous prosecution ; yet this did not save him from the taunt of an
ill-bred brother officer, who accused him of a want of patriotism. Being a high
View of old Fort Wayne.
[Copied from E. P. Abbott's Map of the city of Fort Wayne, published in 1855.]
spirited man of the keenest sense of honor, this accusation stung Worthington to
the quick, and he felt eager to embark in any enterprise, howsoever desperate, to
show the unjustness of the charge, and his willingness to peril his all for his coun-
try. In him Oliver found a zealous confederate, notwithstanding old experienced
frontiersmen endeavored to dissuade him from the dangerous undertaking. United-
ly, they induced sixty-eight of the militia, and sixteen Shawnee Indians, to accom-
pany them.
On the second day's march, thirty-six of the party, consulting their fears, secret-
ly deserted their companions, and returned to the main body. The remainder con-
tinued their route, and at sunset in their camp, heard the evening gun from the
fort, through an intervening forest of twenty-four miles. As the reduced party was
not strong enough to encounter the enemy, Worthington was very reluctantly in-
duced to remain at this point with his men, while Oliver, with three friendly In-
• lians, pushed on. Being well armed and mounted, they started at day-break the
\iext morning, proceeding with great caution. When within five miles of the fort,
4hey perceived holes which the Indians had dug on each side of the road for con-
cealment, and to cut off all who should approach toward the place. Upon observ-
ing these, they abandoned the main road, struck off across the country, and reached
the Maumee one and a half miles below the fort. Tying their horses in a thicket,
they stole cautiously along through the forest to ascertain if the Indians had ob-
tained possession. Oliver at length discovered, with feelings of joy, the American
flag waving above the fort; but not deeming even this as conclusive, he approached
on the east side so near as not only to discern the blue uniform of a sentinel, but
to recognize in his countenance that of an acquaintance.
Having satisfied himself on this point, they returned, remounted their horses,
and taking the main road, moved rapidly onward. Upon reaching the gate of the
esplanade, they found it locked, and were thus compelled to pass down the river
bank, and then ascend it at the northern gate. They were favored in doing so, by
the withdrawal of the savages from this point, in carrying out a plan, then on the
point of consummation, for taking the fort by an ingenious stratagem.
For several days previous to this time, the hostile chiefs, under a flag of truce,
!iad baen holding intercourse with the garrison. In their interviews with Captain
R'uea, that officer had shown such a spirit of timidity, that they felt persuaded that
12
178 INDIANA.
it could be made available at the proper moment, to put him and his men in their
power. They had, accordingly, arranged their warriors in a semicircle on the west
and south sides of the fort, and at a short distance from it. Five of the chiefs, un-
der pretense of treating with the officers of the garrison, were to pass into the
fort, and gain admittance into the council-room with scalping-knives and pistols se-
creted under their blankets. Then, at a certain signal, they were to assassinate
the two subaltern officers, seize Captain Khea, and with threats of instant death,
if he did not comply, and promises of safety, if he did, compel him to order the
gates to be thrown open for the admission of their warriors.
The plan, thus arranged, was in the act of being carried into execution, at the
moment when Oliver and his companions reached the gate. Their safe arrival at
that particular moment, may be justly considered as miraculous. One hour sooner
or one hour later would have, no doubt, been inevitable destruction both to himself
and escort; the parties of Indians who had kept close guard, for eight days previ-
ous, upon the roads and passes in different directions, having all, at that moment,
been called in to aid in carrying the fort.
Winnemac, Five Medals, and three other hostile chiefs, bearing the flag of truce,
under which they were to gain admittance to carry out their treacherous intentions,
were surprised by suddenly meeting at the gate Oliver and his companions;. Com-
ing from different directions, and screened by the angles of the fort, they were not
visible to each other until that moment. Winnemac showed great chagrin, uttered
an ejaculation of disappointment, and hastily returning to the Indian camp, in-
formed the chiefs and warriors that the stratagem was defeated.
Oliver immediately upon his arrival, wrote a hasty letter to Worthington, de-
scribing the situation of the fort, which he sent by the Indians. Luckily their
movements were not observed, until they had actually started from the garrison
gate. They now put spurs to their horses, and dashed off at full speed. The hos-
tile Indians were instantly in motion to intercept them ; the race was a severe and
perilous one, but they cleared the enemy's line in safety, and then their loud shor.t
of triumph rose high in the air, and fell like music upon the ears of the beleaguered
garrison. They safely delivered the letter, and a few days after Gen. Harrison ar-
rived with reinforcements, the enemy having continued the siege until within a
few hours of his arrival, and that, too, with such perseverance, that the vigilance
of the garrison alone saved them from a general conflagration from the burning
arrows of the savages.*
In the year 1830, Fort Wayne contained about 100 inhabitants. The old
fort was situated in the north-eastern section of the city ; the Wabasli and
Erie Canal passes through a part of its site. The first church erected was
built by the Old School Presbyterians; this house is still standing, and is
now occupied by the English Lutherans. The Methodists erected the second
church, the Baptists the third. The Catholics erected their first house of
worship on Calhouu-street, and it is now standing. The first regular Pro-
testant clergyman was Rev. James Chute, from Columbus, Ohio. The Rev.
Stephen R. Bull and N. B. Griffiths were the first Methodist preachers ; they
preached at first in the north-west part of the place, in a brick school-house,
long since taken down. This school-house was the first built. Benjamin
Cushman and Lewis G. Thompson were among the early physicians. David
H. Colerick and Henry P. Cooper were among the early lawyers. The " Fort
Wayne Sentinel" was established about 1833, by Noel & Tigar; their office
stood at the east end of the canal basin, near or on the spot where the ware-
house of Messrs. Hill & Orbison now stands. The " Fort Wayne Weekly
Times" was established as a whig journal, in 1840.
Little Turtle, the celebrated Indian chieftain, died at this place in 1812,
his grave, near Fort Wayne, used to be shown to visitors, and was formerly
*01iver was postmaster at Cincinnati, in Taylor's administration. He died there a few
years since.
INDIANA.
179
much visited by the Indians, who cherished his memory with great respect
and veneration. He commanded the Indians at the defeat of St. Clair. The
following notice appeared in the public prints at the time of his death:
"Fort Wayne, July 21, 1812. — On the 14th hist., the celebrated Miami
chief, the Little Turtle, died at this place, at the age of 65 years. Perhaps
there is not left on this continent one of his color so distinguished in coun-
cil and in war. His disorder was the gout. He died in a camp, because he
chose to be in the open air. He met death with great firmness. The agent
for Indian affairs had him buried with the honors of war, and other marks
of distinction suited to his character."
The following inscriptions are from monuments in the graveyard at Fort
Wayne :
Sacred to the memory of COL. ALEXANDER EWING, one of the bravest soldiers of the Rev-
olution : from the year 1780 to the peace of 1783, he was actively engaged in the Ranger
service on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania. He was a volunteer at the battle
of the Thames, in 1813, and among the first who broke the British lines on that occasion,
so glorious to the arms of .his country. Died at Fort Wayne, Jan. 1, 1827, aged 60 years.
Sacred to the memory of CHARLES W. EWING, eldest son of Col. A. and Mrs. C. Ewing,
Attorney and Counsellor at Law and President Judge of the 9th Judicial Circuit of the
State of Indiana. Died at Fort Wayne, Jan. 9, 1843, aged 45 years.
SAMUEL BIGGER, late Governor of this State, died Sept. 9, 1846. A patriot and a Christ-
ian, he died in the full hope of a glorious immortality.
I would not live always, no, welcome the tomb :
Since Jesus has been there, I dread not its gloom.
Optatum, meuiu suavium, quod. Te in terrain retnuevit, eondonato.
REV. SAMUEL BRENTON, A.M., died March 29, 1857, aged 46 yrs. 4 mo. 7 da. He was a
devoted minister of the M. E. church, and 4 years a member of Congress. He was faithful
to his Country, the Church, and his God. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright,
for the end of that man is peace. Rejoice in the Lord always.
SAMUEL LEWIS, born June 13, 1796, died Jan. 2, 1843. He filled with distinction import-
ant civil offices, and was eminent as a Christian.
In memory of MARY, wife of REV. A. T. RANKIN, Pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church, Fort Wayne, la., who departed this life July 19, 1841, aged 31 years. Here rests
all .that can die of a Home Missionary. Her work is done. She sleeps in Jesus.
REV. JESSE HOOVER, died May 24, 1838, aged 28 years. Organizer of the first German
Evangelical Church at Fort Wayne, in the year 1836, and was its faithful pastor till God
called him home.
Mir nach spricht Christus unser Held.
Hier ruhe in Gott ADAM H. WEPEL, geb, am 7 Jum 1802, gett am Mai, 1852. Sammt
feinen 6 vereits vor ihm entfchlenen kindern harret er nun der seligen und froehlichen Nu-
ferstedung der Todten. Wenn Gottes Mort nicht ware inoin Troft gewesen so ware ieh
vergangen meinen elende.
LAFAYETTE, the capital of Tippecanoe county, is next to Indianapolis,
the most important city of Central Indiana. It is on the Wabash River, and
on the Wabash and Erie Canal, with three or four important railroad lines
passing through it, and distant 64 miles north-west of Indianapolis. By
river, canal, and railroad, it is united with 78 counties of the state. Im-
mediately around the city for miles, lie some of the richest, portions ol 1"-
180
INDIANA.
diana. It also possesses all the elements necessary to a flourishing manu-
facturing city. By river, canal and creeks, sites for machinery propelled by
•water can be obtained of any amount of power, while by railroad and canal
it is brought into the immediate neighborhood of inexhaustible mines of
Southern View of Lafayette from near the Valley Railroad.
The Wabash Kiver, canal, etc., pass by the distant buildings whirh are on the extreme left. Ohio-street,
passing the two principal Hotels and the Court House, appears iu the cent nil jarl. 'Hie Presbyterian and
other churches on the right.
coal, iron and clay, and other materials necessary to carry on successfully all
kinds of manufactures. Lafayette was laid out, on government land, May
17, 1825, by William Digby : it has 14 churches and in 1860,9,426 inhab-
itants.
In the heart of the city on the public square, a few years since, while bor-
ing for pure water at the depth of 230 feet, a stream of medicinal water was
struck. A careful analysis proves it of immense value, and to compare, fa-
vorably with the most celebrated mineral waters of Europe. It is similar to
the Blue Lick Springs of Kentucky, and is a salt sulphur water. It is ap-
plicable to numerous diseases, viz : bronchitis, rheumatism, dyspepsia, dis-
eases of the liver, kidneys, sexual organs, and in general for disturbances of
the secretive organs or surfaces. The stream is constant and ample for all
bathing and drinking purposes.
Seven miles north of Lafayette, on the line of the railroad to Chicago, is
the Battle Field of Tippecanoe, where, just before the gray of morning, Nov.
7, 1811, Gen. William Henry Harrison, then governor of the territory of
Indiana, at the head of 900 men, principally militia and volunteers, defeated
an equal body of Indians under the Prophet, Tensskwautawa, the brother of
Tecumseh. The town of the Prophet. Keth-tip-e-ca-mink, corrupted in mod-
ern orthography, to Tippecanoe, stood over a mile distant, on the Wabash: it
extended along the stream from the site of Davis' Ferry to the mouth of
the Tippecanoe. Tecumseh was not present in the action, being absent at
the south among the Creeks and Seminoles, to unite them with the northern
INDIANA.
181
tribes in his grand confederacy against the whites,
tive of the battle is from Drake's Tecurnseh :
The subjoined narra-
On the 5th of November, 1811, Go\r. Harrison, with about 900 effective troops,
composed of 250 of the 4th regiment United States infantry, 130 volunteers, and a
body of militia, encamped within 10 miles of the Prophet's town. On the next
Eastern View of the JlaWe Field of Tippecanoe.
The phice of Harrison's cncHinpnicnt is F]KWII l.y HIP inHopcd fem-e, vitliin which is six or eight acres of
ground. The main body ot the biiv»j;es were it. tin- \\lnal field in frc nt, lliis side of the railroad. It waa
then a marsh, covered \vilh tall grass, in wliich they were concealed.
day, when the army was within five miles of the village, reconnoitering parties of
the Indians were seen, but they refused to hold any conversation with the inter-
preters sent forward by the governor to open a communication with them. When
within a mile and a half of the town, a halt was made, for the purpose of encamp-
ing for the night. Several of the field oliicers urged the governor to make an im-
mediate assault on the village; but this he declined, as his instructions from the
president were positive, not to attack the Indians, as long as there was a proba-
bility of their complying with the demands of government. Upon ascertaining,
however, that the ground continued favorable for the disposition of his troops, quite
up to the town, he determined to approach still nearer to it. In the meantime,
Capt. Dubois, with an interpreter, was sent forward to ascertain whether the
Prophet would comply with the terms proposed by the governor. The Indians,
however, would make no reply to these inquiries, but endeavored to cut oft' the
messengers from the army. When this fact was reported to the governor, he de-
termined to consider the Indians as enemies, and at once march upon their town.
He had proceeded but a short distance, however, before he was met by three In-
dians, one of them a principal counselor to the Prophet, who stated that they were
sent to know why the army was marching upon their town — that the Prophet was
desirous of avoiding hostilities — that he had sent a pacific message to Gov. Harri-
son by the Miami and Potawatomie chiefs, but that those chiefs had unfortunately
gone down on the south side of the Wabash, and had thus failed to meet him.
Accordingly, a suspension of hestilities was agreed upon, and the terms of peace
182 INDIANA.
were to be settled on the following morning by the governor and the chiefs. In
moving the army toward the Wabash, to encamp for the night, the Indians became
again alarmed, supposing that an attack was. about to be made on the town, not-
withstanding the armistice which had just been concluded. They accordingly be-
gan to prepare for defense, and some of them sallied out, calling upon the advanced
corps, to halt. The governor immediately rode forward, and assured the Indians
that it was not his intention to attack them, but that he was only in search of a
suitable piece of ground on which to encamp his troops. He inquired if there
was any other water convenient, beside that which the river afforded; and an .In-
dian, with whom he was well acquainted, answered, that the creek which had been
crossed two miles back, ran through the prairie to the north of the village. A
halt was then ordered, and Majors Piatt, Clark and Taylor, were sent to examine
this creek, as well as the river above the town, to ascertain the correctness of the
information, and decide on the best ground for an encampment. In the course of
half an hour, the two latter reported that they had found, on the creek, everything
that could be desirable in an encampment — an elevated spot, nearly surrounded
by an open prairie, with water convenient, and a sufficiency of wood for fuel. *
The army was now marched to this spot, and encamped "on a dry piece of ground,
which rose about 10 feet above the level of a marshy prairie in front toward the
town; and, about twice as high above a similar prairie in the rear; through which,
near the foot of the hill, ran a small stream clothed with willows and brushwood.
On the left of the encampment, this bench of land became wider; on the right,
it gradually narrowed, and terminated in an abrupt point, about 150 yards from
the right bank." f
The encampment was about three fourths of a mile from the Prophet's town;
and orders were given, in the event of a night attack, for each corps to maintain its
position, at all hazards, until relieved or further orders were given to it. The
whole army was kept, during the night, in the military position, which is called,
lying on their arms. The regular troops lay in their tents, with their accoutre-
liients on, and their arms by their sides. The militia had no tents, but slept with
their clothes and pouches on, and their guns under them, to keep them dry. The
order of the encampment was the order of battle, for a night attack; and as every
man slept opposite to his post in the line, there was nothing for the troops to do,
in case of an assault, but to rise and take their positions a few steps in the rear of
the tires around which they had reposed. The guard of the night consisted of two
captain' s -commands of 42 men, and four non-commissioned officers each; and two
subaltern's guards of 20 men and non-commissioned officers each — the whole
amounting to about 130 men, under the command of a field officer of the day.
The night was dark and cloudy, and after midnight there was a drizzling rain. It
was not anticipated by the governor or his officers, that an attack would be made
during the night: it was supposed that if the Indians had intended to act offen-
sively, it would have been done on the inarch of the army, where situations pre-
sented themselves that would have given the Indians a great advantage. Indeed,
within three miles of the town, the army had passed over ground so broken and
unfavorable to its march, that the position of the troops was necessarily changed
several times, in the course of a mile. The enemy, moreover, had fortified their
town with care and great labor, as if they intended to act alone on the defensive.
It was a favorite spot with the Indians, having long been the scene of those myste-
rious rites, performed by their Prophet, and by which they had been taught to be-
lieve that it was impregnable to the assaults of the white man.
At four o'clock in the morning of the 7th, Ck>v. Harrison, according to his prac-
tice, had risen, preparatory to the calling up the troops; and was engaged, while
drawing on his boots by the fire, in conversation with Gen. Wells, Col. Owen, and
Majors Taylor and Hurst. The orderly-drum had been roused for the purpose of
giving the signal for the troops to turn out, when the attack of the Indians sud-
denly commenced upon the left flank of the camp. The whole army was instantly
on its feet; the camp-fires were extinguished; the governor mounted his horse and
*M'Afee's History of the Late War. f Ibid.
INDIANA. 133
proceeded to the point of attack. Several of the companies had taken their places
in the line within forty seconds from the report of the first gun; and the whole of
the troops were prepared for action in the course of two minutes; a fact as credit-
able to their own activity and bravery, as to the skill and energy of their officers.
The battle soon became general, and was maintained on both sides with signal and
even desperate valor. The Indians advanced and retreated by the aid of a rattling
noise, made with deer hoof's, and persevered in their treacherous attack with an ap-
parent determination to conquer or die upon the spot. The battle raged with un-
abated fury and mutual slaughter, until daylight, when a gallant and successful
charge by our troops, drove the enemy into the swamp, and put an end to the
conflict.
Prior to the assault, the Prophet had given assurances to his followers, that in
the coming contest, the Great Spirit would render the arms of the Americans una-
vailing; that their bullets would fall harmless at the feet of the Indians; that the
latter should have light in abundance, while the former would be involved in thick
darkness. Availing himself of the privilege conferred by his peculiar office, and,
perhaps, unwilling in his own person to attest at once the rival powers of a sham
prophecy and a real American bullet, he prudently took a position on an adjacent
eminence; and, when the action began, he entered upon the performance of
certain mystic rites, at the same time singing a war-song. In the course of
the engagement, he was informed that his men were falling: he told them to
fight on, it would soon be as he had predicted ; and then, in louder and ajlder strains,
his inspiring battle-song was heard commingling with the sharp cracK of the rifle
and the shrill war-hoop of his brave but deluded followers. i
Throughout the action, the Indians manifested more boldness and perseverance
than had, perhaps, ever been exhibited by them on any former occasion. This
was owinir, it is supposed, to the influence of the Prophet, who, by the aid of his
incantations, had inspired them with a belief that they would certainly overcome
their enemy : the supposition, likewise, that they had taken the governor's army
by surprise, doubtless contributed to the desper.ite character of their assaults. They
were commanded by some daring chiefs, and although their spiritual leader was
not actually in the battle, he did much to encourage his followers in their gallant
attack. Of the force of the Indians engaged, there is no certain account. The
ordinary number at the Prophet's town during the preceding summer, was 450;
but a few days before the action, they had been joined by all the Kickapoos of the
prairie, and by several bands of the Pottawatomies, from the Illinois River, and
the St. Joseph's, of Lake Michigan. Their number on the night of the engage-
ment was probably between 8(>0 and 1,000. Some of the Indians who were in the
, action, subsequently informed the agent at Fort Wayne, that there were more than
1,000 warriors in the battle, and that the number of wounded was unusually great.
In the precipitation of their retreat, they left 38 on the field; some were buried
during the engagement in their town, others, no doubt, died subsequently of their
wounds. The whole number of their killed, was probably not less than 50.
Of the army under Gov. Harrison, 35 were killed in the action, and 25 died sub-
sequently of their wounds: the total number of killed and wounded was one hun-
dred and eighty-eight.
Both officers and men behaved with much coolness and bravery — qualities
which, in an eminent degree, marked the conduct of Gov. Harrison throughout the
engagement. The peril to which he was subjected may be inferred from the fact
that a ball passed through his stock, slightly bruising his neck; another struck
his saddle, and glancing hit his thigh; and a third wounded the horse on which
he was riding.
Peace on the frontiers was one of the happy results of this severe and brilliant
action. The tribes which had already joined in the confederacy were dismayed;
and those which had remained neutral, now decided against it
During the two succeeding days, the victorious army remained in camp, for the
purpose of burying the dead and taking care of the wounded. In the meantime,
Col. Wells, with the mounted riflemen, visited the Prophet's town, and found it
deserted by all the Indians except one, whose leg had been broken in the action.
184 INDIANA.
The houses were mostly burnt, and the corn around the village destroyed. * On
the 9th, the army commenced its return to Vrincennes, having broken up or com-
mitted to the flames all their unnecessary baggage, in order that the wagons might
be used for the transportation of the wounded.
The defeated Indians were greatly exasperated with the Prophet: they re-
proached him in bitter terms for the calamity he had brought upon them, and ac-
cused him of the murder of their friends who had fallen in the action. It seems,
that after pronouncing some incantations over a certain composition, which he
had prepared on the night preceding the action, he assured his followers, that by
the power of his art, half of the invading army was already dead, and the other
half in a state of distraction ; and that the Indians would have little to do but
rush into their camp, and complete the work of destruction with their toma-
hawks. " You are a liar'" said one of the surviving Winnebagoes to him, after
the action, " for you told us that the white people were dead or crazy, when they
were all in their senses and fought like the devil." The Prophet appeared de-
jected, and sought to excuse himself on the plea that the virtue of his composition
had been lost by a circumstance of which he had no knowledge, until after the bat-
tle was over. His sacred character, however, was so far forfeited, that the In-
dians actually bound him with cords, and threatened to put him to death. After
leaving the Prophet's town, they marched about 20 miles and encamped on the
bank of Wild Cat creek.
With the^attle of Tippecanoe, the Prophet lost his popularity and power among
the Indians. His magic wand was broken, and the mysterious charm, bv means
of which ho had fqr years, played upon the superstitious minds of this wild people,
scattered through a vast extent of country, was dissipated forever. It was not alone
to the character of his prophetic office that he was indebted for his influence over
his followers. The position which be maintained in regard to the Indinn lands,
and the encroachments of the white people upon their hunting grounds, increased
his popularity, which was likewise greatly strengthened by the respect and defer-
ence with which the politic Tecumseh — the master spirit of his day — uniformly
treated him. He had, moreover, nimble wit, quickness of apprehension, much
cunning and a captivating eloquence of speech. These qualities fitted him for
playing his part with great success; and sustaining for a series of years, the char-
acter of one inspired by the Great Spirit. He was, however, rash, presumptuous
and deficient in judgment. And no sooner was he left without the sagacious
counsel and positive control of Tecumseh, than he foolishly annihilated his own
power, and suddenly crushed the grand confederacy upon which he and his broth-
er had expended years of labor, and in the organization of which they had incurred
much personal peril and endured great privation.
Tecumseh returned from the south through Missouri, visited the tribes on the
Des Moines.and crossing the head-waters of the Illinois, reached the Wabash a few
days after the disastrous battle of Tippecanoe. It is believed that he made a strong
impression upon all the tribes visited by him in his extended mission; and that
he had laid the foundation of numerous accessions to his confederacy. He reached
the banks of the Tippecanoe, just in time to witness the dispersion of his followers,
the disgrace of his brother, and the final overthrow of the great object of his am-
bition, a union of all the Indian tribes against the United States: and all this, the
result of a disregard to his positive commands. His mortification was extreme ;
and it is related on good authority, that when he first met the Prophet, he re-
proached him in bitter terms for having departed from his instructions to preserve
Reace with the United States at all hazards. The attempt of the Prophet to pal-
ate his own conduct, excited the haughty chieftain still more, and seizing him
by the hair and shaking him violently, he threatened to take his life.
* The village had been destroyed in 1791, by Gen. Charles Scott, of Kentucky. In his
report of the expedition, he says that " many of the inhabitants of the village were French,
and lived in a state of civilization. By the books, letters, and other documents found there,
it is evident that the place was in close connection with, and dependent on, Detroit: " the
village "consisted of about 70 houses, many of them well finished." In November, 1S1 2,
the village was destroyed the third time in the second expedition of Gen. Hopkins.
INDIANA.
185
BATTLE FIELD OF TIPPECANOE.
[Explanations. — «, point from whence the engraved view was drawn ; I />,
line of railroad to Chicago; c, position of Battle Ground Institute; d, place
where the Indians first began the attack ; e e, front line where occurred the
main conflict; /, Gen. Harri-
son's marquee; h, point where
Maj. Daviess is said to have
been slain ; <?, grave of Daviess.
The black lines indicate the
fence now inclosing the battle
ground.]
The highest officers among
the Americans slain at Tippe-
canoe, were two Kentucky
majors — Abraham Owen and
Joseph Hamilton Daviess.
The particulars of the death
of Abraham Owen we give
below, from Smith's Indiana
Sketches :
Gen. Harrison rode a beautiful fleet gray mnre, that he had tied with the saddle
on, to a stake near his marquee, to be ready. at a moment in case of alarm.
Maj. Owen, of Kentucky, rode a bay horse. After the gray mare was hitched, it
became necessary, in order to pass a baggage wagon, to remove her and tie her at
another place; without the knowledge of Gen. Harrison, the bay horse of Maj.
Owen was afterward tied to the post where the gray mare had been.
The moment the alarm was given, every soldier was upon his feet, and the
mounted officers in their saddles. Gon. Harrison ran to the post where he left his
gray. mare ; finding Maj. Owen's bay horse he mounted, leaving the gray for the
major if he could find her. The general dashed down to where he heard the fir-
ing, rode up to Capt. Spencer's position, at the point of the high ground around
which the prairies meet; there the enemy had made the first main attack — deadly
in effect. There stood the bravo ensign John Tipton, and a few of*the surviving
"men of the company. Gen. Harrison. " Where is the captain of this company ?"
Ensign Tipton. "Dead." '' Where are the lieutenants?" "Dead." "Where is the
ensign?" "I am here." "Stand fast, my brave fellow, and I will relieve you in a
minute." Gen. Tipton told me, in after years, that a cooler and braver man, on
the field of battle, than Gen. Harrison, never lived. It was a deadly night, the In-
dians with rifles in their hands, concealed from view, in the darkness of the night,
fighting to desperation, under the inspiration of their superstition — being the at-
tacking party, and knowing where their enemy lay, had great advantages, which
nothing but the indomitable courage of our brave men could have met and finally
repelled. The moment the alarm was given, the brave Maj. Owen ran to his stake,
but his horse was gone; near by he found and mounted the gray mare of the Gen-
eral. He was scarcely in the saddle, before he fell mortally wounded, pierced
with rifle balls, which were intended, no doubt, for Gen. Harrison, as the Indians
knew he rode a gray, and must have been in ambush near. The men and officers
that fell that dreadful night were the bravest of the brave.
I visited the common grave of these brave dead, who fell in that terrible battle only
a few years since. You will find it in a grove of white oak trees perforated by
balls, standing near the center of the inclosed grounds.
Maj. Daviess was a colleague of Henry Clay at the Kentucky bar, where
he stood very high as an advocate. At the time of his death he was 37
years of age. It is the tradition that he was killed in the marsh at the point
indicated on the map; but from Gen. Harrison's report of the action, we in-
fer that this event took place on high ground, on or near where the railroad
line lays; that states that it was during the execution of an order to dislodge
186
INDIANA.
some Indians from trees 15 or 20 paces in front of the left line, that Daviess
became outflanked, and fell mortally wounded.
The land on which the battle was fought, was purchased by Gen. John
Tipton, and presented to the state of Indiana, as a burial place for his fallen
comrades. Tipton was the brave ensign of Capt. Spencer's company, noticed
above. His name is most honorably identified with the history of the state.
He was a senator in congress from 1832 to 1839, and chairman of the Com-
mitte of Indian Affairs, an office for which he was peculiarly well qualified,
having been, for many years, Indian agent, and well acquainted with most
of the Indian tribes. He was a warm hearted man, and possessed uncommon
force of character: he was one of the original projectors of the Wabash and
Erie Canal, and also one of the founders of Logansport, where he died in
1839.
The reader will notice the building on the right of the view. This is the
Battle Ground Institute, under the charge of Rev. E. H. Staley. It is a
flourishing seminary for both sexes. A number of small neat houses stand
above it, erected, some of them, by the parents of the children, many of the
latter brothers and sisters, who here live together, obtaining, away from
their homes, a double education, that of house keeping, with that derived
from books.
South-eastern view of Madison.
As seen from the Kentucky sido of the Ohio, near Milton ferry. The terminus of the Railroad is seen
on the left, the Court House on the right.
MADISON, the county seat of Jefferson county, is situated 86 miles S.S.E.
from Indianapolis, 50 above Louisville, and 100 below Cincinnati. It is lo-
cated in a beautiful and picturesque valley, which, with the hills on the Ken-
tucky shore and those of Indiana, and the bold curve and broad sweep of
the Ohio River, affords a panorama rarely equaled. The valley in which the
city is situated, is nearly three miles long, which is inclosed on the north by
steep and rugged hills about 400 feet high. This place has very superior
advantages for trade, and the navigation is usually open in ordinary seasons.
Great quantities of breadstuffs are exported, and a large amount of capital
is employed in founderies, machine shops, etc., and the establishments for
INDIANA.
187
packing pork are very extensive. Madison has gas and water works, the lat-
ter of which is owned by the city. The annual value of sales of produce
and merchandise, and industrial products, is eight millions of dollars. With-
in five miles of the city is the well known Hanover College. Population is
about 12,000.
The site of Madison was originally a dense growth of poplars, beech and
walnut, and the present landing was covered with a growth of cottonwood,
the water's edge being fringed with willows. The original proprietors were
John Paul and Jonathan Lyon. A few families had settled here on Mount
Glad, now a part of North Madison, in 1807-8. Col. John Vawter first
came to Madison in 1806, and moved into the country in March, 1807 ; he
held the first public sale of lots in Feb., 1811. The first white child born
in Madison was Dawson Blackmore, Jr. His father came here from western
Pennsylvania, in the tall of 1809, and located himself in a framed log-house,
now standing in Walnut-street. The first sermon preached in Madison is
said to have been delivered in Mr. Blackmore's house, by a Methodist
itinerant preacher. The first regular house of worship was built on East-
street, on the site of the present St. John's church.
The following are the names of a number of the earlier settlers of Madison, pre-
vious to 1820: Milton Stapp, Jeremiah Sullivan, C. P. J. Arvin, Daniel Wilson,
Thomas Brown, Nicholas D. Grover. Geo. W. Leonard, Moody Park, Victor King,
Chas. W. Basnett, William Brown, D. Blarkmore, sen., D. Blackmore, jr., Silas
Ritchie, .lohn Bering, John G. Soring, William G. Wharton, W. J. McClure, John
Ritchie, S. C. Stephens, Howard Watts, John Haney, Rufus Gale, William Randall,
Gamaliel Taylor, E. < i. Whitney, M. Shannon, Edward Shannon, Jesse D. Bright,
Michael G. Bright, David Bright, Jacob Wildman, George Wagoner, Andrew Wood-
fill, Alexander Washer. Williamson Dunn, Wm. McKee Dunn, James Vawter, Jno.
Hunt, Simeon Hunt, Cornelius Vaile, Geo. Short, and David McClure.
One of the first sermons ever preached in Madison, was by that celebrated
and eccentric itinerant, Lorenzo l)ow, who "held forth" standing on a poplar
log, near the site of the court house. He was born in Coventry, Connecti-
cut, in , and died at Washington City, in , aged — years, where his
grave is now to be seen. He traveled through the United States from fifteen
to twenty times, visiting the wilderness parts, often preaching where a ser-
mon was never heard before. Occasionally he went to Canada, and made
three voyages to England and Ireland, where, as elsewhere, he drew crowda
around him, attracted by his long flowing beard and hair, singularly wild
demeanor, and pungency of speech. During the thirty years of his public
life, he must have traveled nearly two hundred thousand miles.
Pickett, in his History of Alabama, avers that he was the earliest Protestant
preacher in that state; says he: "Down to this period (in 1803), no Pro-
testant preacher had ever raised his voice, to remind the Tombigbee and Ten-
saw settlers of their duty to the MOST HIGH. Hundreds, born and bred in
the wilderness, and now adult men and women, had never even seen a
preacher. The mysterious and eccentric Lorenzo Dow, one day, suddenly ap-
peared at the Boat Yard. He came from Georgia, across the Creek nation,
encountering its dangers almost alone. He proclaimed the truths of the
gospel here, to a large audience, crossed over the Alabama, and preached two
sermons to the 'Bigbee settlers,' and went from thence to the Natchez set-
tlements, where he also exhorted the people to 'turn from the error of their
ways.' He then visited the Cumberland region and Kentucky, and came
back to the Tombigbee, filling his appointments to the very day. Again
188
INDIANA.
plunging into the Creek nation, this holy man of God once more appeared
among the people of Georgia."
When Dow was in Indiana, Judge 0. H. Smith had the pleasure of listen-
ing to a discourse from him, some items of which he has thus preserved
among his Sketches: "In the year 1819,"" states the judge, "I was one of a
congregation assembled in the woods back of Rising Sun, anxiously await-
SuutJi-iresfe.nl. view of ffeic Albany.
The view shows tin; appearance of tlie city, !iss<-i-n from the high lilufT which rises immediately south of it.
The. Ohio River appears on the right, with I'ortlaml. a station for steanihoats, on the Kentucky side of the
Ohio, at the foot of the Canal around tli.- Falls, three miles from Louisville.
ing the arrival of Lorenzo Dow. Time passed awny, we had all become im-
patient, when in the distance we saw him approaching at a rapid rate through
the trees on his pacing pony. He rode up to the log on which I was sitting,
threw the reins over the neck of the pony, and stepped upon the log, took
off his hat, his hair parted in the middle of his head, and flowing on either
side to his shoulders, his beard resting on his breast. In a minute, at the
top of his voice, he said:
' Behold, 1 come quickly, and my reward is with me.' My subject is repentance.
We sin;:, 'while the lamp holds out to burn, the vilest sinner may return.' That
idea lias done much harm, and should be received with many grains of allowance.
There are cases where it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle than for a man to repent unto salvation. Let me illustrate : Do you sup-
pose that the man among you who went out last fall to kill his deer and bear tor
winter meat, and instead killed his neighbor's hogs, salted them down, and is now
livitiy on the meat, can repent while it is unpaid forf I tell you nay. Except he
restores a just compensation, his attempt at repentance will be the basest hypo-
crisy. Except ye repent, truly ye shall all likewise perish.'
He preached some thirty minutes. Down he stepped, mounted his pony,
and in a few minutes was moving on through the woods at a rapid pace to
meet another appointment."
INDIANA.
189
NEW ALBANY, the county seat of Floyd county, is beautifully situated on
the right hank of the Ohio River, at the termination of the New Albany and
Salem Railroad, 2 miles below the falls of the Ohio, 3 miles below Louisville,
about 140 below Cincinnati, and 100 S. by E. from Indianapolis. The city
has wide straight streets, running parallel with the river, and crossed at right
angles by others. A large business is done here in building and repairing
steamboats, etc. There are also large iron foundries, machine shops and
factories. . It has two seminaries, a theological college under the patronage
of the Presbyterians, and about 10,000 inhabitants.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the grave yard
in New Albany :
" The citizens of FLOYD COUNTY have erected this monument in memory
of their HONORED DEAD.
' Glory is the soldier's prize,
The soldier's wealth is honor.'
Here rest the bodies of Francis Bailey,
aged 35; Apollos J. Stephens, 27; Warren
B! Robinson, 24; Charles H. Goff, 23;
members of the 'Spencer Greys,' company
A, 2d Reg't Indiana Volunteers, who fell
at the battle of BUENA VISTA, Mexico,
Feb. 22 and 23. 1847.
' The soldier is his country's stay
In day and hour of danger.'
' How sleep the brave who sink to rest,
By all their country's wishes blest?'
John T. Lewis, aged 21 ; Martin How-
ard, 18; Joseph Morgan, 19; Laiken Cun-
ningham, 22; members of the 'Spencer
Greys,' died in the Mexican campaign,
184U-7; also Henry W. Walker, aged 37;
Thos. J. Tyler, aged 19, of the same com-
pany, who returned home and died of disease contracted in the service."
REV. JOHN MATTHEWS, D.D., Professor of Theology in the Presbyterian Theological Sem-
rnary at New Albany, la. Born in Guilford county, N. C., Jan. 19, 1772 ; died in New Al-
bany, May 18, 1848, astat 76 years nnd 4 rno. " Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord
from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they mny rest from their labors ; and their
works do follow them."
MILITARY MONUMENT, NEW AI.BANY.
LEONIDAS SHACKKLFORD, of Glasgow, Missouri, born Jan. 7, 1833, died Aug. 5, 1852. In
whose memory this monument is erected by his brothers and sisters. Without earthly
friends, he died in a strange land, realizing in full a sainted mother's prayer, that a pre-
cious Bible which she had given him would be his guide through life, nnd in death his con-
solation. Prov. verses 17 to 23.
Logansport, the county seat of Cass county, is situated on the Wabash
River and Canal, at the mouth of Eel River, and is intersected by the Toledo,
Wabash and Western and the Cincinnati, Logansport and Chicago Railroads,
70 miles N. by W. from Indianapolis, 166 W. of Toledo, and 42 N.E. from
Lafayette. It is at the head of steamboat navigation, and just below the
falls, which furnish immense water power, and has a large trade by river,
canal and plank roads with the fertile region on every side, th« products of
which are sent to the eastern and southern markets. Logansport has a city
11)0 INDIANA.
charter, 3 banks, G churches, and a fine court house of hewn stone. West
Logansport, on the west bank of Eel River, is included in the corporate
limits. Population, in 1860, 3,690.
Jeffcrsonville is a flourishing town, Opposite Louisville, Ky., on the Ohio
River, which is here about three fourths of a mile wide, 108 miles S. by E.
of Indianapolis, and 48 below Madison. It is at the terminus of the Jeffer-
sonville and Indianapolis Railroad, and on the site of old Fort Steuben, and
is beautifully situated just above the falls in the Ohio, which descend 22
feet in two miles, producing a rapid current, which, in time, by the immense
•water power it affords, will, if a canal is made around the falls on the In-
diana side, render this a large and prosperous manufacturing city. Jeffer-
sonville has great facilities for doing business, and is said to possess the best
landing place on the Ohio River. The state penitentiary is located here.
Population about 3,500.
Lawrencebiiry, city and county seat of Dearborn, is on the Ohio, 22 miles
below Cincinnati, and two miles below the mouth of the Big Miami, the line
of separation between Ohio and Indiana. The Ohio and Mississippi, and
Indianapolis and Cincinnati Railroads, intersect at this point. Population
about 4,000.
A few miles below Lawrenceburg, is a small stream emptying into the
Ohio, known as Laughery's creek. It derived its name from the calamitous
defeat of Col. Archibald Laughery by the Indians. This took place in the
spring of 1782, and was the most disastrous military event that ever Occur-
red upon the soil of Indiana. The annexed account is/rom Day's Hist. Col-
lections, of Pa. :
Col. Laughery had been requested, by Col. Clark, to raise 100 volunteers in
the county of Westmoreland, Pa., to aid him against the Ohio Indians. The com-
pany was raised principally at his own expense, and he also provided the outfit
and munitions for the expedition. In this he was aided by the late Robert Orr, by
birth an Irishman, but who manifested a deep and generous interest in his adopted
country. Mr. Orr was one of the officers, and next in command under Col.
Laughery.
There were 107 men in the expedition, who proceeded in boats down the Ohio,
to meet Gen. Clark, at the Falls. At the mouth of a creek in the south-eastern part
of Indiana, that bears the name of the commander, the boats were attacked by the
Indians. Of the whole detachment, not one escaped. Col. Laughery was killed,
and most of his officers. Capt. Orr, who commanded a company, had his arm
broken with a ball. The wounded, who were unable to travel, were dispatched
with the tomahawk, and the few who escaped with their lives, were driven through
the wilderness to Sandusky. Capt Orr was taken to Detroit, where he lay in the
hospital for several months, and, with the remnant who lived, was exchanged, in
the spring of 1783.
South Bend, the county seat of St. Joseph, is on the Michigan Southern and
Northern Indiana Railroad, 85 miles easterly from Chicago; also on St. Jo-
seph River, which furnishes, by means of a darn at this point, a vast water
power. It has some 30 stores, 6 churches, 2 Catholic Female Seminaries,
and in 1860, 4,013 inhabitants.
Michigan City is on Lake Michigan, in La Porte county, 54 miles by rail-
road from Chicago, and 154 from Indianapolis. It has communication by
the Michigan Central, and New Albany and Salem Railroads, and the lake
with all parts of the country. It is noted for the manufacture of railroad
cars, and has about 4,000 inhabitants.
Laporte, the county seat of Laporte county, in the north-western part of
the state, is at the junction of the Cincinnati, Peru and Chicago, with the
INDIANA.
191
Michigan Southern and Northern Railroads, 58 miles from Chicago, on the
northern margin of the beautiful and fertile Door Prairie, so named from an
Indian chief. It was first organized as a city in 1853, is a very flourishing
business place, and has 9 churches and 6,000 inhabitants.
Jiloomingfon, the county seat of Monroe county, is on the line of the New
Albany and Salem Railroad, 96 miles north from New Albany. It was
laid out in 1818, by Benjamin
Park, agent for the county com-
missioners. Its public build-
ings are substantial, and the
public square pleasantly orna-
mented with shade trees and
shrubbery. It is noted as a
place of education. It has two
female seminaries, and is the
seat of the State University,
founded in 1835. Grecncusih-,
capita] of the neighboring coun-
ty of Putnam, 40 miles by rail-
road weot of Indianapolis, is
the seat of the Indiana Asbury
I'MVEKSITV op INDIANA, BI.OOMIXGTON.
University, founded in 1837, and which is not excelled by any institution in
the state. Unusual attention is given in this vicinity to the cultivation of
fruit, the apple, pear, peach and grape, for which the soil is well adapted.
CratofordtvUle,, the county seat of Montgomery, which adjoins Putnam on
the north, is on the rfcw Albany and Salem Railroad, and 45 miles north-
west of Indianapolis. It is in a rich country, and is the seat of Wabush Col-
lege, founded in 1835, an institution of excellent repute. Blooming-ton,
Greencastle, and Crawfordsville, have each about 2,500 inhabitants.
Corydon, the county seat of Harrison county, in southern Indiana, is a
town of about 1.200 inhabitants. In 1813, the seat of government of the
Territory of Indiana was removed from Vin-
cennes to this place. When, in 181G, Indiana
was erected into a state, Oorydon was made the
capital, and so remained until 1825, when it was
removed to Indianapolis. The court house here,
built of stone, was the original state house, and
the edifice in which was formed the first consti-
tution of Indiana.
Vr.vay, the county seat of Switzerland county,
is a small town oh the Ohio River, about half
way between Cincinnati and Louisville. The
place is of note, from its having been one of the
first settlements in the state, and for the attempt
made there to cultivate the grape for the pur-
pose of manufacturing wine.
It was laid out in the year 1813, by John
Francis Denfour and Daniel Denfour, emigrants
from Switzerland, who, in remembrance of their native town, gave it its
present name. Part of the land was entered by John James Denfour and
his associates, in the beginning of the present century, and an extended
credit given, by an act of congress, with a view of encouraging the culture
of the grape.
THE OLD STATE HOIISE.
Situated in Corydon, tho original
capital of Indiana.
192
INDIANA
li part of Indiana are some curiosities of nature. Eleven miles from
in Crawford county, is the Wyandot Cave, which is considered bv
TlIK Jl'O HOCK,
About seventy feet high.
In tlie south
Corjdon, and
many to equal the celebrated Mammoth Cave of Kentucky. It has boon explored
for several miles, and found to contain magnificent chambers and galleries, rich in
stalactites and other lime concretions. Twoother
curiosities, which are near the line of the Ohio
and Mississippi railroad, have only come into no-
tice since the construction of that Avork. The
Jn</ Ruck is at Shoal Station, in Martin county,
150 miles west of Cincinnati, and derives its
name from its resemblance in form to a homely
ami useful utensil. It is a lone standing pillar
of sandstone, of about seventy feet in hight, in
the midst of a. forest of beach and sugar trees.
It is an unusual object for this reuion ; but in
the valley of the I'pper M issouri and on the high
table lands farther west such formations abound.
Lieut. Simpson, in his explorations in Xew Mex-
ico, f-innd at. one spot '' high sandstone rooks
of almost every shape and character imaginable.
There were to be seen at once, domes, pillars,
turrets, pinnacles, spires, castles, vases, tables,
pitched roofs, and a number of other objects of
a, well defined figurative character."
Near Mitchell's Station, in Lawrence county,
28 miles east of the above, is Hamera Mill Stream Cave. Water flows out at all
seasons sufficient to furnish motive power fora saw mill, grist mill, and a distillery
located about a quarter of a mile from the opening. It is owned by Mr. Hugh
Ham or. The source of the stream has never been ascertained. At the time of
the construction of the railroad, two of
the surveyors attempted to explore it to
its source. They entered it in a canoe,
and were absent two days and the in-
tervening night, penetrating it, as they
judged, about nine miles, and without
reaching its termination. No particular
change was found in the dimensions of
the cavity, excepting an occasional open-
ing out into large chambers. Such an
exploration in certain seasons would bo
perilous. Often, after a hard shower of
rain, the water suddenly rises and pours
out in such a volume as to completely fill
up the mouth of the cavern, issuing from
it like water from the pipe of a fire en-
gine. In 1856, Capt. John Pope, of the
corps of U. S. topographical engineers,
discovered a similar curiosity near the
base of the Rocky Mountains, in about
lat. 32 desr. and long. 105- deg., which he
named Phantom River. A stream of
pome GO feet in width came out of one
HAMF.K'S Mn.i, STUF. KM CAVE.
It has l>een explored about nino miles in a canoe.
It furnishes motive power for two mills and a dis-
tillery.
cave, ran 150 feet in daylight, and then
plunging into another by a cascade of a great but unknown depth, was seen no
more.
Beside the towns described, Indiana contains numerous others of from
1,500 to 2,500 each. These are mostly count}- scats, some of them on rail-
road lines, and places of active business. They are, Attica, in Fountain
INDIANA. 193
county ; Aurora, in Dearborn county ; Cambridge City, in Wayne county ;
Cannelton, in Perry county ; Columbus, in Bartholomew county ; Connersville,
in Fayette county; Delphi, in Carroll county; Franltlin,\n Johnson county;
Goshen, in Elkhart county; Greensburg, in Decatur county; Huntington, in
Huntington county; MishawaJca, in St. Joseph county; Mt. Vernon, in
Posey county; Muncie, in Delaware county; Peru, in Miami county; Prince-
ton, in Gibson county; Rising Sun, in Ohio county; RocJcville, in Parke
county; and Shelbyville, in Shelby county.
13
ILLINOIS.
THE name of this state, Illinois, is partly Indian and partly French : it
signifies real men, and was originally applied to the Indians who dwelt on
the banks of the river of that name.
For a long period the great tract of
territory lying N.W. of the Ohio, was
termed the "Illinois country." The
first white men of whom we have
any authentic knowledge, who tra-
versed any part within the present
limits of Illinois, were James Mar-
quctte, a Catholic missionary, and M.
Joliet, both Frenchmen from Canada.
This was in 1673. The next were
Robert de la Salle, a young Frenchman
of noble family, and Louis Hennepin,&
Franciscan friar. After leaving
Chicago, La Salle and his companions
proceeded down Illinois River, and
reached Peoria Jan. 4, 1680.
The first settlements in Illinois
were made by the French, at Kaskas-
kia, Caliokia, and Peoria. It clearly appears that Father Gravier began a
mission among the Illinois before 1693, and became the founder of Kaskas-
kia. At first it was merely a missionary station, and the inhabitants of the
village consisted entirely of natives; the other villages, Peoria and Cahokia,
seem at first to have been of the same kind.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, the settlements in Illinois are
represented to have been in a flourishing condition. Kaskaskia had become
a considerable town before any great progress had been made on the lower
Mississippi. The French writers of this period give glowing descriptions of
the beauty, fertility, and mineral wealth of the country, and to add to its
attractions, a monastery of Jesuits was established at Kaskaskia.
From the beginning to the middle of the eighteenth century, but little is
related. Disputes arose, between England and France, respecting the boun-
daries of their different colonies, which, unhappily, had never been sufficient-
ly defined. The French, anticipating a struggle for the preservation of their
American possessions, strengthened their fortifications on the Great Lakes,
on the Ohio, the Wabash, the Illinois, and in other parts of the valley of
195
ARKS or ILI.INOIS.
196 ILLINOIS.
the Mississippi. The British, on the other hand, claimed the country on the
Ohio, and in the vicinity, by virtue of their ancient discoveries and the char-
ters which they had granted. The Ohio Company, which was formed soon
after, produced hostilities between the two nations. On the termination of
the French war, by which Great Britain obtained possession of Canada, the
whole of the Illinois country also came into their possession. The total
white population could not then have exceeded 3,000.
The following descriptions of the French settlements at this period, and
there were none other in Illinois, we find in Perkins' Annals, the edition by
J. M. Peck. It is there copied from " The Present State of the European
Settlements on the Mississippi, by Capt. Philip Pitman," published in Lin-
don in 1770:
"The village of Notre Dame de Cascasquias (Kaskaskia), is by far the most con-
siderable settlement in the country of the Illinois, as well from its number of in-
habitants, as from its advantageous situation.
Mons. Paget was the first who introduced water-mills in this country, and he
constructed a very fine one on the River Cascasquias, which was both for grinding
corn and sawing boards. It lies about one mile from the village. The mill proved
fatal to him, being killed as he was working it, with two negroes, by a party of
the Cherokees, in the year 1764.
The principal buildings are, the church and the Jesuits' house, which has a
small chapel adjoining it; these, as well as some other houses in the village, are
built of stone, and, considering this part of the world, make a very good appear-
ance. The Jesuits' plantation consisted of two hundred and forty arpents (a little
over 200 acres) of cultivated land, a very good stock of cattle, and a brewery ;
which was sold by the French commandant, after the country was ceded to the
English, for the crown, in consequence of the suppression of the order.
Mons. Beauvais was the purchaser, who is the richest of the English subjects in
this country; he keeps eighty slaves; he furnishes eighty-six thousand weight of
flour to the king's magazine, which was only a part of the harvest he reaped in
one year.
Sixty-five families reside in this village, besides merchants, other casual people,
and slaves. The fort, which was burnt down in October, 1766, stood on the sum-
mit of a high rock opposite the village, and on the opposite side of the (Kaskaskia)
river. It was an oblongular quadrangle, of which the exterior polygon measured
two hundred and ninety by two hundred and fifty-one feet. It was built of very
thick squared timber, and dove-tailed at the angles. An officer and twenty sol-
diers are quartered in the village. The officer governs the inhabitants, under the
direction of the commandant at Chartres. Here also are two companies of
militia."
Prairie du Rocher. or "La Prairie de Roches," as Captain Pitman has it, is next
described —
"As about seventeen (fourteen) miles from Cascasquias. It is a small village,
consisting of twelve dwelling-houses, all of which are inhabited by as many fami-
lies. Here is a little chapel, formerly a chapel of ease to the church at Fort
Chartres. The inhabitants here are very industrious, and raise a great deal of
corn and every kind of stock. The village is two miles from Fort Chartres. [This
means Little Village, which was a mile, or more, nearer than the fort.] Jt takes
its name from its situation, being built under a rock that runs parallel with the
River Mississippi at a league distance, for forty miles up. Here is sr company of
militia, the captain of which regulates the police of the village."
Saint Phillippe is a small village about five miles from Fort Chartres, on the
road to Kaoquias. There are about sixteen houses and a small church standing;
all of the inhabitants, except the captain of the militia, deserted it in 1765, and
went to the French side (Missouri). The captain of the militia has about twenty
slaves, a good stock of cattle, and a water-mill for corn and planks. This village
stands in a very fine meadow, about one mile from the Mississippi."
"The village of Saint Famille de Kaoquias," so Pitman writes, "is generally
ILLINOIS.
197
reckoned fifteen leagues from Fort Chartres, and six leagues below the mouth of
the Missouri. It stands near the side of the Mississippi, and is marked from the
river by an island of two leagues long. The village is opposite the center of this
island ; it is long and straggling, being three quarters of a mile from one end to
the other. It contains forty-five dwelling-houses, and a church near its center.
The situation is not well chose-n, as in the floods it is generally overflowed two or
three feet. This was the first settlement on the Mississippi. The land was pur-
chased of the savages by a few Canadians, some of whom married women of the
Kaoqnias nation, and others brought wives from Canada, and then resided there,
leaving their children to succeed them.
The inhabitants of this place depend more on hunting, and their Indian trade,
than on agriculture, as they scarcely raise corn enough for their own consumption;
they have a great plenty of poultry, and good stocks of horned cattle.
The mission of St. Sulpiee had a very fine plantation here, and an excellent
house built on it. They sold this estate and a very good mill for corn and planks,
to a Frenchman who chose to remain under the English government. They also
disposed of thirty negroes and a good stock of cattle to different people in the
country, and returned to France in 1764. What is called the fort is a small house
standing in the center of the village. It differs nothing from the other houses, ex-
cept in being one of the poorest. It was formerly inclosed with high pallisades,
but these were torn down and burnt. Indeed, a fort at this place could be of but
little use."
The conquest of Illinois from the British, in 1778, by Gen. Geo. Rogers
Clark, when he took possession of the forts of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and St.
Vincent, the latter now the Vincennes of Indiana, was one of the most
romantic episodes in our western history. It made known the fertile plains
of Illinois to the people of the Atlantic states, exciting an emigration to the
banks of the Mississippi. Some of those in that expedition afterward were
among the first emigrants. Prior to this, the only settlements in Illinois,
were the old French villages of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Peoria, Prairie du
llocher, Fort Chartres, Fort Massac, Village a Cote, Prairie du Pont, and a
few families scattered Tilong the Wabash and Illinois. In October, 1778, the
general assembly of Virginia passed an act to organize the county of Illinois.
In 178-t, Virginia ceded her claims to the territory north-west of the Ohio
to the United States. This, by the ordinance of 1787, was erected into the
Worth-west Territory. Still the Illinois country remained without any
organized government until March, 1790, when Gov. St. Clair organized St.
Clair county. *
The first settlement in Illinois by emigrants from the United States, was in 1781,
near Bcllefontaine, Monroe bounty, in the south-western part of the state. It was
made by James Moore, with his family, accompanied by James Garrison, Robert
Kidd, Shadrach Bond, and Larken Rutherford. Their route out was through tho
wilderness from Virginia to the Ohio, then down that stream to the Mississippi,
and up the latter to Kaskaskia. Part of them settled in the American bottom, near
Harrisonville. This station afterward became known as the block-house fort.
Othor parties joined them and the settlements increased. They, however, suffered
much from the Indians until Wayne's treaty, in 1795, brought peace. Many were
killed, others taken captives, and often while laboring in the field they were obliged
to carry their rifles, and also often at night compelled to keep guard.
In 1800, Illinois formed part of a separate territory by the name of In-
diana, in conjunction with the state now bearing that name. A second di-
vision took place in 1809, and the western portion of Indiana was formed
into a separate territory bearing the name of Illinois. In 1818, Illinois was
erected into a separate state. Hon. Niuian Edwards, chief justice of Ken-
tucky, was chosen governor, and Nathaniel Pope, Esq., secretary. Since that
period it has rapidly gone forward, increasing in population, wealth and power.
198 ILLINOIS.
In the year 1812, Gen. Hull, who surrendered Detroit into the hands of
the British, directed Capt. Heald, who commanded Fort Dearborn, at Chi-
cago, to distribute his stores to the Indians, and retire to Fort Wayne. Not
having full confidence in the Indians, he threw the powder into the well and
wasted the whisky. As these were the articles they most wanted, they were
so exasperated that they fell upon the garrison, after they had proceeded two
miles from the fort, and massacred 41 of them, with 2 women and 12 chil-
dren, the latter tomahawked in a wagon by one young savage.
In 1840, the Mormons being driven out of Missouri, located a city on the
east bank of the Mississippi River, which they called Nauvoo. They had
extraordinary privileges granted them by the state. But here, as elsewhere,
numerous difficulties arose between them and the inhabitants in the vicinity.
The military were called out by the governor to suppress the disorders which
arose. Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet and leader, with his brother
Hiram, were imprisoned in a jail in Carthage. On June 27, 1844, they
were both killed by a mob, which broke into their place of confinement.
The Mormons, soon after this event, began their movement toward the
Rocky Mountains.
At the time of the first settlement of Illinois by the French, it is sup-
posed that within the present limits of the state, there were some eight or
nine thousand Indians. They are described, by travelers, as having been re-
markably handsome, kind, and well mannered. When the French first came
they were feasted by the natives in four courses, the first of hominy, the
second of fish, the third of dog, which the Frenchmen appear to have de-
clined, and the whole concluded with roasted buffalo. Few or none of the
descendants of the tribes occupying this region, now linger within or around
it, their titles having been extinguished from time to time by treaties with
'the United States government. The white inhabitants were somewhat
annoyed by hostile Indians during the war of 1812, and also in 1832, during
the prevalence of the "Black Hawk war," which created much distress and
alarm in the northern part of the state.
Illinois is bounded N. by Wisconsin, E. by the southein portion of Lake
Michigan, by the state of Indiana, and by the Ohio River, S. by the Ohio
River, dividing it from Kentucky, and W. by the Mississippi River, divid-
ing it from Missouri and Iowa. It lies between 37° and 42° 30' N. lat., and
87° 17' and 91° 50' W. long., being about 380 miles in its extreme length
from N. to S., and about 200 in its greatest and 140 in its average breadth
from E. to W., containing upward of 35,000,000* of acres, of which, in 1850,
only 5,175,173 acres were improved, showing an immense capability for in-
crease of population in this very fertile state, which has scarcely any soil
but that is capable of cultivation.
The surface is generally level, and it has no mountains. About two
thirds of it consists of immense prairies, presenting to view, in some places,
immense plains extending as far as the eye can reach, beautifully covered
with grass, herbage and flowers. These prairies are generally skirted with
wood, near which are settlements. They are also, in many places, inter-
spersed with groups of trees.
The largest prairie in Illinois is denominated the Grand Prairie. Under
this general name is embraced the country lying between the waters falling
into the Mississippi, and those which enter the Wabash Rivers. It does not
consist of one vast tract, but is made up of continuous tracts with points of
timber projecting inward, and long arms of prairie extending between. The
ILLINOIS.
southern points of the Grand Prairie are formed in Jackson county, and ex-
tend in a north-eastern course, varying in width from one to twelve miles,
through Perry, Washington, Jefferson, Marion, Fayette, Effingham, Coles,
Champaign, and Iroquois counties, where it becomes connected with the
prairies that project eastward from the Illinois River. A large arm lies in
Marion county, between the waters of Crooked creek and the east fork of
the Kaskaskia River, where the Vincennes road passes through. This part
alone is frequently called the Grand Prairie.
For agricultural purposes, Illinois is unsurpassed by any state in the
Union. In some of her river bottoms the rich soil is 25 feet deep. The
great American bottom, lying on the Mississippi, 80 miles in length, is of
exceeding fertility, and has been cultivated for 100 years without apparent
deterioration. Illinois is the greatest corn producing state in the Union; its
yield in 1860 was estimated at 100,000,000 of bushels, and the average yield
per acre at over 50 bushels.
Illinois is rich in minerals. In the north-west part of the state vast beds
of lead ore abound. Bituminous coal is found in almost every county, and
may be often obtained without excavation. Iron ore is found in many local-
ities, and copper, zinc, etc. There are salt springs in the southern part of
the state from which salt is manufactured, and also medicinal springs in va-
rious places. Illinois is most favorably situated for internal commerce. By
means of the great rivers on her borders, Lake Michigan at the north-east,
and by her magnificent system of railroads, she has great facilities for com-
ir.unication in every direction. Population, in 1810, was 12,282; in 1830,
157,445; in 1850,851,470; in 1860, 1,691,238.
CHICAGO, the most populous commercial city of the north-west, is on the
western side of Lake Michigan, about 30 miles northward from its south end,
at the mouth of Chicago River, on the margin of a prairie of several miles
in width. It is 928 miles from New York, 278 from Detroit, 180 from Ga-
lena, 285 from St. Louis, 300 from Cincinnati, and 183 from Springfield.
Population, in 1840, 4,853; in 1850, 29,963; and in 1860, 109,420.
The following sketch of the history of Chicago is given in a recent pub-
lication :
The first explorers of Lake Michigan, the first white men to pitch their tents on
the Chicago prairie, and to haul up their boats upon its river banks and lake shore,
were the French Jesuit missionaries and fur traders, under the guidance of Nicho-
las Perrot, who was also acting as the agent of the government in the west. This
was in the latter part of the year 1669. At that time this territory was in the pos-
session of the Miami tribe of Indians, but subsequently the Pottawatomies crowded
back the Miamis, and became the sole possessors, until the year 1795, when they
became parties to the treaty with Wayne, by which a tract of land six miles square
at the mouth of the Chicago River, was ceded to the United States — the first ex-
tinction of Indian title to the land on which Chicago is built. For nearly a hun-
dred years during the time of the French possession, and after its cession to the
English, Chicago has little mention in history.
During this time it is only known from incidental circumstances, that in those
dark days of French possession, there was a fort near the mouth of the river, that
there were Indian villages near the Calumet and on the Des Plaines, that here
were the roving grounds of the Pottawatomies, and that from the head waters of
the Illinois to the Chicago River, was the common portage for the trade and tran-
sit of the goods and furs between the Indians and the traders, and that the ship-
ping point was from the port at Chicago. The few white men who were there
200
ILLINOIS.
were there not for the purpose of making settlements, but simply to carry on a
trade with the Indians, the gain from which must have been of no inconsiderable
amount. They were men of limited education, and could not have been expected
to have any accounts of their adventures. This state of things existed until the
close of the general western Indian war, soon after the termination of the war of
the revolution. During this war the intrigue of the English was constantly excit-
ing the Indians to warfare, to such a degree that, after peace was declared betweeo
Chicago in 1831.
Fort Dearborn is seen in the central part, on a slightly elevated point, on the south side of Chicago
River, near the lake shore shown in front.
the old and the new country, a general war of the Indians against the United
States broke out. This war continued until 1795, when, after having been severely
punished by Gen. Wayne, the chiefs of the several tribes assembled, by his invi-
tation, at Greenville, Ohio, and there effected a treaty of peace, thus closing the
war of the west. In this treaty numerous small tracts of land were ceded by the
Indians to the states, and among them wjis one described as "one piece of land six
miles square, at the mouth of Chicajo (Chicago) River, emptying into the south-
west end of Lake Michigan, where a fort formerly stood.'
This may be called the first " land sale," and which has been the precursor to a
business which has entailed to its participants independence and wealth. But lit-
tle time passed before the proprietors thought best to enter upon active possession,
and in 1804 a fort was built upon the spot by government. This fort remained
until the year 1816, when it was destroyed by the Indians, at the time of the mas-
sacre. This fort was called Fort Dearborn, a name which it retained during its
existence. Its location was upon a slightly elevated point on the south side of
the river, near the lake shore, and commanded a good view of the lake, the prairie
extending to the south, the belt of timber along the south branch and the north
branch, and the white sand hills to the north and south, which had for so many
years been the sport of the lake winds. Up to the time of the erection of this fort,
no white man had made here his home, the Pottawatomie Indians having undis-
puted sway. After the establishment of the garrison, there gathered here a few
families of French Canadians and half-breeds, none of whom possessed more than
ordinary intelligence.
The only link in the chain of civilization which admits of identity, existed in
the Kinzie family, who came here to reside in 1804, the same year in which the
fort was built, John Kinzie, then an Indian trader in the St. Joseph country,
Michigan, in that year became the first permanent white resident of Chicago, and
to him is due the honor of establishing many of the improvements which have
made Chicago what it is. For nearly twenty years he was, with the exception of
the militarv, the only white inhabitant of northern Illinois. During the years from
1804 to 1820, the lake trade was 'carried on by a small sail vessel, coming in in the
ILLINOIS.
fall and spring, bringing the season's supply of goods and stores for the fort,
and taking away the stock of furs and peltries which had accumulated. Mr.
Kinzie pursued the business of fur trading until the breaking out of hostilities
with the Indians, which resulted in the massacre of 1812. The friendly feelings
which had been cultivated between himself and the Indians, preserved himself
and family from the fate which befell his neighbors of the fort. Removing for a
time, in 1816 he returned to Chicago, and reopened the trade with the Indians, re-
siding there until the time of his death, in 1828.
It was a saying with the Indians that " the first white man who settled there was
a negro," by which was meant Jean Baptiste Point-au-Sable, who, in 1796, built
the first house in Chicago, which he afterward sold to Le Mai, who subsequently
Bold it to Mr. Kinzie. In 1812 there were but five houses outside of the fort, all
of which, with the exception of that owned by Mr. Kinzie, were destroyed at the
time of the massacre. In August, 1816, a treaty was concluded by commissioners
appointed by the government, with the various Indian tribes, by which the coun-
try between Chicago and the waters of the Illinois River was ceded to the United
States on the 4th of July.
In the same year, the troops again returned to their former locality, and a new
fort was erected, under the direction of Capt. Hezekiah Bradley, then commander.
It stood upon the same ground as the former one, and remained until the summer
of 1856, when it was demolished to make room for the increasing amount of business.
The reoccupancy of the fort by the troops continued until May, 1823, after which
time it was occupied by the Indian agent, and used for the temporary accommoda-
tion of families of residents recently arrived. On the 10th of August, 1828, the fort
was again occupied by a company of volunteers, and afterward by two companies
of regular troops, under the command of Major Fowle and Captain Scott. These
last remained until May, 1831, when the fort was given in charge of George W.
Dole, as agent for the government.
On the breaking out of the Black Hawk war, in 1832, it was reoccupied by a
detachment under Gen. Scott, until the removal of the Indians, in 1836, and, until
near the time of its demolition, was held by the government for the occasional use
of its army officers, engineers and agents connected with the public works. From
1816 to 1830, Chicago had gained the number of twelve or fifteen houses, with a
population of less than one hundred. In 1818, the public square, where now
stands the court house, was a pond, on whose banks the Indians had trapped the
muskrat, and where the first settlers hunted ducks. This pond had an outlet in a
"slough," as it was then called, which passed over the present site of theTremont
House, entering the river at the end of State-street. Along the shores of the river
the wild onion was found in great abundance, to which the Indians gave the name
Chi kajo, and from which the city doubtless derived its name. In the autumn of
1829, the town of Chicago was laid out, which is the part now known on the maps
as the ''original town."
The site of Chicago is low, being but about five feet above the lake, but
sufficiently elevated to prevent inundation. " The general direction of the
lake shore here, is north and south. The water, except at the mouth of the
river, is shoal, and vessels missing the entrance ground, go to pieces in a
Btonn, within 100 rods of the shore. The harbor of Chicago is the river,
and nothing more. It is a short, deep, sluggish stream, creeping through
the black, fat mud of the prairie, and in some places would hardly be thought
worthy of a name; but it makes itself wonderfully useful here. Outside of
its mouth a vessel has no protection, nor are there any piers or wharves.
The mouth of the river has been docked and dredged out, to afford a more
easy entrance; but, after you are once in, it narrows to a mere canal, from
50 to 75 yards in width. The general course of the river, for about three
fourths of a mile, is at right angles with the lake shore, and this portion is
what is known as the, Chicago River. It here divides, or, more properly, two
brunches unite to form it, coming from opposite directions, and at nearly
202
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right angles to the main stream. These are called, respectively, the 'North
Branch ' and the ' South Branch,' and are each navigable for some four
miles, giving, in the aggregate, a river front of some 15 or 16 miles, capable
of being increased by canals and slips, some of which have already been con-
structed. Into the ' South Branch' comes ,the Illinois canal, extending from
this point 100 miles to Lasalle, on the Illinois River, forming water commu-
nication between the lakes and the Mississippi. For the want of a map,
take the letter H; call the upright column on the right hand the lake shore;
let the cross-bar represent Chicago River, the left hand column will stand
for the two branches, and you have a plan of the water lines of the city of
Chicago, which will answer very well for all purposes of general description.
The Court House, Chicago.
The view is from the north. The material is of blue lime stone, from Lockport, New York. On the left
is the Mechanic's Institute Hall.
The three divisions thus formed are called, respectively, ' North Side,'
'South Side,' ' West Side.' In this narrow, muddy river, lie the heart and
strength of Chicago. Dry this up, and Chicago would dry up with it, mean
and dirty as it looks. From the mouth of the St. Joseph River, in Michi-
gan, round to Milwaukie, in the state of Wisconsin, a distance, by the lake
shore, of more than 250 miles, Chicago is the only place where 20 vessels
can be loaded or unloaded, or find shelter in a storm. A glance at the map,
then, will show that it is the only accessible port — and hence the commer-
cial center — of a vast territory, measuring thousands of square miles of the
richest agricultural country in the world. On this fact, and not on the pres-
ent actual value, are really based those fabulous prices of corner lots and
wharf improvements, which have sometimes provoked the sneers of the
skeptic."
Chicago is regularly laid out with streets crossing at right angles, and ia
adorned with many magnificent buildings of brick and stone, public and
ILLINOIS. 203
private, comparing well with any city in this country or any other. The
shore of the lake and northern parts of the city, are occupied with the finest
af residences. Some of the most remarkable public buildings are, the Court
[louse, the Merchants Exchange, the Marine Hospital, the Medical College,
the Second Presbyterian Church, etc. Burch's and Wadsworth's blocks, on
Lake-street, are rows of iron front stores, that, in extent and beauty, have no
squal in any business houses in any city of Europe.
A very elegant building material has recently been brought into use. It
is found in great> abundance about 20 miles from the city, on the line of the
[llinois canal. " It is a compact lime-stone, of a pale yellow shade, some-
what lighter than the celebrated Caen stone of France, now so fashionable in
New York. The grain is so fine that the fracture, or cut surface, resembles
that of chalk in texture. It is durable, ie easily wrought, and the color is
peculiarly pleasing and grateful to the eye. There is another stone of simi-
tar texture, of the color of freshly fractured slate, or of the mark made on
i slate by a pencil; but it is not so beautiful as the kind before mentioned.
Et soils readily, and has, at a short distance, the effect of a dirty white.
Ihere are also other architectural stones in considerable abundance and va-
riety; but none of great beauty or importance have come under our ob-
servation. The Presbyterian Church on Wabash Avenue, is built of a blue,
bituminous lime-stone, the pitchy matter of which has exuded and run down
the sides, giving the building the appearance of having a partial coat of tar.
The general impression it produces, is that of great antiquity; and if this
idea could be preserved and harmonized by the early pointed gothic, and
a good growth of ivy, the effect would be very fine."
Until 1856, most of the streets of Chicago were planked, and the build-
ings then erected were generally without cellars. As a consequence, in the
spring of the year, the ground asserted its original character of swamp. The
planks actually floated, and as the heavy wagons passed along, the muddy
water gushed out on every side. Since 1856, such a grade has been estab-
lished, that when finished, will raise the entire city from two to five feet.
" There is, with almost every block of buildings, a change of grade, some-
times of one foot, sometimes of three feet, sometimes of five. These ascents
or descents are made by steps, or by short, steep, inclined planes of board?.,
with or without cleats or cross pieces, to prevent slipping, according to the
ftlncy of the adjoining proprietor who erects them. The profile of a Chicago
sidewalk would resemble the profile of the Erie canal, where the locks are
most plenty. It is one continual succession of ups and downs. The reason
of this diversity is, that it was found necessary, at an early period in the
history of the place, to raise the grade of the streets. It was afterward found
necessary to raise the "grade still higher, and again still higher — as each
building is erected, its foundation and the sidewalk adjoining have been made
to correspond to the grade then last established, and so it will not happen
until the city is entirely rebuilt, that the proper grade will be uniformly at-
tained. In the mean time, the present state of things will repress undue
curiosity in the streets, and keep fire-engines off the sidewalks, which is a
great point gained."
The process of raising of the houses and stores, in Chicago, is one of great
interest, literally, a method of digging a great city out of the mud. "Build-
ings of brick, or stone, 150 feet by 200, and five stories high, are raised up
several feet by a system of screws, without a crack or the displacement of a
single thing. A hotel contracts to be lifted up. In a short time 2,000
19
204
ILLINOIS.
screws are under it, and little by little the house rises. Nothing is changed
within. The kitchen cooks, the dirining-roora eats, the bar drinks, and all
the rooms smoke, as if nothing was troinii: on! A block of stores and offices
Raising a Block of Buildings in Chicago.
The entire block on the north side of Lake-street, extending from Clark to La Salle-strect, having a front
of :-J2(t feet — 18 shown in the. process of being raised up four feet and two thirds, by 6,000 screws placed un-
der it ; tnrjied, at signals, by a force of 600 men. Most of the stores aro 180 feet deep, and five days were
consumed in the task.
begins this new process of growth, an/I all the tenants maintain their usual
functions ; and, except the outrageous neaps of dirt and piles of lumber, every-
thing goes on as before. The plank into the door gets a little steeper every
day. But goods come in and go out, and customers haunt the usual
places."
The most remarkable feat of the kind occurred in Chicago, in the spring
of 1860, when an immense block was raised. This is shown in our engrav-
ing, and thus described in the Chicago Press and Tribune of the time, under
the caption of '•'•The Great Building Raising"
For the past week the marvel and the wonder of our citizens and visitors has
been the spectacle of a solid front of first class business blocks, comprising the en-
tire block on the north side of Lake-street, between Clark and La Salle-streets, a
length of 3l!0 feet, being raised about four feet by the almost resistless lifting force
of fi,000 screws.
The block comprises 13 first class stores, and a large double marble structure,
the Marine Hank Building. Its subdivisions are a five-story marble front block
ILLINOIS.
205
of three stores ; a second four-story block of throe stores, and a five-story block or
four stores, at the corner of Clark-street — these all presenting an unbroken front,
in the heart of our city, and filled with occupants.
This absence from annoyance to the merchants and the public is due to the skill
with which the contractors have hung the sidewalks to the block itself, and carried
up the same with the rise of the building. The block has been raised four feet
eight inches, the required hight, in five days, ending with Friday last, and the ma-
sons are now busy putting in the permanent supports. The entire work will oc-
cupy about four weeks.
An estimate from a reliable source makes the entire weight thus raised to be
about 35,000 tuns. So carefully has it been done, that not a pane of glass has been
broken, nor a crack in masonry appeared. The internal order of the block has
prevailed undisturbed.
The process of raising, as indicated above, is by the screw, at 6,000 of which,
three inches in diameter and of three eighths thread, 600 men have been employed,
each man in charge of from eight to ten screws. A complete system of signals
was kept in operation, and by these the workmen passed, each through his series,
giving each screw a quarter turn, then returning to repeat the same. Five days'
labor saw the immense weight rise through four feet eight inches, to where it now
stands on temporary supports, rapidly being replaced by permanent foundations.
The work, as it stands, is worth going miles to see, and has drawn the admiration
of thousands within the past week.
The bridges of Chicago are among the curiosities of the place. The nu-
merous branches of the river require a large number of bridges. The river
being navigable, and but little below the level of the streets, compels all of
these to be made draw bridges. These are hung in the middle, and turn
South icest View of the Railroad Depot, Grain Houses, Chicago.
The Illinois Central Passenger, and DIP freight depot, etc., are seen in the central piirt. Sturgpg and
Buckingham1!! grain houses standing on the lake shore, appear on the right ; each of which will contain
7.1(1,01)0 bushels of grain ; enough, it is estimated, to feed the entire population of the city for live years;
225.000 bushels can be received and stored in each of them in a single day. ,
on a pivot, the motive power being two men standing there with a cross-bar.
The operation of turning a bridge, occupies about two minutes. While the
process is going on, a closely packed row of vehicles, sometimes, accumulates
of a quarter of a mile in length. Policemen are stationed at either end, to
prevent persons from driving, jumping, or being pushed into the water.
The manufacturing establishments of Chicago are numerous, consisting of
206 ILLINOIS.
iron foundries and machine shops, steam flouring, saw and planing mills,
manufactories of agricultural implements, etc. Numerous steamboats and
vessels ply between this place and Buffalo, and the various places on the
Upper Lakes, and a direct trade is had, by sailing vessels, with Europe,
via the lakes, Welland canal, River St. Lawrence, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The city is a great shipping point for an immense and fertile region. The
Illinois and Michigan canal is 60 feet wide at the top, six feet deep, and
107 miles long, including five miles of river navigation. Through this is
brought a large amount of produce from the south and south-west. This and
the railroads radiating from Chicago, add to the vast accumulation which is
shipped here for the Atlantic sea-board. Chicago is within a short distance
from extensive coal fields, and is the natural outlet for the produce of one of
the richest agricultural sections of the Union. Great quantities of lumber
are also brought here by l$ike navigation.
The imports of Chicago, in 1858, a year of general depression, were
691,000,000, and the exports $83,000,000 in value, equal to one quarter of
the whole foreign commerce of the United States. The tunnage was 67, 000
tuns, seven eighths of which was in sailing crafts, and the remainder by
steamers.
The grain trade of Chicago is, perhaps, the greatest of any place in the
world, averaging, at present, about 30,000,000 of bushels yearly. The grain
houses are all situated on the bank of the river and its branches, with rail-
road tracks running in the rear, so that a train of cars loaded with grain
may be standing opposite one end of a large elevating warehouse, being
emptied by elevators, at the rate of from 6 to 8,000 bushels per hour,
while at the other end the same grain may be running into a couple of pro-
pellers, and be on its way to Buffalo, Montreal, and other pUvces within
six or seven hours.
The Illinois Central Railroad grain warehouses can discharge 12 cars
loaded with grain, and also load two vessels at once, at the rate of 24,000
bushels per hour ; or receive from 24 cars at once, at the rate of 8,000 bush-
els per hour. With the present conveniences, it is estimated that in every
10 hours half a million of bushels of grain can be handled.
The university of Chicago, a well endowed institution, originated in
1854, in a generous donation from the Hon. Stephen A. Douglass of 10
acres, comprising part of a beautiful grove, adjacent to the southern limitg
of the city. It has. in all its departments, about 200 students. John C
Burroughs, D.D., is president.
The most thrilling event in the history of Illinois, was the " massacre at
Chicago," in the last war with Great Britain. There were then but five
houses outside of the fort, at this point, then the trading station of John
Kinzie, ''the Father of Chicago." The garrison numbered about 75 men,
many of them old and inefficient soldiers. The officers in command, were
Capt. Heald, Lieut. Helm, and Ensign B-onan, the latter a very young man,
high spirited and honorable.
On Aug. 7, 1812, Catfish, a distinguished Pottawatomie chief, arrived from
Detroit, bringing dispatches from Gen. Hull, giving orders to Capt. Heald
to evacuate the fort and distribute all the United States property, in the fort
and factory, to the Indians, and then retire to Fort Wayne, on the site of the
city of that name in Indiana.
ILLINOIS. 207
These ill timed, and as it proved afterward, fatal orders of Hull, were
obeyed, so far as to evacuate the fort; but even this was done by Heald, in
spite of the remonstrances of his officers, who were satisfied of the evil de-
signs of the Indians. On the 12th, a council was held with the Indians, at
which Capt. Heald informed them of his intention to distribute among them
the goods stored in the factory, together with the ammunition and provisions
of the garrison. On the next day the goods were disposed of as promised;
but fearing the Indians might make a bad use of liquor and ammunition,
Heald gave orders for their destruction. During the night the contents of the
liquor barrels were poured into the river, and the powder thrown into the
well. This coming to the knowledge of the Indians, exasperated them to a
high degree, as they prized these articles more than all the rest.
The 15th of August was the day fixed for leaving the post. The day pre-
vious, Capt. Wells, a relative of Capt. Heald, arrived with an escort of 15
friendly Miami Indians from Fort Wayne. He had heard of the orders for
the evacuation of the fort, and realizing the danger of the garrison incum-
bered with the women and children, marching through the territory of the
hostile Pottawatomies, hastened to dissuade his relative from leaving the
fort. But he arrived too late, steps had been taken, which made it as
equally dangerous to remain.
" The fatal morning of the 15th, at length arrived. All things were in readiness,
and nine o'clock was the hour named for starting. Mr. Kinzie had volunteered
to accompany the troops in their march, and had entrusted his family to the care
of some friendly Indians, who had promised to convey them in a boat around the
head of Lake Michigan to a point on the St Joseph's River; there to be joined by
the troops, should the prosecution of their march be permitted them. Early in
the morning Mr. Kinzie received a message from To pee-nee-bee, a chief of the
St. Joseph's band, informing him that mischief was inteuded by the Pottawatomies
who had engaged to escort the detachment; and urging him to relinquish his de-
sign of accompanying the troops by land, promising him that the boat containing
himself and family, sliould be permitted to pass in safety to St. Joseph's.
Mr. Kinzie declined, according to this proposal, as he believed that his presence
might operate as a restraint upon the fury of the savages, so warmly were the
greater part of them attached to himself and his family. The party in the boat
consisted of Mrs. Kinzie and her four younger children, their nurse Grutte, a
clerk of Mr. Kinzie's, two servants and the boatmen, beside the two Indians
who acted as their protectors. The boat started, but had scarcely reached the
mouth of the river, which, it will be recollected, was here half a mile below the
fort, when another messenger from To-pee-nee-bee arrived, to detain them where they
were. In breathless expectation sat the wife and mother. She was a woman of
uncommon energy and strength of character, yet her heart died within her as she
folded her arms around her helpless infants, and gazed upon the march of her hus-
band and eldest child to certain destruction.
As the troops left the fort, the band struck up the Dead March. On they came
in military array, but with solemn mien. Capt. Wells took the lead at the head
of hia little band of Miamis. He had blackened his face before leaving the garri-
son, in token of his impending fate. They took their route along the lake shore.
When they reached the point where commenced a range of sand hills, inter-
vening between the prairie and the beach, the escort of Pottawatomies, in num-
ber about 500, kept the level of the prairie, instead of continuing along the
beach with the Americans and Miamis. They had marched about half a mile
south ot the present site of the Hound House of the Illinois Central Railroad, when
Capt. Wells, who had kept somewhat in advance with his Miamis, came riding fu-
riously back. ' They are about to attack us,' shouted he ; ' form, instantly, and
charge upon them.1 Scarcely were the words uttered, when a volley was showered
from among the sand hills. The troops were hastily brought into line, and
208 ILLINOIS.
charged up the bank. One man, a veteran of 70 winters, fell as they ascended.
The remainder of the scene is best described in the words of an eye-witness and
participator in the tragedy, Mrs. Helm, the wife of Capt. (then Lieutenant) Helm,
and step-daughter of Mr. Kinzie."
'' After we had left the bank, the firing became general. The Miamis fled at the
outset. Their chief rode up to the Pottawatomies and said: 'You have de-
ceived the Americans and us. You have done a bad action, and (brandishing
his tomahawk) I will be first to head a party of Americans to return and pun-
ish your treachery." So saying, he galloped after his companions, who were now
scouring across the prairies.
The troops behaved most gallantly. They were but a handful, but they seemed
resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible. Our horses pranced and bounded,
and could hardly be restrained as the balls whistled among them. I drew off a
little, and gazed upon my husband and father, who were yet unharmed. I felt
that my hour was come, and endeavored to forget those I loved, and prepare my
self for my approaching fate.
"While I was thus engaged, the surgeon, Dr. Van Voorhees, came up. He was
badly wounded. His horse had been shot under him, and he had received a ball
in his leg. Every muscle of his face was quivering with the agony of terror. He
said to me — 'Do you think they will take our lives? I am badly wounded, but I
think not mortally. Perhaps we might purchase our lives by promising them a
large reward. Do you think there is any chance ? '
" ' Dr. Van Voorhees,' said I, ' do not let us waste the few moments that yet re-
main to us, in such vain hopes. Our fate is inevitable. In a few moments we
must appear before the bar of God. Let us make what preparation is yet in our
power.
" ' Oh ! I can not die,' exclaimed he, 'I am not fit to die — if I had but a short
time to prepare — death is awful!' I pointed to Ensign Ronan, who, though mor-
tally wounded and nearly down, was still fighting, with desperation, on one
knee.
" 'Look at that man,' said T, 'at least he dies like a soldier.' 'Yes,' replied the
unfortunate man, with a convulsive gasp, ' but he has no terrors of the future — he
is an unbeliever!'
" At this moment a young Indian raised his tomahawk at me. By springing
aside, I avoided the blow which was intended for my skull, but which alighted on
my shoulder. I siezed him around the neck, and while exerting my utmost efforts
to get possession of his scalping-knife, which hung in a scabbard over his breast,
I was dragged from his grasp by another and an older Indian. The latter bore
me, struggling and resisting, toward the lake. Notwithstanding the rapidity with
which I was hurried along, I recognized, as I passed them, the lifeless remains of
the unfortunate surgeon. Some murderous tomahawk had stretched him upon the
very spot where I had last seen him. 1 was immediately plunged into the water
and held there with a forcible hand, notwithstanding my resistance. I soon per-
ceived, however, that the object of my captor was not to drown me, for he held me
firmly, in such a position as to place my head above water. This reassured me,
and regarding him attentively, I soon recognized, in spite of the paint with which
he was disguised, The Black Partridge.
" When the firing had nearly subsided, my preserver bore me from the water
and conducted me up the sand-banks. It was a burning August morning, and
walking through the sand in my drenched condition, was inexpressibly painful
and fatiguing. I stooped and took off my shoes to free them from the sand,
with which they were nearly filled, when a squaw siezed and carried them off,
and I was obliged to proceed without them.
" When we had gained the prairie, I was met by my father, who told me that
my husband was safe but slightly wounded. They led me gently back toward the
Chicago River, along the southern bank of which was the Pottawatomie encamp-
ment. At one time I was placed upon a horse without a saddle, but finding the
motion insupportable, I sprang off. Supported partly by my kind conductor,
Black Partridge, and partly by another Indian, Pee-so-tum, who held dangling in
ILLINOIS. 209
his hand a scalp, which by the black ribbon around the queue, I recognized as
that of Capt. Wells, I dragged my fainting steps to one of the wigwams.
"The wife of Wau-bee-nee-inah, a chief from the Illinois Hiver, was standing
near, and seeing my exhausted condition she siezed a kettle, dipped up some water
from a stream that flowed near, threw into it some maple sugar, and stirring it up
with her hand gave it me to drink. This act of kindness, in the midst of so many
many horrors, touched me most sensibly, but my attention was soon diverted to
other objects.
"The fort had become a scene of plunder to such as remained after the troops
marched out. The cattle had been shot down as they ran at large, and lay dead
or dying around. This work of butchery had commenced just as we were leaving
the fort. I well remembered a remark of Ensign Ronan, as the firing went on.
'Such,' turning to me, 'is to be our fate — to be shot down like brutes!' ' Well
sir,' said the commanding officer, who overheard him, 'are you afraid?' 'No,' re-
plied the high spirited young man, 'I can march up to the enemy where you dare
not show your face ; ' and his subsequent gallant behavior showed this to be ntr
idle boast.
" As the noise of the firing grew gradually less, and the stragglers from the vic-
torious party came dropping in, 1 received confirmation of what my father had
hurriedly communicated in our rencontre on the lake shore; namely, that the
whites had surrendered after the loss of about two thirds of their number.
They had stipulated, through the interpreter, Peresh Leclerc, for the preservation
of their lives, and those of the remaining women and children, and for their de-
livery at some of the British posts, unless ransomed by traders in the Indian coun-
try. It appears that the wounded prisoners were not considered as included
in the stipulation, and a horrible scene ensued upon their being brought into
camp.
"An old squaw, infuriated by the loss of friends, or excited by the sanguinary
scenes around her, seemed possessed by a demoniac ferocity. She siezed a stable
fork and assaulted one miserable victim, who lay groaning and writhing in the
agony of his wounds, aggravated by the scorching beams of the sun. With a deli-
cacy of feeling scarcely to have been expected under such circumstances, Wau-
bee-nee-mah stretched a mat across two poles, between me and this dreadful scene.
1 was thus spared, in some degree, a view of its horrors, although 1 could not en-
tirely close my ears to the cries of the sufferer. The following night five more of
the wounded prisoners were tomahawked.
" The Americans, after their first attack by the Indians, charged upon those who
had concealed themselves in a sort of ravine, intervening between the sand banks
and the prairie. The latter gathered themselves into a body, and after some hard
fighting, in which the number of whites had become reduced to 28, this little band
succeeded in breaking through the enemy, and gaining a rising ground, not far
from the Oak Woods. The contest now seemed hopeless, and Lieut. Helm sent
Peresh Leclerc, a half-breed boy in the service of Mr. Kinzie, who had accompa-
nied the detachment and fought manfully on their side, to propose terms of
capitulation. It was stipulated that the lives of all the survivors should be spared,
and a ransom permitted as soon as practicable.
" But, in the mean time, a horrible scene had been enacted. One young savage,
climbing into the baggage-wagon, containing the children of the white families,
12 in number, tomahawked the children of the entire group. This was during the
engagement near the sand hills. When Capt. Wells, who was fighting near, beheld1
it, he exclaimed: 'Is that their game, butchering the women and children? Then
I will kill too !' So saying, he turned his horse's head, and started for the Indian
camp, near the fort, where had been left their squaws and children.
" Several Indians pursued him as he galloped along. He laid himself flat on the
neck of his horse, loading and firing in that position, as he would occasionally turn
on his pursurers. At length their balls took effect, killing his horse, and severely
wounding himself. At this moment he was met by Winnemeg and Wau-beii'See,
who endeavored to save him from the savages who had now overtaken him. Aa
they supported him along, after having disengaged him from his horse, he re-1
ceivcd his death-blow from another Indian, Pee-so-tum, who stabbed him in the back.
14
0|0 ILLINOIS.
"The heroic resolution of one of the soldier's wives deserves to be recorded.
She was a Mrs. Corbin, and had, from the first, expressed the determination never
to fall into the hands of the savages, believing that their prisoners were always
subjected to tortures worse than death. When, therefore, a party came upon her,
to make her a prisoner, she fought with desperation, refusing to surrender, although
assured, by signs, of safety and kind treatment, and literally suffered herself to be
cut to pieces, rather than become their captive.
"There was a Sergeant Holt, who, early in the engagement, received a ball in
the neck. Finding himself badly wounded, he gave his sword to his wife, who was
on horseback near him, telling her to defend herself — he then made for the lake,
to keep out of the way of the balls. Mrs. Holt rode a very fine horse, which the
Indians were desirous of possessing, and they therefore attacked her, in hopes of
dismounting her. They fought only with the butt-ends of their guns, for their ob-
ject was not to kill her. She hacked and hewed at their pieces as they were thrust
against her, now on this side, now on that. Finally, she broke loose from them,
and dashed out into the prairie. The Indians pursued her, shouting and laughing,
and now and then calling out: ' The brave woman ! do not hurt her ! ' At length
they overtook her again, and while she was engaged with two or three in front, one
succeeded in siezing her by the neck behind, and dragging her, although a large
and powerful woman, from her horse. Notwithstanding that their guns had been
so hacked and injured, and even themselves cut severely, they seemed to regard
her only with admiration. They took her to a trader on the Illinois River, by
whom she was restored to her friends, after having received every kindness during
her captivity."
"The heart of Capt. Wells was taken out, and cut into pieces, and distributed
among the tribes. His mutilated remains remained unburied until the next day,
when Billy Caldwell gathered up his head in one place, and mangled body in an-
other, and buried them in the sand. The family of Mr. Kinzie had been taken
from the boat to their home, by friendly Indians, and there strictly guarded. Very
soon a very hostile party of the Pottawatomie nation arrived from the Wabash, and
it required all the skill and bravery of Black Partridge, Wau-ben-see, Billy Gold-
well (who arrived at a critical moment), and other friendly Indians, to protect
them. Runners had been sent by the hostile chiefs to all the Indian villages, to
apprise them of the intended evacuation of the fort, and of their plan of at-
tacking the troops. In eager thirst to participate in such a scene of blood, but
arrived too late to participate in the massacre. They were infuriated at their
disappointment, and sought to glut their vengeance on the wounded and priso-
ners.
On the third day after the massacre, the family of Mr. Kinzie, with the attaches
of the establishment, under the care of Francois, a half-breed interpreter, were
taken to St. Joseph's in a boat, where they remained until the following No-
vember, under the protection of To-pee-nee-bee, and his band. They were then car-
ried to Detroit, under the escort of Chandonnai, and a friendly chief by the name
of Kee-po-tah, and, with their servants, delivered up, as prisoners of war, to the
British commanding officer. Of the other prisoners, Capt. Heald and Mrs. Heald
were sent across to the lake of St. Joseph's, the day after the battle. Capt. Heald had
received two wounds, and Mrs. Heald seven, the ball of one of which was cut from
her arm by Mr. Kinzie, with a pen-knife, after the engagement. Mrs. II. was
ransomed on the battle field, by Chandonnai, a half breed from St. Joseph's, for a
mule he had just taken, and the promise of ten bottles of whisky. Capt. Heald
was taken prisoner by an Indian from the Kankakee, who, seeing the wounded
and enfeebled state of Mrs. Heald, generously released his prisoner, that he
might accompany his wife.
Lieut. Helm was wounded in the action and taken prisoner ; and afterward
taken by some friendly Indians to the Au-sable, and from thence to St. Louis, and
liberated from captivity through the agency of the late Thomas Forsyth, Esq. Mrs.
Helm received a slight wound in the ankle; had her horse shot from under her;
and after passing through the agonizing scenes described, went with the family of
Mr. Kinzie to Detroit. The soldiers with their wives and children, were dispersed
among the different villages of the Pottowatomies, upon the Illinois, Wabash, Rock
ILLINOIS.
211
River and Milwaukie. The largest proportion were taken to Detroit, and ran-
somed the following spring. Some, however, remained in captivity another year,
and experienced more kindness than was expected from an enemy so mer-
ciless.
Captain (subsequently Major) Heald, his wife and family, settled in the coun-
ty of St. Charles, Mo., after the war, about 1817, where he died about 15 years
since. He was respected and beloved by his acquaintances. His health was im-
paired from the wounds he received."
Northwestern view of the State House, Springfield.
The engraving shows the appearance of the State Capitol, as seen from the Mayor's office, in Woshing-
ton-street. The Court House and the Bank building are seen on the left.
SPRINGFIELD, the capital of Illinois, is situated near the center of the
state, four miles S. from Sangamon River, on the border of a rich and beau-
tiful prairie, 97 miles from St. Louis, 75 N.E. from Alton, and 188 S.W.
from Chicago. It is laid out with great regularity on what was formerly an
open prairie, the streets being wide and straight, and ornamented with shade
trees. The state capitol stands on a square of three acres in the center of
the city, which is beautifully adorned with trees, shrubbery and flowers.
From the unusual attention given to the cultivation of shrubbery and flow-
ers, Springfield is sometimes fancifully and pleasantly termed the "Flower
City." It contains the governor's house, court house, 12 churches, 4 bank-
ing houses, the Illinois State University, and in 1860 6,499 inhabitants.
The first settlers of Springfield appear to have been several members of a family
by the name of Kelly, who, sometime during the year 1818 or 1819, settled, upon
the present site of the city; one of them, John Kelly, erected his rude cabin upon
the spot where stands the building known as the "Garrett House; " this was the
first habitation erected in the city, and, perhaps, also, in the county of Sangamon.
Another of the Kellys built his cabin westward of the first, and near the spot
where stands the residence of Mrs. Torrey; and the third near or upon the spot
where A. G. Herndon resides. A second family, by the name of Duggett, settled
in that portion of the western part of the city known by the early inhabitants as
"Newsonville," sometime in the early part of 1820; and some half dozen other
families were added to the new settlement during the year 1821.
212 ILLINOIS.
The original name of Springfield was Calhoun. At a special term of the county
commissioners' court, held in April, 1821, at Kelly's house, they designated a cer-
tain point in the prairie, near John Kelly's field, on the waters of Spring creek, as
a temporary seat of justice for the county, and that "said county seat should be
called and known by the name of Springfield." The first court house and jail
was built in the latter part of 1821, at the N.W. corner of Second and Jefferson-
streets. The town was surveyed and platted by James C. Stephenson, Esq., and
he is said to have received block 21 for his services. Town lots, at that period,
could not have been considered very valuable, as tradition says he proposed to give
Dr. Merryman one fourth of the block for his pointer dog to which he took a fancy,
and which offer was rejected. In 1823, Springfield did not contain more than a
dozen log cabins, which were scattered about in the vicinity of where the court
house then stood, and the Sangamon River was the boundary line of settlements
in the northern part of the state. The site of Springfield was originally an open
prairie, destitute of trees or shrubbery : where the state house now stands, was
formerly a kind of swamp, where, during the winter, the boys amused themselves
in skating.
The first tavern in Springfield was an old-fashioned two story log house, kept by
a person named Price, which stood where the residence of Charles Lorsh now
stands. The first tavern of much pretension was the old "Indian Queen Hotel."
built by A. G. Herndon. The first store, for the sale of dry goods, in Springfield,
was opened by Elijah lies, now occupied by John Hay.
In 1837, the seat of government for the state was removed from Vandalia to
Springfield, and the first session of the legislature here was in the winter of 1839-
40. The senate held its session in the old Methodist church, aiid the house of
representatives met in the second Presbyterian church. In 1840, Springfield re-
ceived a city charter. Benjamin S. Clement was elected the first mayor, and Jas.
R. Gray, Joseph Klein, Washington lies, and Wm. Prentiss, aldermen. The St.
Louis, Alton and Chicago Railroad was commenced in Aug., 1850, and was finished
from Alton to Springfield, Sept., 1852: from this period Springfield has rapidly ad-
vanced in wealth and population.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the city ceme-
tery:
NINIAN EDWARDS, chief justice of Ky., 1808; governor 111. Territory, 1809 to 1818; U.
S. senator, 1818 to 1824 ; governor state of 111., 1826 to 1830 ; died July 20, 1833, in the 59th
year of his age.
PASCAL PAOLI ENOS, a native of Windsor, Conn., emigrated to the valley of the Missis-
sippi in 1816 ; with three others founded the city of Springfield in 1824, and died A.D.
1832, aged sixty-two. The pioneers acknowledge his virtues.
Erected by the Whigs of Springfield in memory of JOHN BRODIE, who departed this life
on the 3d of Aug., 1844, in the 42d year of his age. [Second monument.] — The grave of
JOHN BRODIE, a native of Perth, Scotland, who departed this life on the 3d of Aug., 1844,
in the 42d year of his age.
Far from his native isle he lies,
Wrapped in the vestments of the grave.
[In the old graveyard.] Sacred to the memory of Rev. JACOB M. EARLY, a native of
Virginia, and for seven years a resident of Springfield, 111., combining in his character
splendid natural endowments, a highly cultivated mind, undaunted moral courage, and the
graces of the Christian religion. Eminent in the profession of his choice, and successful
in his ministry, he enjoyed a large share of the respect and affections of an extensive ftnd
respectable acquaintance. Though called suddenly from life, he met death with a calm
and amazing fortitude, in the certain hope of a blissful immortality, through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. He was born Feb. 22, 1806, and died March 11, 1838, aged 32 yrs. 18
days.
ILLINOIS.
213
RESIDENCE OF Ar.'.-j. LINCOLN,
Springfield is noted as having been the home of Abraham Lincoln, president
of the United States. He is a descendant of the pioneers of Kentucky.
His grandfather removed from
Virginia at un early day, and
finally fell on the frontiers be-
neath the tomahawk of the sav-
age. His son, Thomas, and the
father of Abraham, traveled
about from neighborhood to
neighborhood, working as a la-
borer, until he finally settled in
what was then Hardin, now La-
rue county, Ky., and there, in
1809, was born the subject of this
sketch. When in his eighth
year, the family removed to
Spencer Co., Ind. When Abra-
ham was 21 years of age, they again emigrated to Macon, Illinois. Soon
after he engaged as a flat boatman on the Mississippi, then he took charge
of a store and a mill at New Salem, and on the outbreak of the Black Hawk
war he was chosen captain of a company of volunteers. In 1834 he was,
for the first time, elected to the legislature of Illinois, and soon after com-
menced the study of law. In 1837 he removed to Springfield and entered
upon his professional career. In 1840, and again in 1844, he was one of
the electors on the Whig ticket in Illinois; in 1846 was elected to congress
from the Springfield district. In 1858, he was brought prominently before
the public by his memorable senatorial contest with the distinguished Ste-
phen A. Douglass. This was the final point in his career which led to his
nomination and subsequent election, by the Republican party, to the Presi-
dency. His history illustrates the power of natural capacity, joined to in-
dustry, to overcome poverty and other obstacles in the way of obtaining an
education, in a country whose institutions give full freedom to the exercise
of all manly faculties.
KasJtaskia, a small village and the county seat of Randolph cou'nty, is on
Kaskaskia River, 10 miles above its confluence with the Mississippi, and on
a neck of land between them, two miles from the latter, and 142 miles
S. of Springfield. It has the distinction of being the oldest town in Illinois,
and, perhaps, in the whole western states. It was founded by Father Gravier,
a Catholic missionary, some where about the year 1693. It was, at first,
merely a missionary station inhabited by the natives. In 1763, when ceded
by the French to the English, it contained about 130 families. It was the
first capital of the territory, and retained that rank until 1818.
Judge Hall, in his " Sketches of the West," gives a pleasant picture of
the characteristics of the French settlers in this region. Says he:
They made no attempt to acquire land from the Indians, to organize a social sys-
tem, to introduce municipal regulations, or to establish military defenses ; but
cheerfully obeyed the priests and the king's officers, and enjoyed the present, with-
out troubling their heads about the future. They seem to have been even careless
as to the acquisition of property, and its transmission to their heirs. Finding
themselves in a fruitful country, abounding in game, where the necessaries of life
could be procured with little labor, where no restraints were imposed by govern-
ment, and neither tribute nor personal service was exacted, they were content to
live in unambitious peace, and comfortable poverty. They took possession of so
much of the vacant land around them as they were disposed to till, and no more.
214 ILLINOIS.
Their agriculture was rude; and even to this day, some of the implements of hus-
bandry and modes of cultivation, brought from France a century ago, remain un>
changed by the march of mind, or the hand of innovation. Their houses were
comfortable, and they reared fruits and flowers; evincing, in this respect, an at-
tention to comfort and luxury, which has not been practiced among the English or
American first settlers; but in the accumulation of property, and in all the essen-
tials of industry, they were indolent and improvident, rearing only the bare neces-
saries of life, and living from generation to generation without change or improve-
ment
The only new articles which the French adopted, in consequence of their change
of residence, were those connected with the fur trade. The few who were en-
gaged in merchandise turned their attention almost exclusively to the traffic with
the Indians, while a large number became hunters and boatmen. The voyageitrs,
engagees, and couriers des bois, as they are called, form a peculiar race of men.
They were active, sprightly, and remarkably expert in their vocation. With all
the vivacity of the French character, 'they have little of the intemperance and bru-
tal coarseness usually found among the boatmen and mariners. They are patient
under fatigue, and endure an astonishing degree of toil and exposure to the weather.
Accustomed to live in the open air, they pass through every extreme, and all the
sudden vicissitudes of climate, with little apparent inconvenience. Their boats
are managed with expertness, and even grace, and their toil enlivened by the song.
As hunters, they have roved over the whole of the wide plain of the west, to the
Rocky Mountains, sharing the hospitality of the Indians, abiding for long periods,
and even permanently, with the tribes, and sometimes seeking their alliance by
marriage. As boatmen, they navigate the birch canoe to the sources of the long-
est rivers, and pass from one river to another, by laboriously carrying the packages
of merchandise, and the boat itself, across mountains, or through swamps or woods,
so that no obstacle stops their progress. Like the Indian, they can live on game,
•without condiment or bread ; like him they sleep in the open air, or plunge into
the water at any season, without injury.
The French had also a fort on the Ohio, about thirty-six miles jibove the junc-
tion of that river with the Mississippi, of which the Indians obtained possession
by a singular stratagem. This was just above the site of Metropolis City, and was
a mission station as early as 1711. A number of them appeared in the day time
on the opposite side of the river, each covered with a bear-skin, and walking on
all-fours, and imitating the motions of that animal. The French supposed them
to be bears, and a party crossed the river in pursuit of them. The remainder of
the troops left their quarters, and resorted to the bank of the river, in front of the
garrison, to observe the sport In the meantime, a large body of Indian warriors,
who were concealed in the woods near by, came silently up behind the fort, en-
tered it without opposition, and very few of the French escaped the carnage.
They afterward built another fort on the same ground, which they called Massacre,
in memory of this disastrous event, and which retained the name of Fort Massac,
after it passed into the hands of the American government
These paragraphs of Hall are quoted by Peck, in the "Western Annals,
and to them are appended these additional facts from his own pen:
The stylo of agriculture in all the French settlements was simple. Both the Spanish
and French governments, in forming settlements on the Mississippi, had special regard to
convenience of social intercourse, and protection from the Indians. All their settlements
were required to be in the form of villages or towns, and lots of a convenient size for a
door yard, garden and stable yard, were provided for each family. To each village were
granted two tracts of land at convenient distances for " common fields " and "commons.'1''
A common field is a tract of land of several hundred acres, inclosed in common by the
villagers, each person furnishing his proportion of labor, and each family possessing indi-
vidual interest in a portion of the field, marked off and bounded from the rest. Ordinances
were made to regulate the repaiis of fences, the time of excluding cattle in the spring, and
the time of gathering the crop and opening the field for the range of cattle in the fall.
Each plat of ground in the common field was owned in fee simple by the person to whom
{.'ranted, subject to sale and conveyance, the same as any landed property.
A common is a tract of land granted to the town for wood and pasturage, in which each
ILLINOIS. 215
owner of a village lot has a common, but not an individual right. In some cases this
tract embraced several thousand acres.
By this arrangement, something like a community system existed in their intercourse.
If the head of a family was sick, met with a casualty, or was absent as an eiiyiyef, big
family sustained little inconvenience. His plat in the common field was cultivated by his
neighbors, and the crop gathered. A pleasant custom existed in these French villages not
thirty years since, and which had come down from the remotest period.
The husbandman on his return at evening from his daily toil, was always met by his
affectionate femme with the friendly kiss, and very commonly with one, perhaps two of the
youngest children, to receive the same salutation from le prre. This daily interview was
at the gate of the door yard, and in view of all the villagers. The simple-hearted people
were a happy and contented race. A few traits of these ancient characteristics remain,
but most of the descendants of the French are fully Americanized.
The romantic details of the conquest of Kaskaskia, in the war of the
devolution, by the Virginians, under Clark, we take from Monette :
The whole of the Illinois country being, at that time, within the chartered limits
of Virginia, Col. George Rogers Clark, an officer of extraordinary genius, who had
recently emigrated to Kentucky, with slight aid from the mother state, projected
and carried out a secret expedition for the reduction of these posts, the great
fountains of Indian massacre.
About the middle of June (1778), Clark, by extraordinary exertions, assembled
at the Falls of the Ohio six incomplete companies. From these he selected about
150 frontier men, and descended the Ohio in keel boats en rvitte for Kaskaskia;
on their way down they learned, by a messenger, of the alliance of France with
the United States. About forty miles from the mouth of the Ohio, having first
concealed their boats by sinking them in the river, they commenced their inarch
toward Kaskaskia. Their route was through a pathless wilderness, interspersed
with morasses, and almost impassable to any except backwoodsmen. After several
days of great fatigue and hardships, they arrived, unperceived, in the evening of
the 4th of July, in the vicinity of the town. In the dead of night Clark divided
his little force into two divisions. One division took possession of the town while
the inhabitants were asleep; with the other Clark in person crossed to the oppo-
site side of the Kaskaskia River, and secured possession of Fort Gage. So* little
apprehensive was he of danger, that the commandant, Rocheblave, had not even
posted a solitary sentinel, and that officer was awakened by the side of his wife to
find himself a prisoner of war.
The town, containing about 250 dwellings, was completely surrounded, and all
avenues of escape carefully guarded. The British had cunningly impressed the
French with a horror of Virginians, representing them, as bloodthirsty and cruel
in the extreme. Clark took measures, for ultimate good, to increase this feeling.
During the night the troops filled the air with war whoops; every house was en-
tered and the inhabitants disarmed; all intercourse between them was prohibited;
the people were ordered not to appear in the streets under the penalty of instant
death. The whole town was filled with terror, and the minds of the poor French-
men were agitated by the most horrid apprehensions. At last, when hope had
nearly vanished, a deputation, headed by Father Gibault, the village priest, ob-
tained permission to wait upon Col. Clark. Surprised as they had been, by the
sudden capture of their town, and by such an enemy as their imagination had
painted, they were still more so when admitted to his presence. Their clothes
were dirty and torn by the briars, and their whole aspect frightful and savage.
The priest, in a trembling, subdued tone, said to Clark:
" That the inhabitants expected to be separated, never to meet again on earth,
and they begged for permission, through him, to assemble once more in the church,
to take a final leave of each other." Clark, aware that they suspected him of hos-
tility to their religion, carelessly told them, that he had nothing to say against their
church; that religion was a matter which the Americans left everyone for him-
self to settle with his God; that the people might assemble in the church, if they
wished, but they must not leave the town. Some further conversation was at-
tempted, but Clark, in order that the alarm might be raised to its utmost hight,
repelled it with sternness, and told them at once that he had not leisure for further
216 ILLINOIS.
intercourse. The whole town immediately assembled at the church ; the old and
the young, the women and the children, and the houses were all deserted. The
people remained in church for a longtime — after which the priest, accompanied hy
several gentlemen, waited upon Col. Clark, and expressed, in the name of the vil-
lage, " their thanks for the indulgence they had received." The deputation then
desired, at the request of the inhabitants, to address their conqueror on a subject
which was dearer to them than any other. " They were sensible," they said, " that
their present situation was the fate of war ; and they could submit to the loss of
property, but solicited that they might not be separated from their wives and chil-
dren, and that some clothes and provisions might be allowed for their future sup-
port." They assured Col. Clark, that their conduct had been influenced by the
.British commandants, whom they supposed they were bound to obey — that they
were not certain that they understood the nature of the contest between Great
Britain and the colonies — that their remote situation was unfavorable to accurate
information — that some of their number had expressed themselves in favor of the
Americans, and others would have done so had they durst. Clark, having wound
up their terror to the highest pitch, resolved now to try the effect of that lenity,
which he had all along intended to grant. He therefore abruptly addressed them :
" Do you," said he, " mistake us for savages ? I am almost certain you do from
your language. Do you think that Americans intend to strip women and children,
or take the bread out of their mouths ? My countrymen disdain to make war upon
helpless innocence, it was to prevent the horrors of Indian butchery upon our
own wives and children, that we have taken up arms, and penetrated into this
stronghold of British and Indian barbarity, and not the despicable prospect of
plunder. That since the King of France had united his arms with those of Amer-
ica, the war, in all probability, would shortly cease. That the inhabitants of Kas-
kaskia, however, were at liberty to take which side they pleased, without danger
to themselves, their property, or their families. That all religions were regarded
by the Americans with equal respect; and that insult offered to theirs, would be
immediately punished. And now," continued he, " to prove my sincerity, you will
please inform your fellow-citizens that they are at liberty to go wherever they
please, without any apprehension. That he was now convinced they had been
misinformed, and prejudiced against the Americans, by British officers; and that
their friends in confinement should immediately be released." The joy of the vil-
lagers, on hearing the speech of Col. Clark, may be imagined. The contrast of
feeling among the people, on learning these generous and magnanimous intentions
of Col. Clark, verified his anticipations. The gloom which had overspread the
town was immediately dispersed. The bells rung a merry peal; the church was
at once filled, and thanks offered up to God for deliverance from the terrors they
had feared. Freedom to come and go, as they pleased, was immediately given ;
knowing that their reports would advance the success and glory of his arms.
So great an effect had this leniency of Clark upon them, that, on the evening of
the same day, a detachment, under CuptJ Howman, being detached to surprise Caho-
kia, the Kaskaskians offered to go with it, and secure the submission of their neigh-
bors. This having been accomplished, the two chief posts in Illinois had passed,
without bloodshed, from the possession of England into that of Virginia.
But St. Vincennes, upon the Wabash^ the most important post in the west, except
Detroit, still remained in possession of the enemy. Clark thereupon accepted the
offer of Father Gibault, Avho, in company with another Kaskaskian, proceeded on
a mission of peace to St. Vincennes, and by the 1st of August, returned with ^he
intelligence that the inhabitants of that post had taken the oath of allegiance to
the American cause.
Clark next established courts, garrisoned three conquered towns, commenced a
fort which proved the foundation of the flourishing city of Louisville, and sent the
ill-natured Kocheblave a prisoner to Virginia. In October, Virginia extended her
jurisdiction over the settlements of the Upper Mississippi and the Wsibash, by the
organization of the county of Illinois, the largest, at that time, in the world. Had
it not been for the conquest of the Illinois country by Clark, it would have re-
mained in the possession of England at the close of the Revolution, and continued,
like Canada, to the present day, an English province.
ILLINOIS. 217
Having reduced these English posts to submission, Clark opened negotia-
tions with the Indians, showing throughout that masterly insight into their
character that was ever so wonderfully displayed by him in dealing with men,
white or red. Among the incidents of his diplomacy is this one, given by
Mr. Peck :
A party of Indians, known as Meadow Indians, had come to attend the council with
thcii neighbors. These, by some means, were induced to attempt the murder of the in-
vaders, and tried to obtain an opportunity to commit the crime proposed, by surprising
Clark and his officers in their quarters. In this plan they failed, and their purpose was dis-
covered by the sagacity of the French in attendance; when this was done, Clark gave
them to the French to deal with as they pleased, but with a hint that some of the leaders
would be as well in irons. Thus fettered and foiled, the chiefs were brought daily to the
council house, where he whom they proposed to kill, was engaged in. forming friendly re-
lations with their red brethren. At length, when, by these means, the futility of their pro-
ject had been sufficiently impressed upon them, the American commander ordered their
irons to be struck off, and in his quiet way, full of scorn, said,
" Every body thinks you ought to die for your treachery upon my life, amidst the sacred
deliberations of a council. I had determined to inflict death upon you for your base at-
tempt, and you yourselves must be sensible that you have justly forfeited your lives; but
on considering the meanness of watching a bear and catching him asleep, I have found out
that you are not warriors, only old. women, and loo mean to be killed by the Big Knife. But,'*
continued he, " as you ought to be punished for putting on breech cloths like men, they
shall be taken away from you, plenty of provisions shall be given for your journey home,
as women don't know how to hunt, and during your stay you shall be treated in every respect
as squaws."
These few cutting words concluded, the colonel turned away to converse with others.
The children of the prairie, who had looked for anger, not contempt — punishment, not
freedom — were unaccountably stirred by this treatment. They took counsel together, and
presently a chief came forward with a belt and pipe of peace, which, with proper words,
he laid upon the table. The interpreter stood ready to translate the words of friendship,
but, with curling lip, the American said he did not wish to hear them, and lifting a sword
which lay before him, he shattered the offered pipe, with the cutting expression that "he
did not treat with women." The bewildered and overwhelmed -Meadow Indians next asked
the intercession of other red men, already admitted to friendship, but the only reply was,
"The Biy Knife has made no war upon these people; they are of a kind that we shoot like wolves
when we meet them in the woods, lest they eat the deer."
All this wrought more and more upon the offending tribe; again they took counsel, and
then two young men came forward, and, covering their heads with their blankets, sat
down before the impenetrable commander; then two chiefs arose, and stated that these
young warriors offered their lives as an atonement for the misdoings of their relatives,
again they presented the pipe of peace. Silence reigned in the assembly, while the fate
of the proffered victims hung in suspense: all watched the countenance of the American
leader, who could scarce master the emotion which the incident excited. Still all sat
noiseless, nothing heard but the deep breathing of those whose lives thus hung by a thread.
Presently, he upon whom all depended, arose, and, approaching the young men, he bade
them be uncovered and stand up. They sprang to their feet.
" I am glad to find," said Clark, warmly," that there are men among all nations. With
you, who alone are fit to be chiefs of your tribe, I am willing to treat; through you I am
ready to grant peace to your brothers; / take you by the hands as chiefs, worthy of being
such."
Here again the fearless generosity, and the generous fearlessness of Clark, proved per-
fectly successful, and while the tribe in question became the allies of America, the fame
of the occurrence, which spread far and wide through the north-west, made the name of
the white negotiator every where respected.
JACKSONVILLE, the capital of Morgan county, is on the line of the Great
Western Railroad, 34 miles W. from Springfield, and 222 from Chicago. It
is beautifully situated in the midst of an undulating and fertile prairie, in
the vicinity of Mauvaisterre creek, an affluent of Illinois River. Perhaps
no place of its size contains a greater number of churches, charitable insti-
tutions, seminaries of learning, and the town has been denominated " the
school-house of Illinois." It contains the Illinois College, which occupies
218 ILLINOIS.
a beautiful situation, and is one of the best and most flourishing in the state ;
the Illinois Conference Female College, under the patronage of the Methodists,
having had at one time 400 pupils ; the Berean College, under the patronage of
the Christian denomination; and the Jacksonville Female Seminary. The
North-eastern view of Illinois College, Jacksonville.
The Illinois College building is seen in the central part. The structure on the right was tir
merly used as a chapel, library, etc.; that on the left is a wing remaining of the former College buiU
ing.
state institutions are the Insane Asylum, the Deaf and Dumb Institution,
and the Institution for the Blind. These state asylums are situated rela-
tively on three sides of a quadrangle around the town, each about a mile
from the center. All of the buildings for these institutions, together with
those for literary purposes, are of the first order, and some of them make an
imposing appearance. The state asylums are supported by the state tax,
and all citizens of the state are entitled to their benefits without charge.
One of the first originators of the Illinois College was the late Rev. John M.
Ellis, who was sent by the American Home Missionary Society, to the infant set-
tlements of this state. He early conceived the idea of founding a seminary de-
voted to the purposes of education, on a somewhat peculiar plan. The first attempt
was at Shoal creek, in Bond county, where the people took quite an interest in
the undertaking. A committee was afterward appointed by the Presbytery of
Missouri (with which the Presbyterian churches of this state were then connected),
to consider the subject and make a report. A tour in connection with this subject
was taken by Messrs. Ellis and Lippincott, in Jan., 1828. Having visited several
places, Saturday night overtook them on the south side of Sandy creek, some four
or five miles south from Jacksonville.
Mr. Ellis, in order to fulfill his appointment to preach, continued his journey on
Sunday morning. "It was a bright splendid morning. The winter rain had
covered every twig and blade of prairie grass with ice, and as the rising sun threw
his clear rays athwart the plain, myriads of gems sparkled with living light, and
Diamond Grove might almost have been fancied a vast crystal chandelier." The
name of Diamond Grove was considerably more ancient than the name or exist-
ence of Jacksonville, and was used as a designation of the region around it.
• The most convenient place for the people, at that time, to assemble on that Sab-
bath, was at the house of Judge Leeper, which was about a mile south-east from
,the public square, in the immediate vicinity of the woodland, which borders OB
ILLINOIS. 219
the Mauvaisterre creek, and nearly east of the spot where the Insane Hospital now
stands. He was one of the first members of the Presbyterian Church in Jackson-
ville. The principal sites which attracted the notice of the commissioners when
here, was the spot now known as the mound and the site on which the college
stands.
Mr. Ellis removed his residence from Kaskaskia to Jacksonville, in 1828, and
the same year made a report to the society respecting the seminary. About this
period seven members of the theological department of Yale College, Conn., see-
ing the report of Mr. Ellis, pledged themselves to devote their lives to the cause of
Christianity in the distant and then wild state of Illinois. The names of these
young men were, Theoron M. Grosvenor, Theoron Baldwin, J. M. Sturtevant (now
president of the college), J. T. Brooks, Elisha Jenney, William Kirby and Asa
Turner. The following is extracted from President Sturtevant's Historical Dis-
course, delivered in Jacksonville on the Quarter Century Celebration at Illinois
College, July 11, 1855, being relative to his first visit to Jacksonville:
"It was on a bright Sabbath morning, the 15th day of November, a little after
sunrise, that we came in sight of Jacksonville. 1't was already called, in the ordi-
nary speech of the people, a beautiful place. I had often heard it called so my-
self; and beautiful it was, when the bright face of spring was again spread over
it, though its beauty was God's work, and not man's. It was at that time little
better than a group of log cabins. The prairie was in the sombre brown of autumn,
with scarce a tree or shrub to relieve the monotony. To the north-west, however,
the view was shut in by an elevation, which a New Englander might almost recog-
nize as a hill. It was crowned with a natural grove. Against the front of the
grove was already projected an edifice of brick, which, at that distance, and on
such an elevation, made an appearance of considerable dignity and magnificence.
The site on which it stood charmed every beholder. It was the south half of what
is now our college buildings, then in process of erection. We were most cordially
welcomed at the humble, but none the less hospitable, dwelling of Mr. Ellis. * *
Our arrival was expected, and preaching was appointed. At the proper hour
we repaired to the place of worship. AVhat would our people say now, if we were
to invite them to assemble in such a place for public worship? It was a log school
house, some 20 feet square, with a floor of split logs, and seats, so far as there were
any of the same, with holes bored in them, and sticks driven in for legs. The
chimney was of the style and structure most approved for log-cabins, built out of
doors, of logs and sticks, and occupying near half of one side of the room. Such
was its condition the first time 1 met the congregation in that place. Before the
next Sabbath, the chimney had either fallen down or been removed, in prepara-
tion for an arrangement for warming the house by a stove. For two or three Sab-
baths we met there, before this vast opening in one side was again closed up. Desk
or pulpit there was none, an awkward circumstance to one just from the school of
theology, with no faith in the possibility of preaching without a manuscript before
him. Yet, on that day, this was the unlucky predicament of your speaker. On
the first Sabbath the audience was small, and a chair was set for the preacher in
one corner of the room. On the second Sabbath the house was crowded. The
chair was missing. The deficiency of seats had been supplied by bringing in rails
from a neighboring fence, and laying them across from one seat to another, and
thus covering over the whole area with 'sittings.' Those who could not thus be
accommodated, crowded around the ample opening where the chimney had been,
and heard standing in the open air. There was a state of democratic equality in
the congregation, which would have done good to the heart of a thorough-going
leveler. The preacher found a seat, where he could, among the congregation ;
laid his Bible and hymn book on the rail by his side, and rose in his place and ad-
dressed the congregation as best he might.
When the day appointed arrived, we repaired to the still unfinished edifice, then
a full mile distant from Jacksonville, where we found the room which has ever
since been used as a chapel, finished, lacking the desk, the lathing and plastering,
and for the most part the seating. The rest of the building was in a still more un-
finished condition. Of course its impression was far enough from inviting. Nine
pupils presented themselves on that day. They were Alvin M. Dixon, James P.
£20 ILLINOIS.
Stewart, from Bond county, Merril Rattan and Hampton Rattan, from Greene
county, Samuel R. Simms, Chatham H. Simms, Rollin Mears, Charles B. Barton,
and a youth by the name of Miller, of Morgan county. They were all to begin
their studies in the first rudiments, for it is not known that there was, at that time,
in the state, a single youth fitted for the freshman class in an American college.
The pupils were called together, a portion of scripture was read, a few remarks
were made on the magnitude of the errand which had brought us there."
The* first printing office in Jacksonville, was set up by James G. Edwards, of
Boston, who afterward removed to Burlington, Iowa. He was the printer and edi-
tor of the " Western Observer." His printing office is the building in the rear
of that of Dr. Mavo McLean Reed, a native of South Windsor, Connecticut. Dr.
Reed emigrated to Jacksonville in 1830, from South Windsor, with Mr. Elihu
Wolcott and his family. Mr. W. traveled with his own team from Connecticut,
and arrived here on the 5th of November, having been six weeks on the
journey.
About 1,000 Portuguese emigrants reside in Jacksonville and its immediate vi-
cinity, being sent here by a society in New York. They are from the Island of
Maderia, and were brought to embrace the Protestant faith, through the instru-
mentality of Dr. Kally, a Scotchman who went to reside in Maderia for the health
of his wife. They have a minister named De Mattoes, who preaches in their na-
tive language. They are an industrious and frugal people: most of them have
houses of their own, with from two to ten acres of land: a few have 30 or 40 acres.
They have additions, occasionally, from their native country.
The following inscriptions are from monuments in Jacksonville; the first
from the graveyard in the vicinity of the colleges; the others, in the city
graveyard. Col. Hardin (the inscription on whose monument is given below)
was much esteemed, and represented this district in congress, from 1843 to
1845. Being at the head of the Illinois' militia, he was requested, by the
governor of the state, to take the command of a regiment of Illinois volun-
teers. He at first declined, not fully approving of the Mexican War. But
being over-persuaded, and desirous of obtaining the approbation of all classes
of his fellow-citizens, he finally consented. Tearing himself from his wife
and children, he embarked, with his regiment, for Mexico; but as in many
other like instances, it proved with him, that
" The paths of Glory lead but to the Grave."
In the battle of Buena Vista, Col.- Hardin having obtained permission to
march upon the enemy at a certain point, was suddenly attacked by an over-
whelming force of Mexicans concealed in a ravine, when he fell pierced with
many wounds. His remains were found among the slain, brought home and
interred with military honors.
ALEXANDKR DUNLOP, born May 6th, A.D. 1791, in Fayette Co., Kentucky. Died Nov. 10,
A.D. 1853. Alex. Dunlop volunteered as a private soldier in the war with England in 1812,
and was taken prisoner at Dudley's defeat, May 7, 1813. Commanded a company during
the Seminolo War, also the detachment that captured St. Marks, April 7, 1818, making
prisoners, Arbuthnot and Ambrister. Was Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Illinois,
1S4:{. Was commissioned Major of the U. S. Army 1816, and was present at the fall of Vera
C:uz, March 28, 1847.
Pro patria, COL. JOHN J. HARDIN, of the 1st Reg. of 111. volunteers, gloriously fell in the
battle of Buena Vista, Feb. 23, 1847. Born in Frankfort, Ky., on the 6th day of January,
1810. Died on the field of battle in the 37th year of his age.
WILLIAM E. PIKRSOK died Sept. 30, 1854, on the eve of his departure to the Cherokee Na-
tion, being under appointment as missionary teacher by the A. B. C. F. M., aged 24. lie
rests in hope.
ILLINOIS.
221
BLOOMINGTON, beautifully situated on the line of the Illinois Central
Railroad, is 61 miles N. E. from Springfield, and 128 S. W. from Chicago.
It is regularly laid out on an undulating surface, giving a fine prospect of
the fertile prairie lands in the vicinity. The city is generally very neatly
North View in Bloomington.
Showing the appearance t>f the central part of the place, as it is entered from tho north; the now Bap-
tist Church, and the Shaffer and Landon Houses, with a portion of the old Court House, are seen on the
right of the engraving ; the 2d Presbyterian and tho Methodist Churches on the left.
built, having the appearance of thrift and prosperity, and some of the build-
ings near the public square, are magnificent in their appearance. This place
contains the State Normal University, the Illinois Wesleyan University, two
female seminaries, several banks, 11 churches, various, manufacturing estab-
lishments, and a population of about 8,000.
The first settler and father of the town, was John Allin, a native of North Caro-
lina;, who was raised in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, he having lived, in the early
period of his life in each of those states. He was at first attracted to this spot by
the extreme beauty of the groves. Being acquainted with the geography of the
country, he found it was on a direct line from the foot of the rapids of the
Illinois, near La Salle to Cairo, also from Chicago to Alton and St. Louis. These
considerations induced him to locate himself on this point, believing it was des-
tined to become one of importance. It was fora period called Blooming Grove,
and from this circumstance Mr. Allin gave it its present name. This section of
country appears to have been a favorite spot with the Indians. Mr. A. states that
he had seen the signs or remains of 30 Indian villages, within a compass of 30
miles around Bloomington. At the time of his arrival, two tribes, the Kiekapoos
and Delawares, lived within some 15 or 20 miles. The Kickapoos were 5 or 600;
the IJelawares were about half that number. The Kickapoos left in 1832.
Mr. Allin came in 1829, and erected his log cabin on the edge of the timber op-
posite where* the First Presbyterian Church now stands, and he set out most of the
trees growing in that vicinity. He brought a quantity of goods with him, which
he kept in a part of his cabin, and opened the first store in Bloomington. Samuel
Durley, a young man born in Kentucky, then nearly of age, acted as clerk. Rev.
James Latta, the second settler, built his habitation about 20 rods west from Mr.
Allin 's; he was a Methodist preacher, universally esteemed by all classes. Mr.
222
ILLINOIS.
Allin found him living in a cabin about four miles south-west of Bloomington, on
Sugar creek, and induced him to remove. M. L. Covel, and Col. A. Gridley,
merchants from the state of New York, were also prominent men among the first
settlers.
The first school house was built in 1830. It was constructed of logs, and stood
on the edge of the timber, about 20 rods west of Mr. Allin^s house. This was the
first public building opened for religious meetings. The first seminary was opened
by Rev. .Lemuel Foster, in 1836; he lived, preached, and kept school in the same
building. Mr. Foster was originally from New England, and was the first Presby-
terian minister, if we except a Mr. McGhor or Gear, who was of feeble constitution,
and died very soon after his arrival in the place. The first regular physician was
John Anderson, of Kentucky. Henry Miller, from Ohio, kept the first house of en-
tertainment: it was a log house a few rods from Mr. Allin 's.
South-eastern vieic (>f I'euria.
Showing the appearance of the central part of the city, as it is entered from the eastern sidy of the Illi-
nois River, by the Itailroad and the Peoria bridge. 1'art of the Railroad bridge is seen on the extreme
left; the steamboat landing on the right. Tho draw or swing of the bridge is represented open for the
passage of steamboats.
McLean county, named from Judge McLean, of Ohio, was formed in 1831. At
this period there were but 30 or 40 families living within the present limits of the
county. Mr. Allin donated the site of the town plot for the county seat. The
first court house was a small framed building, which stood on the present public
square. Mr. Allin was chosen the first senator from the county in 183f>, and con-
tinued in the office for four years. Jesse W. Fell, distinguished for his enterpri/e
and public spirit, edited and published the BLOOMINGTOX OBSERVER, the first
newspaper printed in the place. It was printed in a small building on West street,
Ion;: since removed. The construction of the Central Kailroud with the grants
of lands by congress on the route, gave an important impulse to the prosperity of
tin? town.
PEORIA is situated on the right or west bank of Illinois River* at the out-
let of Peoria Lake, 70 miles north from Springfield, 193 from the mouth of
the Illinois, and 151 south-west of Chicago. It is the most populous town
on the river, and one of the most important and commercial in the state. The
river is navigable for steamboats in all stages of water, and is the channel of
ILLINOIS. 223
an immense trade in grain, lumber, pork, etc. It has a regulai commu-
nication with St. Louis by steamboats, and with Chicago by means of the
Illinois and Michigan canal, and by railroads to places in every direction.
The city is handsomely situated on an elevation above the flood, and slopes
gradually to the river, rendering drainage laws unnecessary, and the grading
of the streets an easy task. The streets are all 100 feet wide. Back of the
town is a range of bluffs, from 60 to 100 feet high, commanding, from their
summits, a most extensive and beautiful prospect. It has numerous steam
mills, distilleries, manufactories, etc. It contains 28 churches, and about
16,000 inhabitants.
Peoria derived its name from the Peorias, one of the five tribes known as the
Ulini, or Minneway nation. In the autumn of 1679, La Salle and his co-voyagers,
from Canada, sailed for this region of country, by way of the lakes to Chicago,
where he established a fort. Leaving a few men for a garrison, he set out with
his canoes, nine in number, with three or four men in each, about the 1st of
December, for the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, by ascending St. Joseph River,
Michigan, and across the portage to Kan-ka-kee, a main branch of the Illinois
River, and then down the river to Peoria Among La Salle's companions, were
M. de Tonti, who acted as historian.
M. de Tonti, in his account of this voyage, says : " The same day (January 4,
1680), we went through a lake formed by the river, about seven leagues long and
one broad. The savages call that place Pimitceuii, that is, in their tongue, ' a place
where there is abundance of fat beasts.' After passing through this [Peoria] lake,
they came again to the channel of the river, and found themselves between two
Indian encampments. This was where the bridges are now built On perceiving
the strangers, the Indians fled; but some were bold enough to return, when one
of their chiefs came and inquired who they were, and what were their objects.
They were answered by the interpreter, that they were French, and that their ob-
ject was to make known to them the God "of Heaven; to offer them the protec-
tion of the King of France, and to trade with them. This was well received,
and the calumet, or pipe of peace, was smoked by each party as a token of
peace and friendship. A great feast was held, which lasted for several days,
attended with dancing, on the part of the natives, and firing of guns and other
demonstrations of joy on the part of the French.
M. La Salle erected a fort on the south-eastern bank of the Illinois, which he
named Creve-coeur [Bursted heart], on account of the grief he felt for the loss of
one of his chief trading barks richly laden, and for the mutiny and villainous con-
duct of some of his companions who first attempted to poison and then desert him.
This fort is supposed to have stood on land owned by Mr. Wren, some two or
three miles eastward of Peoria. The exact date of the first permanent settlement
in Illinois, can not now be ascertained, unless this fort or trading post of Creve-
coeur be regarded the first, and there is no evidence that this remained a perma-
nent station.
After the conquest of Canada, the Illinois country fell into the possession of Great
Britain. In 1766, the "Quebec Bill" passed the British parliament, which placed
Illinois and the North-western Territory under the local administration of Canada.
The conquest of the North-western Territory, by Col. George Rogers Clark, in 1778,
was the next event of importance. It was brought under the jurisdiction of
Virginia, and the country of Illinois was organized. In the year 1796, Peoria
was described as "an Indian village, composed of pseudo savages," made of the
native tribe of "Peoriaca Indians," and ''Canadian French," a few Indian traders
and hunters. In Dec., 1812, a Capt. Craig was sent here by Gov. Edwards, to
chastise the disorderly Indians and their allies, if any of them might be found at
this little French village. Capt. Craig found a pretext for burning this French
town, which had been laid out by them, embracing about one half of the 1st ward
of the present city, the center of this village being at or about the entrance
of the bridge across the Illinois River. Capt. Craig excused himself for this
act, by accusi.ij; the Froqch of being in league with the Indians, and by alleging
224 ILLINOIS.
that his boats were fired upon from the town, while lying at anchor before it.
This the French inhabitants denied, and charged Craig with unprovoked cruelty.
This place was then called "La ville Mailleit" from its founder, Hypolite
Mailleit, who moved here in 1778, and commenced the building of this ville.
In 1830, John Hamlin and John Sharp built the first flouring mill ever erected
in this part of the state, on the Kickapoo, or Red Bud creek, about three miles W.
of Peoria. The next was erected in Oct., 1837, by Judge Hale and John Easton,
about four miles from the city. In the spring of 1834, the only building W. of
the corner of Main and Washington-streets was a barn ; the entire town then con-
sisted of but seven framed houses, and about thrice that number of log tenements
— -but during this season about forty houses and stores were erected. About this
time, the old jail, standing on the alley between Monroe and Perry-streets, was
built, a hewn log building, only 16 feet square and 14 high ; the lower story formed
for a cell, entered by a trap door from the second story, which was used for a com-
mon prison. The court house was a log building on the bank, in which the jurors
slept at night on their blankets on the floor. The courts being usually held in warm
weather, after the grand jurors received their charge, in court time, the grand
jury sat under the shade of a crab apple tree, and the petit jury in a potato hole
(that had been partially filled up) in the vicinity. The venerable Isaac Waters
was clerk of the court. His office and dwelling were in a small log cabin, where
now stands Toby & Anderson's plow factory. J. L. Bogardus, the postmaster, kept
his office in a log cabin near Sweney & Ham's steam mill.
Peoria was incorporated as a town in 1831, and as a city in 1844. The first city
officers were Hon. Wm. Hale, mayor ; Peter Sweat, Chester Hamlin, Clark Cleave-
land, Harvey Lightner, J. L. Knowlton, John Hamlin, Charles Kettelle, and A. P.
Bartlett, as aldermen. The Peoria bridge, across the Illinois River, with its abut-
ments, is 2,600 feet long, was finished in 1849, and cost of about $33,000. In 1818
the first canal boat arrived from Lake Michigan. The first steamboat that arrived
at Peoria was the "Liberty," in the month of December, 1829. The first news-
paper was the " Illinois Champion," published by A. S. Buxton and Henry Wol-
ford, March 10, 1834. The first daily paper was called the "Daily Register," pub-
lished by Picket & Wdodcock; the first number was issued June 28, 1848.
The Methodist Episcopal church, the first formed in the place, was organized in
Aug., 1834, by Rev. Zadock Hall, of the Chicago circuit, Dr. Heath, of St.' Louis,
and Rev. John St. Clair, of Ottawa. Their meetings, at first, were held in the old
court house. The first church edifice, the Main-street Presbyterian church, was
erected April, 1836. The church, consisting of eight members, was organized
in Dec., 1834, by Rev Romulus Barnes and Rev. Flavel Bascom. St. Jude's church
(Episcopal) was organized here in 1834; St. Paul's church building was erected in
Sept., 1850. The Baptist church was constituted in Aug., 1836. The Second
Presbyterian church was organized Oct., 1840.
The following sketch of a campaign against the Indians, at Peoria and
vicinity, in the war of 1812, is from Peck's edition of Perkins' Annals:
During the campaign in the summer and autumn of 1813, all the companies of
rangers, from Illinois and Missouri, were under the command of Gen. Howard.
Large parties of hostile Indians were known to have collected about Peoria, and
scouting parties traversed the district between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers,
then an entire wilderness.
It was from these marauding parties that the frontier settlements of Illinois and
Missouri, were harassed. It became an object of no small importance, to pene-
trate the country over which they ranged, and establish a fort at Peoria, and thus
drive them to the northern wilderness. Our authorities for the incidents of the
campaign, are a long letter from the honorable John Reynolds, who was a non-com-
missioned officer in a company of spies, and the ' Missouri Gazette,' of November
6th. The rendezvous for the Illinois regiment was 'Camp Russell,' two miles
north of Kdwardsville. The whole party, when collected, made up of the rangers,
volunteers and militia, amounted to about 1,400 men, under the command of Gen.
ILLINOIS 225
Howard. Robert Wash, Esq., and Dr. Walker, of St. Louis, were of his staff.
Colonels Benjamin Stephenson, then of Randolph county, Illinois, and Alexan-
der McNair, of St Louis, commanded the regiments. W. B. Whiteside and John
Moredock, of Illinois, were majors in the second regiment, and William Christy
and Nathan Boone, filled the same office in the first, or Missouri regiment. A Maj.
Desha, a United States officer from Tennessee, was in the army, but what post
he occupied we do not learn. Col. E. B. Clemson, of the United States Army,
was inspector. Gov. Reynolds states, there were some United States rangers from
Kentucky, and a company from Vincennes. We have no means of ascertaining
the names of all the subaltern officers. We know that Samuel Whiteside, Joseph
Phillips, Nathaniel Journey and Samuel Judy, were captains in the Illinois
companies.
The Illinois regiment lay encamped on the Piasau, opposite Portage de Sioux,
waiting for more troops, for three or four weeks. They then commenced the
march, and swam their horses over the Illinois River, about two miles above the
mouth. On the high ground in Calhoun county, they had a skirmish with a party
of Indians. The Missouri troops, with Gen. Howard, crossed the Mississippi from
Fort Mason, and formed a junction with the Illinois troop». The baggage and men
were transported in canoes, and the horses swam the river.
The army marched for a number of days along the Mississippi bottom. On
or near the site of Quincy, was a large Sac village, and an encampment, that must
have contained a thousand warriors. It appeared to have been deserted but a
short period.
The -army continued its march near the Mississippi, some distance above the
Lower Rapids, and then struck across the prairies for the Illinois River, which
they reached below the mouth of Spoon River, and marched to Peoria village.
Here was a small stockade, commanded by Col. Nicholas of the United Statee
Army. Two days previous the Indians had made an attack on the fort, and wers
repulsed. The army, on its march from the Mississippi to the Illinois River, found
numerous fresh trails, all passing northward, which indicated that the savages were
fleeing in that direction. ,
Next morning the general marched his troops to the Senatchwine, a short dis-
tance above the head of Peoria Lake, where was an old Indian village, called
Gomo's village. Here they found the enemy had taken water and ascended the Illi-
nois. This, and two other villages, were burnt. Finding no enemy to fight, the army
was marched back to Peoria, to assist the regular troops in building Fort Clark, so
denominated in memory of the old hero of 1778; and Maj. Christy, with a party,
was ordered to ascend the river with two keel boats, duly armed and protected, to
the foot of tlie rapids, and break up any Indian establishments that might be in
that quarter. Maj. Boone, with a detachment, was dispatched to scour the coun-
try on Spoon River, in the direction of Rock River.
The rangers and militia passed to the east side of the Illinois, cut timber, which
they hauled on truck wheels by drag ropes to the lake, and rafted it across. The
fort was erected by the regular troops under Capt Phillips. In preparing the
timber, the rangers and militia were engaged about two weeks.
Maj. Christy and the boats returned from the rapids without any discovery, ex-
cept additional proofs of the alarm and fright of the enemy, and Maj. Boone re-
turned with his force with the same observations.
It was the plan of Gen. Howard to return by a tour through the Rock River
valley, but the cold weather set in unusually early. By the middle of October it
was intensely cold, the troops had no clothing for a winter campaign, and their
horses would, in all probability, fail ; the Indians had evidently fled a long distance
in the interior, so that, all things considered, he resolved to return the direct route
to Camp Russell, where the militia and volunteers were disbanded on the 22d of
October Supplies of provisions, and munitions of war had been sent to Peoria, in
boats, which had reached there a few days previous to the army.
It may seem to those, who delight in tales of fighting and bloodshed, that this
expedition was a very insignificant affair. Very few Indians were killed, very
little fighting done, but one or two of the army were lost, and yet, as a means of
protecting the frontier settlements of these territories, it was most efficient, and
15
220
ILLINOIS.
gave at least six months quiet to the people. After this, Indians shook their heads
and said, ' White men like the leaves in the forest — like the grass in the prairies—
they grow everywhere.' :|
Distant view of Quincy, from the south.
The engraving shows the appearance of Quincy. when first seen on approaching it from the south by the
Mississippi. Thayer's Alcohol Factory and Comstook &, Oo 's Iron Foundry are seen on the right: the
Central Mill and Grain Depot on the left; between these two points is a range of limestone quarries. Just
above the Central Mill is the steam and ferry boat landing; also mills, stores, shops, etc. The city is par-
tially seen on the bluff.
QUINCY, the county seat of Adams county and a poj t of entry, is situated
on a beautiful elevation, about 125 feet above the Mississippi, and commands
a fine view for five or six miles in each direction. It is 109 miles from
Springfield, 268 miles from Chicago, by railroad, and 160 above St. Louis.
It contains' a large public square, a court house, many beautiful public and
private 'edifices, several banks, a number of extensive flouring and other
mills, and manufactories of various kinds, with iron founderies, machine
shops, etc. Flour is exported to a great extent, and large quantities of pro-
visions are packed. The bluffs in front of the city may be considered as one
vast limestone quarry, from which building stone of a hard and durable
quality can be taken and transported to any section of the country, by steam-
boat and railroad facilities immediately at hand. Five newspapers are printed
here, three daily and two in the German language, one of which is daily.
Population about 16,000.
The "Quincy English and German Male and Female Seminary," an in-
corporated and recently established institution, is designed for a male and
female college of the highest grade, for which a large und elegant building
is already constructed. The streets cross at right angles, those running N.
and S. bear the name of the states of the Union. The present bounds of
the city extend two and a half miles each way. The river at the landing is
one mile wide. Running along and under the N.W. front of the city, lies a
beautiful bay, formerly called " Boston Bay," from the circumstance of a
ILLINOIS. 227
Bostonian having once navigated his craft up this bay, mistaking it for the
main channel of the river.
Quincy was originally selected as a town site by John Wood, of the state of New
York ; for several years he was mayor of this city and lieutenant governor of the
state. Mr. Wood built his cabin (18 by 20 feet) in Dec., 1822, without nails or
sawed lumber. This building, the first in the place, stood near the foot of Dela-
ware-street, about 15 rods E. of Thayer's alcohol factory. At this time there were
only three white inhabitants within the present county of Adams, and these were
obliged to go to Atlas, 40 miles distant, to a horse mill for corn meal, their princi-
pal breadstuff. In Nov., 1825, the county court ordered a survey and plat of the
town to be made, and the lots to be advertised for sale. Henry H. Snow, the clerk,
and afterward judge, laid off 230 lots, 99 by 108 feet, reserving a public square in
the center of the town. It received its name, Quincy, on the day that John Quincy
Adams was inaugurated president of the United States.
On the present site of Quincy once stood an old Sac village. At the time the
town was surveyed, it was covered with forest trees and hazel bushes, excepting
about two acres of prairie ground where the public square was laid out. In the
trees in the vicinity of the place, balls were found which had been shot into them
fifty or more years before. A few years since an iron ring and staple were found
sixty feet below the earth's surface. In the mounds in and about the city are
found Indian bones and armor of ancient date.
John Wood, from the state of New York; Henry H. Snow, from New Hamp-
shire; Willard Keyes, from Vermont; Jeremiah Rose and Rufus Brown, from.
New York; and Ashur Anderson, from Pennsylvania, may be considered as prom-
inent men among the first settlers. Drs. J. N. Ralston, from Kentucky, and b. W.
Rogers, from New York, were the first physicians in the order of time. The first
house of worship in the place, was erected by the First Congregationalist Society,
in 1833 and '34: Rev. Asa Turner, from Massachusetts, was the first minister. The
building is now used as a carriage shop, on Fourth-street, and ^stands on the spot
where it was first erected. The first school was taught, in 1827, by Mr. Mendall,
in a log school house, which stood on a lot fronting Hampshire-street, between
Second and Third-streets. The first court house and jail was built of logs, and
was nearly on the spot where the present court house is situated. C. M. Wood,
from New York, was the first printer; he printed the first paper, the "Illinois
Bounty Land Register," in 1835, since merged into the Quincy Herald. The first
ferry was established by Willard Keyes. The first store was opened, in 1826, by
Ashur Anderson, who opened his stock, valued at $1,000, in Brown's log tavern.
In 1828, Robert Tillson and Charles Holmes established themselves as merchants
in a log cabin on the north side of the square, in what was later known as the
old " Land Office Hotel." Afterward, they erected for their accommodation the
first framed building in the town. It still remains, and has long been known as
the old " Post Office Corner."
"Without access to market, or to mill, the first settlers of Quincy built their houses
without nails, brick, or mortar, the principal utensils used being the axe and the auger.
The necessaries of life were scarcely attainable, to say nothing of the luxuries. In the
cultivation of their land, viz.: 30 acres of corn (without fence) they were obliged to go 30
miles to have their plows sharpened. One man would swing a plowshare on eacli side of
an Indian pony, pile on such other articles of iron as needed repairs, lay in a stock of pro-
visions, mount and set out."
The number of inhabitants during the first year increased to sixteen; from 1825 to 1835,
they increased to five hundred; during all which time they continued to import their bacon
and flour. As late as 1832, when the Black Hawk war broke out, the Indians, principally
of the Sac and Fox tribes, were very numerous, the shores of the river being frequently
covered with their wigwams, both above and below the town. Coming in from their hunt-
ing excursions, they brought large quantities of feathers, deer-skins, moccasins, beeswax,
honey, maple sugar, grass floor mats, venison, muskrat and coon-skins.
ALTON is on the E. bank of the Mississippi, 25 miles N. from St. Louis,
3 miles above the mouth of the Missouri River, 20 below the mouth of the
Illinois, and 75 miles S.W. of Springfield. The site of the city is quite un-
228
ILLINOIS.
even and broken, with high and stony bluffs, and in front of it the Missis-
sippi runs almost a due course from east to west. The city contains a splen-
did city hall, 10 churches, and a cathedral in its interior superior to anything
of the kind in the western states. Five newspapers are published here. As*
North-western view of Alton.
The view is from Prospect-street, taken by Mr. Roeder, and designed by him for a large engraving. On
the left of the picture is the Railroad Depot, above which is the Methodist church. On the right is the Pen-
itpntiary and Steamboat landing. In the central part appear the Unitarian, Episcopal, Baptist, and Pres-
byterian churches, and the City Hall. On the right, in the distance, is seen the Missouri shore of the
Mississippi, also the mouth of the Missouri River, at its entrance into the " Father of Waters."
a manufacturing point, Alton has hardly an equal on the Mississippi River,
and the city is now in a flourishing condition, having at hand limestone for
building purposes, mines of bituminous coal, beds of the finest clay for brick
and earthen ware, with railroad and steamboat communication to every point.
The state penitentiary was located here in 1827. Population 1860, 6,333.
Upper Alton is located on the high rolling timber land, in the rear of Al-
ton city, two miles from the Mississippi, and'has a population of upward of
2,000. The manufacturing business is considerable, particularly cooper-
ing, potters' ware, etc. The town was laid out, in 1817, by J. Meacham,
from Vermont; several additions have been since made. Shurtleff College,
named from Dr. Shurtlaff, of Boston, is in the limits of the town, and is a
flourishing institution under the charge of the Baptist denomination.
The Mon'.icello Female Seminary, four miles from Alton, founded by Capt.
Benjamin Godfrey, was the first female seminary built in Illinois, and is of
high reputation. This institution was opened for pupils in 1838. Rev.
Theoron Baldwin had the charge of the first scholars. Capt. Godfrey, its
founder, was a sea captain, and has been long distinguished for his public
spirit, and the sacrifices which he has made for the public good.
The first resident in Alton appears to have been John Bates, a blacksmith, from
ILLINOIS. 2'2 9
Tennessee. He located himself at the head of the American bottom lands in Lower
Alton, where he cultivated a small farm, about half a mile below the steamboat
landing in Alton. A man in his emplojT was killed by the Indians while plowing
on this farm. The first settlers who located in Upper Alton, about two miles back
from the river, came in from 1808 to 1812, and were principally from Kentucky and
Tennessee. They lived in block-houses for protection. This place is called Hun-
ter's town on section 13, and is now within the city limits. Col. Rufus Easton,
delegate from Missouri, located Alton proper on section 14. He sold a large por-
tion of Lower Alton to Maj. C. W. Hunter, in 1818, together with several other
tracts adjoining, which Maj. H. afterward laid out as an addition, and are now with-
in the city limits.
Maj. Charles W. Hunter was a native of Waterford, N. Y., a son of Robert Hun-
ter, of Pennsylvania, a favorite officer under Gen. Wayne, who led the forlorn hope
at the storming of Stony Point, in the Revolution, and also accompanied him after-
ward in the Indian war at the west. Mr. Hunter, in the war of 1812, served as
mnjor in the 35th Reg. U. S. infantry. At the close of the war he resigned his
commission and went to St. Louis, where he engaged in merchandise and the In-
dian trade. After his purchase from Col. Easton, he removed his family here, in
1819, and built the first framed house in Alton (now standing), and opened in it
the first regular store in the place. He brought his goods here in a barge, which
he had used in the New Orleans trade.
The Methodist itinerating preachers appear to have been the first in the order of
time who visited Alton; they preached in the school house in Upper Alton, and in
private houses. The first Presbyterian church (of stone) was erected by Capt.
Godfrey, of the firm of Godfrey, Gilman & Co. Mr. Joseph Meacham, who laid
out Upper Alton, was a surveyor from New England. It was laid out on an ex-
tensive scale, and lots and blocks were reserved for the support of a free school.
The proceeds were accordingly reserved for this purpose, and Alton is entitled to
the honor of establishing the first public free school in Illinois. The first teacher
was Deacon Henry H. Snow, of New Hampshire. Mr. S. has since removed to
Quincy, in which place he has held many public offices.
Up to 1827, the " town of Alton " made but very little progress. Upper Alton
completely overshadowed it. The location of the penitentiary here gave quite an
impulse to the place. In 1831, the Alton Mtinufacturing Company built the large
steam flouring mill, on the river bank, in front of the penitentiary. In 1832, O.
M. Adams and Edward Breath started the "Weekly Spectator." In 1836, the Al-
ton and Springfield road was surveyed by Prof. Mitchell, of Cincinnati. In 1836,
Tread^way and Parks commenced the publication of the " Weekly Alton Tele-
graph." In the spring of this year, Rev. E. P. Lovejoy commenced the publica-
tion of a weekly religious newspaper, called the "Alton Observer." The ''Alton
Presbytery Reporter " was started in 1845, also the "Courier" newspaper, etc.,
office, several splendid founderies and machine shops, two German newspapers, and
the "Alton National Democrat." The city of Alton was incorporated in 1837.
Alton is the place where Elijah P. Lovejoy, in 1837, fell while defending
his press from an attack by a mob. His remains were interred in the Alton
cemetery, a beautiful spot donated by Maj. C. W. Hunter to the city. The
Anti-Slavery Society of Illinois are taking steps for the erection of a monu-
ment from 75 to 100 feet high, which, if constructed, will be a most conspicu-
ous object, for a great distance, for all who are passing up or down the Mis-
sissippi and Missouri Rivers.
Rev. E. P. Lovejoy was born Nov. 9, 1802, at Albion, Kennebec county, Maine,
then a part of Massachusetts. He was educated at Waterville College, Me., where
he graduated with the highest honors of his class. In the latter part of 1827, he
went to St. Louis, where he immediately engaged in teaching a school. He after-
ward entered the Theological Seminary at Princeton, to prepare himself for the
ministry. He returned to St. Louis, and, at the request of his friends, was induced
to become the editor of a religious weekly newspaper, and accordingly, on the 22d
of Nov., 1833, the first number of the " St. Louis Observer " was issued. In July,
230 ILLINOIS
1836, on account of the strong anti-slavery sentiments advocated in the paper, it
became quite unpopular in St. Louis, and, taking the advice of his friends, he re-
moved it to Alton.
After the removal of the Observer office to Alton, its course on the abolition of
slavery gave much offense to a portion of the inhabitants. A meeting was called,
Mr. Lovejoy's course was denounced, and on the night of the 21st of August, 1837,
". party of some 15 or 20 men broke into the Observer office, and destroyed the
press and printing materials. Another press was procured, and stored in the
warehouse of Messrs. Godfrey, Oilman & Co., standing on the wharf at Alton.
Threats having been given that this press would also be destroyed, Mr. Lovcjoy
and some of his friends assembled to defend their property. On the night of IS or.
7, 1837, a mob, at first consisting of about 30 individuals, armed, some with stones
and some with guns and pistols, formed themselves in a line by the warehouse.
Mr. Oilman, one of the 'owners of the building, then asked them "what they
wanted?" To which they replied, ".the press." Mr. G. replied, that, being au-
thorized by the mayor, they would defend their property at the hazard of life.
The mob commenced throwing stones, dashing in several windows, and then fired
two or three guns into the building. The fire was then returned from within, two
or three guns discharged upon the rioters, one, by the name of Bishop, was mor-
tally wounded, and several others injured. This, for a while, checked the mob,
but they soon returned with increased numbers and violence. They raised ladders
on the warehouse, and kindled a fire on the roof Mr. Lovejoy and some of the
inmates of the building stepped to the door, and while looking around just with-
out the threshold, some one, concealed behind a pile of lumber, fired a double bar-
reled gun, when Mr. Lovejoy was struck with five balls, and expired in a few mo-
ments.
The following is the principal part of a communication upon this riot, given by
the mayor of Alton to the public, dated Nov. 6, 1837 :
For several days past it had been announced and generally believed, that a printing press
was hourly expected to be landed at our wharf. It had also been a current rumor that this
press -ras intended for the re-estnblishment of the "Alton Observer." The circulation of
these rumors produced no small degree of excitement, among those who had taken a de-
cided stand against the abolition sentiments that were understood to have been disseminat-
ed through the columns of the "Observer." Various reports of a threatening character,
against the landing of the press, were in circulation, which led the friends of the Observer
and its editor to make preparations to defend the press, in case any violence should be of-
fered by those opposed to the publication of that paper. On Tuesday, about 5 o'clock in
the morning, I was called from my lodgings and informed that the press had arrived at the
wharf, and that my official interference was desired. I immediately repaired to the wharf,
and remained there until the press was landed and stored in the warehouse of Messrs. God-
frey, Oilman & Co. There were no indications of violence or resistance on the part of
any at that time. The arrival of the " abolition press " (as it was called) was generally
known in the early part of that day, wnich served to rekindle the excitement. Represen-
tation was made to the common council of the threatening reports which were in circula-
tion. The common council did not, however, deem it necessary to take any action on the
subject. Gentlemen directly interested in protecting the press from mob violence, deemed
it expedient to guard the warehouse with men and arms, in readiness to resist violence,
should any be offered. During the early part of the night of Tuesday, it was reported
through the city, that there were from 30 to 40 armed men on guard within the warehouse.
At 10 o'clock at night, 20 or 30 persons appeared at the south end of the warehouse, and
gave some indications of an attack. Mr. W. S. Gilnian, from the third story of the ware-
house, addressed those without, and urged them to desist, and at the same time informed
them that the persons in the warehouse were prepared, and should endeavor to protect their
property, and that serious consequences might ensue. Those without demanded the press,
anil said they would not be satisfied until it was destroyed; said they did not wish to in-
jure any person, or other property, but insisted on having the press. To which Mr. G. re-
ulied that the press could not be given up. The persons outside then repaired to the north
\-rid of the building, and attacked the building by throwing stones, etc., and continued their
•violence for 15 or 2) minutes, when a gun was fired from one of the windows of the ware-
house, ari*d a man named Lyman Bishop was mortally wounded. He was carried to a sur-
geon's office, and then the mob withdrew and dispersed with the exception of a small num-
ber. Upon the first indication of disturbance, I called on the civil officers most conveni-
ent, and repaired with all dispatch to the scene of action. By this time the firing from
ILLINOIS 231
the warehouse, and the consequent death of one of their number (Bishop died soon after
he received the shot), had greatly increased the excitement, and added to the numbers of
the mob. Owing to the late hour of the night, but few citizens were present at the onset,
except those engaged in the contest. Consequently the civil authorities could do but little
toward dispersing tl.e mob except by persuasion. A -large number of people soon collected
around me. I was requested to go to the warehouse, and state to those within that those
outside had resolved to destroy the press, and that they would not desist until they h id
accomplished their object; that all would retire until I should return, which request was
made by acclamation, and all soon retired to wait my return.
I was replied to by those within the warehouse that they had assembled there to pro-
tect their property against lawless violence, and that they were determined to do so. The
mob began again to assemble with increased numbers, and with guns and weapons of dif-
ferent kinds. I addressed the multitude, and commanded them to desist and disperse, to
which they listened attentively and respectfully, to no purpose — a rush was now made to
the warehouse, with the cry of " fire the house," " burn them out," etc. The firing soon
became fearful and dangerous between the contending parties — so much so, that the farther
interposition on the part of the civil authorities and citizens was believed altogether inad-
equate, and hazardous in the extreme — no means were at my control, or that of any other
officer present, by which the mob could be dispersed, and the loss of life and the shedding
of blood prevented. Scenes of the most daring recklessness and infuriated madness fol-
lowed in quick succession. The building was surrounded and the inmates threatened with
extermination and death in the most frightful form imaginable 'Every means of escape
by flight was cut off. The scene now became one of most appalling and heart-rending in-
terest! Fifteen or twenty citizens, among whom were some of our most worthy and en-
terprising, were apparently doomed to an unenviable and inevitable death, if the flames
continued.
About the time the fire was communicated to the building, Rev. E. P. Lovejoy (late
editor of the Observer), received four balls in his breast, near the door of the warehouse,
and fell a corpse in a few seconds; two others from the warehouse were wounded. Sev-
eral persons engaged in the attack were severely wounded; the wounds, however, are not
considered dangerous. The contest had been raging for an hour or more, when the per-
sons in the warehouse, by some means, the exact manner it was done I have not been able
to ascertain, intimated that they would abandon the house and the press, provided that
they were permitted to depart unmolested. The doors were then thrown open, and those
within retreated down Front street. Several guns were fired upon them while retreating,
and one individual had a narrow escape — a ball passed through his coat near his shoulder.
A large number of persons now rushed into the warehouse, threw the press upon the
•wharf, where it was broken in pieces and thrown into the river. The fire in the roof of
the warehouse was extinguished by a spectator, who deserves great praise for his cour-
ageous interference, and but little damage was done by it to the building. No disposition
seemed to be manifested to destroy any other property in the warehouse. Without farther
attempts at violence the mob now dispersed, and no farther open indications of disorder or
violence have been manifested.
The foregoing is stated on what I consider undoubted authority, and mostly from my
own personal knowledge. JOHN M. KRUM, Mayor.
CAIRO is a small town at the south-western extremity of Illinois, at the
junction of the Ohio with the Mississippi Rivers, 175 miles below St. Louis.
It is also at the southern termination of the famous Illinois Central Rail-
road, 454 miles distant by the main line of this road to Dunleith, its north-
western termination on the Mississippi, and 365 miles distant from Chicago
by the Chicago branch of the same.
Cairo, from a very early day, was supposed, from its natural site at the
junction of the two great rivers of the west, to be a point where an immense
city would eventually arise, hence it has attracted unusual attention from
enterprising capitalists as a point promising rich returns for investments in
its soil. As soon as Illinois was erected into a state, in 1818, the legislature
incorporated " the Bank of Cairo," which was connected with the project of
building a city at this point. Since then two or more successive companies
have been formed for this object; one of which has now the enterprise so
far advanced that they entertain sanguine calculations of accomplishing the
end so long sought amid great discouragements.
232
ILLINOIS.
A primary obstacle to the success of the scheme is in the natural situation
of the surface. For many miles in every direction the country is a low, rich
bottom, and as the river here, in seasons of high water, rises fifty feet, the
whole region becomes covered with water. To reme*dy this, an earthen
dyke, or levee, some four
miles in circuit, has been
built around the town, at,
it is said, a cost of nearly
a million of dollars. This
is shown by the map.
From this levee projects
an embankment like the
handle of a dipper — the
levee itself around the
town answering for the
rim — on which is laid
the line of the Illinois
Central Railroad.
The annexed view shows
at one glance, parts of
three states Illinois,
Missouri and Kentucky.
It was taken on top of the
levee, within a few hun-
dred feet of the extreme
south-western point of Il-
linois, which is seen in the
distance. The temporary
depot of the Central Railroad and the St. Charles' Hotel appear in front. On
the right is shown part of the town plat (some eight feet below the top of the
levee), the bank of the
levee between the specta-
tor and the Mississippi
River, before its junction
with the Ohio, and the
Missouri shore. On the
left appears the Kentucky
shore, and point where the
Ohio, '-the beautiful river,"
pours itself into the bosom
of the Mississippi, "the
great father of waters," as
he stretches himself south-
ward in his majestic course
to the ocean. The best
buildings in Cairo are of
brick, mainly stores, and
are on the levee. The levee
itself resembles an ordina-
ry railroad embankment,
and is about 50 feet broad on the surface. The town plat within the levee is
regularly laid out, and a system of underground drainage adopted. The appear-
MAP OF CAIRO AND ITS VICINITY.
\
LEVBS AT CAIRO.
Junction of the Ohio and Mississippi.
ILLINOIS.
233
ance of the spot is like that of any ordinary river bottom of the west — the
surface level, with here and there left a forest tree, which, shooting upward
its tall, slender form, shows, by its luxuriant foliage, the rich nature of the
soil. The houses within the levee are mainly of wood, one and two stories
in hight, and painted white. They are somewhat scattered, and the general
aspect of the spot is like that of a newly settled western village, just after
the log cabin era has vanished.
Rochford. the capital of Winnebago county, is beautifully situated at the
rapids of Rock River, on the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, 92 miles
westerly from Chicago. Steamers can come to this place. Great manufac-
turing facilities are afforded by the immense water power here. Population
I860; "5,281.
Galesburg is in Knox county, 168 miles south-westerly from Chicago, at
the junction of the Chicago and Burlington, Northern Cross, and Peoria
and Oquawka Railroads. It is a fine town, and noted as a place of educa-
tion; Knox College, Knox College for females, and Lombard University are
situated here. Population about 6,000.
Freeport is on a branch of Rock River, at the junction of the Illinois Cen-
tral with the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, 120 miles from Chicago.
It is quite a manufacturing place, and is one of the largest grain depots in
northern Illinois. Population about 5,000.
South-eastern vieio of Galena, from near the Swing Bridge.
The Steamboat landing is seen in tho central part. The Railroad Depot and the Seminary on an eleva-
tion in the distance, appear on the right. The Draw or Swing Bridge is represented open, parts of which
are seen on the right and left.
GALENA, a flourishing city, and capital of Joe Daviess county, is situated
on Fevre River, 6 miles from its entrance into the Mississippi, 1651 above
New Orleans, 450 above St. Louis, 160 W.N.W. from Chicago, and 250 N.
by W. from Springfield. The city is built principally on the western side
of Fevre or Galena River, an arm of the Mississippi, and its site is a steep
acclivity, except for a few rods along the river. The streets rise one above
234 ILLINOIS.
another, the different tiers connecting by flights of steps. The town is well
paved and the houses are. built of brick. The numerous hills overlooking
the city are thickly studded with the mansions of the wealthy merchant or
thrifty miner. Population 1860, 8,196.
Galena is a French word, signifying " lead mine." Galena was formerly
called Fevre River, the French word for wild lean, which grew here in great
abundance. The city was first settled in 1826, and was then an outpost in
the wilderness, about 300 miles from the settlements. The first settlement
was begun at Old Town. Col. John Shaw, from the interior of New York,
traversed this region from 1809 to 1812, extending his journeys to a point
westward of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. He was engaged as a spy
in this section in the war of 1812, and on one occasion it is said that he outrun
three Indians in a chase of nine miles. When he first came to Galena, he
found the Indians smelting lead on the town plat. Col. S. was the first one
who carried lead to St. Louis for a regular price ; this was soon after the
close of the war of 1812. He also, it is said, built the first flouring mill in
.Wisconsin, four miles above Prairie du Chien. The first pine lumber sawed
in that state was in his mill on Black River.
Andrew C. and Moses Swan, of Pennsylvania, came to Galena in the fall
of 1827, by the way of Green Bay and Wisconsin River: one of them kept
the first regular tavern. It stood ou a site opposite the De Soto House.
One of the early visitors at Galena was Ebenezer Brigham, who journeyed
from Worcester, Mass., to St. Louis in 1818: the Upper Mississippi country
was, at that period almost unknown. Beyond the narrative of PIKE'S Ex-
pedition, and the vague report of hunters, boatmen, and a few lead diggers
about Dubuque, the public possessed but little reliable information. In
1820, Mr. Brigham followed up the river to Galena. This place then con-
sisted of one log cabin, and a second one commenced, which he assisted in
ompleting. The first church erected was by the Presbyterians. The
Miner's Journal" was started here in 1828, by Mr. Jones, who died of the
cholera in 1832. The " Galena North-Western Gazette," was first issued in
1833, by Mr. H. H. Houghton, from Vermont. It was printed in a log
house at the old town, about three fourths of a mile from the levee,. The
first brick building here is said to have been erected by Capt. D. S. Harris, a
native of New York. Capt. H. is also said to have constructed the first
steamboat on the Upper Mississippi. It was built in 1838, and called the
"Joe Daviess," in honor of Col. Joe Daviess, who fell at the battle of Tip-
pecanoe.
Galena is on the meridian of Boston, and is considered one of the most
healthy locations in the United States. It is the most commodious harbor
for steamboats on the Upper Mississippi, and a great amount of tunnage
is owned here. Galena owes its growth and importance mainly to the
rich mines of lead, with which it is surrounded in every direction. Con-
siderable quantities of copper are found in connection with the lead. About
40,000,000 Ibs. of lead, valued at $1,600,000 have been shipped from this
place during one season. It is estimated that the lead mines, in this vicinity,
are capable of producing 150,000,000 Ibs. annually, for ages to come. Mine-
ral from some 8 or 10 places, or localities, in Wisconsin, is brought to Ga-
lena, and shipped for New Orleans and other markets. Since the comple-
tion of the Illinois Central Railroad, a small portion of lead has been sent
eastward by that road. The average price is about thirty dollars per thous
and Ibs.
ILLINOIS.
235
THE LEAD REGION.
Outside of the town is the forbidding and desolate hill country of the lead
region. Storms have furrowed the hills in every direction, and the shovels
of the miners have dotted the whole
surface with unsightly pits, walled
around with heaps of limestone and
sand, through which the delver has
sought the lead. There is no culture
around, and the edifices consist of the
rude cabin of the miners, and primitive
looking smelting furnaces where the
lead is prepared for market. A late
visitor gives the following description :
Every hill is spotted with little mounds of
yellow earth, and is as full of holes as a worin-
eaten cheese. Some winding road at length brings
you to the top of one of these bare, bleak hills,
and to a larger mound of the same yellowish
earth, with which the whole country in sight is
mottled. On top of this mound of earth stands
a windlass, and a man is winding up tubs full
of dirt and rock, which continually increase the pile under his feet. Beneath him, forty,
fifty, a hundred feet under ground, is the miner. As we look around on every ridge, see
the windlass men, and know that beneath each one a smutty-faced miner .is burrowing by
the light of a dim candle, let us descend into the mines and see the miners at their work.
The windlass-man makes a loop in the end of the rope, into which you put one foot, and,
clasping, at the same time, the rope with one hand, slowly you begin to go down ; down,
it grows darker and darker ; a dan?p, grave-like smell comes up from below, and you grow
dizzy with the continual whirling around, until, when you reach the bottom and look up
at the one small spot of daylight through which you came down, you start with alarm as
the great mass of rocks and earth over your head seem to be swaying and tumbling in.
You draw your breath a little more freely, however, when you perceive that it was only
your own dizziness, or the scudding of clouds across the one spot of visible sky, and you
take courage to look about you. Two or three dark little passages, from four to six feet
high, and about three feet wide, lend oft' into the murky recesses of the mine ; these are
called, in mining parlance, drifts. You listen a little while, and there is a dull "thud!
thud! " comes from each one, and tells of something alive away off in the gloom, and,
ciiiidle in hind, you start in search of it. You eye the rocky walls and roof uneasily as,
half bent, you thread the narrow passage, until, on turning some angle in the drift, you
catch a glimpse of the miner, he looks small and dark, and mole-like, as on his knees, and
pick in hand, he is prying from a perpendicular crevice in the rock, a lump of mineral as
large as his head, and which, by the light of his dim candle, flashes and gleams like a
huge carbuncle ; or, perhaps, it, is a horizontal sheet or vein of mineral, that presents its
edge to the miner ; it is imbedded in the solid rock, which must be picked and blasted
down to get at the mineral. He strikes the rock with his pick, and it rings as though he
had struck an anvil. You can conceive how, with that strip of gleaming metal, seeming
like a magician's wand, to beckon him on and on, he could gnaw, as it were, his narrow
way for hundreds of feet through the rock. But large, indeed, you think, must be his or-
gan of hope, and resolute his perseverance, to do it with no such glittering prize in sight.
Yet such is often the case, and many a miner has toiled for years, and in the whole time
has discovered scarcely enough mineral to pay for the powder used. Hope, however, in
the breast of the miner, has as many lives as a cat, and on no day, in all his toilsome
years, could you go down into his dark and crooked hole, a hundred feet from grass and
sunshine, but he would tell you that he was "dose to it now," in a few days he hoped to
strike a lode (pronounced among miners as though it was spelled leed), and so a little
longer and a little longer, and his life of toil wears away while his work holds him with a
fascination equaled only by a gamblers' passion for his cards.
Lodes or veins of mineral in the same vicinity run in the general direction. Those in
the vicinity of Galena, run east and west. The crevice which contains the mineral, is
usually perpendicular, and from 1 to 20 feet in width, extending from the cap rock, or the
first solid rock above the mineral, to uncertain depths below, and is filled with large,
loose rocks, and a peculiar red dirt, in which are imbedded masses of mineral. These
masses are made up cubes like those formed of crystallization, and many of them as geo-
236 ILLINOIS.
metrically correct as could be made with a qompass and square. Before the mineral ig
broken, it is of the dull blue color of lead, but when broken, glistens like silver. Some-
times caves are broken into, whose roofs are frosted over with calcareous spar, as pure and
white as the frost upon the window pane in winter, and from dark crevices in the floor
comes up the gurgling of streams that never saw the sun. The life of a miner is a dark
and lonesome one. His drift is narrow, and will not admit of two abreast ; therefore,
there is but little conversation, and no jokes are bandied about from mouth to mouth, by
fellow-laborers. The alternations of hope and disappointment give, in the course of years,
a subdued expression to his countenance.
There are no certain indications by which the miner can determine the existence of a
vein of mineral without sinking a shaft. Several methods are resorted to, however. The
linear arrangement of any number of trees that are a little larger than the generality of
their neighbors, is considered an indication of an opening underground corresponding to
their arrangement. Depressions in the general surface are also favorable signs, and
among the older miners there are yet some believers in the mystic power of witch-hazel
and the divining rod. In the largest number of cases, however, but little attention is
paid to signs other than to have continuous ground — that is, to dig on the skirts of a ridge
that is of good width on top, so that any vein that might be discovered would not run out
too quickly on the other side of the ridge. On such ground the usual method of search is
by suckering, as it is called. The miner digs a dozen or more holes, about six feet deep,
and within a stone's throw of each other, and in some one of these he is likely to find a
few pieces of mineral, the dip of certain strata of clay then indicates the direction in which
he is to continue the search, in which, if he is so successful as to strike a lode, his fortune
is made ; in the other event, he is only the more certain that the lucky day is not
fax off.
North-western view of Rock Island City.
The viow shows the appearance of the city as seen from Davenport, on the opposite bank of the Missis-
sippi. The ferry landing appears on the left, the Court House and Presbyterian Churches ou the right.
ROCK ISLAND CITY, and county scat of Rock Island Co., is situated on
the Mississippi River, opposite the city of Davenport, 2 miles above the
mouth of Rock River, 178 W. by S., from Chicago, and 131 N. N. W. of
Springfield. It is at the foot of the Upper Rapids of the Mississippi, which
extend nearly 15 miles, and in low stages of water obstruct the passage of
loaded vessels. It is a flourishing manufacturing place, at the western ter-
minus of the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. Pop. 1860, 5,130.
It derives its name from an island three miles in length, the southern ex-
tremity of which is nearly opposite the town. The principal channel of the
river is on the west side of the island, while that on its eastern side has been
so dammed as to produce a vast water power above and a good harbor below.
The island forms one of the capacious buttresses of the immense railroad
ILLINOIS.
237
bridge across the Mississippi, connecting the place with Davenport, and creates
a junction between the railroad from Chicago and the Mississippi, and the Mis-
souri Railroad through Iowa.
Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island, was erected in 1816, by Lieut. Col.
Lawrence, of the United States Army. It was then in the heart of the- In-
dian country, and was the scene
of many wild exploits, both be-
fore and during the continuance
of the " Black Hawk War," The
old chief, Black Hawk, was born
in 1768, on Rock River, about
three miles from where the fort
now stands. From the time this
fortification was first constructed,
until the close of the war above
mentioned, this fort was used as
a depot of supplies, etc., and for
a long time was commanded by
Col. Z. Taylor, afterward presi-
dent of the United States.
Col. William L-iwrence, the founder of the fort, arrived here May 10, 1816,
with the 8th regiment and a company of riflemen. As soon as they had
completed their encampment, he employed the soldiers to cut logs and build
storehouses for the provisions, and had a bake house and oven put up. This
was the first regular building erected at this point.
" The soldiers now set to work to build the fort, which was named Fort Arm-
strong. At this time there lived a large body of Indians in the vicinity, number-
ing some 10,000, divided in three villages, one on the east side of the river, near
the foot of the island called 'Waupello Village;' about three miles south on the
bank of Rock River, stood the famous village of ' Black Hawk,' and on the west
side of the river was a small village named after an old brave, 'Oshkosh.' Upon
the first arrival of the troops on the Island, the Indians were very much dissatis-
fied, but the officers took great pains to gain their friendship, by making them
many presents, and they soon became reconciled and were most excellent neigh-
bors. During the first summer they would frequently bring over supplies of sweet
corn, beans, pumpkins, and such other vegetables as they raised, and present
them to Mr. Davenport and the officers, with the remarks that they had raised none,
and that they themselves had plenty, invariably refusing to take any pay."
Four AKM.sritoMi, Kocit ISLAND.
The following account of the defeat of Maj. Zachary Taylor, at Rock Is-
land, in August 1814, is from the personal narrative of Mr. J. Shaw, of Wis-
consin :
About two months after the capture of Prairie du Chien, Maj. Zachary Taylor
came up the Mississippi, with 22 fortified boats, each containing an average of
about 80 men, under his command. When the expedition arrived near Rock Is-
land, it was discovered that about 4,000 Indians bad there collected. The British
had erected a false, painted battery, on the left bank of the river, apparently
mounted with six twelve-pounders ; but in reality they had but two guns with
them, one of which was entrusted to the care of the Indians. Mr. Shaw was on
board the boat with Mr. Taylor. The battle commenced, and the first ball from
the British guns passed completely through the advance boat, on which was Tay-
lor, and ha instantly ordered it to be put about; the second ball cut off the
steering oar of the next boat that was advancing, and a strong -wind springing
up at that moment, this boat drifted over the river to the western bank, a short
distance below the present town of Davenport; the men having no oar to steer
2:jg ILLINOIS.
with, could not prevent this occurrence. About 1,000 Indians immediately took
to their canoes, and paddled over the river, expecting, no doubt, to get the boat as
a prize, as she must inevitably drift into shallow water. The Indians kept up a
constant fire on the unfortunate boat, and a number of Indians, mounted on horse-
back, came galloping down the western shore, with their guns elevated in their
right hands, gleaming in the sun, and shouting their war-cries in the most hideous
manner. On the first fire from the British guns, and immediately after the pas-
sage of the ball through the foremost boat, Maj. Taylor had ordered a retreat.
Gen. Samuel Whiteside, who had command of one of the boats, impelled with the
natural desire of assisting the disabled boat, that was drifting across the river, in-
to the power of merciless enemies, disobeyed the order, and steered toward the
disabled craft. When he approached it, he called for "some brave man to cast a
cable from his own boat on board of her." An individual, named Paul Harpole,
jumped from the disabled boat, in a most exposed situation, caught the caWe, and
made it fast to the boat. In less than a minute's time, a thousand Indians would
have been aboard of her; she was then in two and a half feet water, among small
willows, which in some measure protected the Indians. In the mean while, Har-
pole called for guns to be handed him from below; stood on the deck of the boat
completely exposed; fired no less than 14 guns, when he was eventually struck in
the forehead by a ball; he pitched forward toward the Indians, and the instant he
struck the water, the savages had hold of him, hauled him on shore, and cut him
with their knives into a hundred pieces. All this was witnessed by the other
boats, and the crippled boat having been towed off into deep water, the whole body
retreated, and descended the Mississippi.
Fort Armstrong was finally evacuated by the United States troops, May
4, 1836. Col. Davenport had a fine situation near the fort, about half a
mile distant. At first he supplied the fort with provisions, and was after-
ward extensively engaged in the Indian trade. He was murdered, at the
age of 62, while alone in his house, on the island, on July 4, 1845, by a
band of robbers. The following account is from "Wilkies" Hist, of Daven-
port, Past and Present : "
On last Friday afternoon we were witness to a strange and interesting ceremony
performed by the Indians, over the remains of Mr. Davenport, who was murdered
at his residence on Rock Island, on the 4th inst. Upon preceding to the beautiful
spot selected as his last resting place, in the rear of his mansion on Rock Island,
we found the war chief and braves of the band of Fox Indians, then encamped in
the vicinity of this place, reclining on the grass around his grave, at the head of
which was planted a white cedar post, some seven or eight feet in hight.
The ceremony began by two of the braves rising and walking to the post, upon
which, with paint, they began to inscribe certain characters, while a third brave,
armed with an emblematic war club, after drinking to the health of the deceased,
from a cup placed at the base of the post, walked three times around the grave, in
an opposite direction to the course of the sun, at each revolution delivering a
speech with sundry gestures and emphatic motions in the direction of the north-
east. When he had ceased, he passed the club to another brave, who went through
the same ceremony, passing but once around the grave, and so in succession with
each one of the braves. This ceremony, doubtless, would appear pantomimic to
one unacquainted with the habits or language of the Indians, but after a full in-
terpretation of their proceedings, they would be found in character with this tra-
ditionary people.
In walking around the grave in a contrary direction to the course of the sun,
they wished to convey the idea that the ceremony was an original one. In their
speeches they informed the Great Spirit that Mr. Davenport was their friend, and
t! ey wished the Great Spirit to open the door to him, and to take charge of him.
The enemies whom they had slain, they called upon to act in capacity of waiters
to Mr. Davenport, in the spirit land — they believing that they have unlimited power
over the spirits of those whom they have slain in battle. Their gestures toward
the north-east, were made in allusion to their great enemies, the Sioux, who live
ILLINOIS. 239
in that direction. They recounted their deeds of battle, with the number that
they had slain and taken prisoners. Upon the post were painted, in hieroglyphics,
the number of the enemy that they had slain, those taken prisoners, together with
the tribe and station of the brave. For instance, the feats of Wau-co-shaw-she, the
chief, were thus portrayed: Ten headless figures were painted, which signified
that he had killed ten men. Four others were then addeed, one of them smaller
than the others, signifying that he had taken four prisoners, one of whom was a
child. A line was then run from one figure to another, terminating in a plume,
signifying that all had been accomplished by a chief. A fox was then painted
over the plume, which plainly told that the chief was of the Fox tribe of Indians.
These characters are so expressive, that if an Indian of any tribe whatsover were
to see them, he would at once understand them.
Following the sign of Pau-tau-co-to, who thus proved himself a warrior of high
degree, were placed 20 headless figures, being the number of Sioux that he. had
slain.
The ceremony of painting the post was followed by a feast, prepared for the oc-
casion, which by them was certainly deemed the most agreeable part of the pro-
ceedings. Meats, vegetables, and pies, were served up in such profusion that
many armsful of the fragments were carried off" — it being a part of the ceremony,
which is religiously observed, that all the victuals left upon such an occasion are
to be taken to their homes. At a dog feast, which is frequently given by them-
selves, and to which white men are occasionally invited, the guest is either obliged
to eat all that is placed before him, or hire some other person to do so, else it ia
considered a great breach of hospitality.
Distant view of Nauvoo.
The view shows the appearance of Nauvoo, as it is approached when sailing up the Mississippi.
NAUVOO, Hancock county, is 103 miles N. W. by W. from Springfield;
52 above Quincy, and 220 above St. Louis. It is laid out on an extensive
plan, on one of the most beautiful sites on the river for a city. In conse-
quence of a graceful curve of the Mississippi, it bounds the town on the
north-west, west, and south-west. The ground rises gradually from the
water to a considerable hight, presenting a smooth and regular surface, with
a broad plain at the summit. The place has now about 1,500 inhabitants,
the majority of whom are Germans; there are, also, French and American
settlers. The inhabitants have fine gardens, wine is manufactured, and many
cattle are raised.
Nauvoo, originally the village of Commerce, is noted as the site of the Mor-
mon city, founded by Joseph Smith, in 1840. The population, at one time,
when under the Mormon rule, was estimated at about 18,000. The dwell-
ings were mostly log cabins, or small frame houses. The great Mormon
Temple — the remains of which are still, by far, the most conspicuous object
in the place — was 128 feet long. 88 feet M'ide, and 65 feet high to the cor-
2 tO ILLINOIS.
nice, and 163 feet to the top of the cupola. It would accommodate an as-
semblage of 3,000 persons. It was built of polished limestone resembling
marble, and obtained on the spot. The architecture, in its main features,
resembled the Doric. In the basement of the temple was a large stone basin
or baptistry, supported by 12 oxen of a colossal size ; it was about 15 feet
high, altogether of white stone and well carved. This building, at that time,
without an equal at the west, was fired October 9, 1848, and for the most
part reduced to a heap of ruins.
It is believed that Capt. White erected the first building in the place, a
log cabin near the river, about a mile westward of where the temple after-
ward stood. Mr. Gallard brought out Capt. White ; he lived in a two story
house near the log cabin. Smith, the Mormon, when he first came to Nauvoo,
put up with Mr. G. : he purchased about a mile square of territory. He
built the Mansion House near the river. Smith's widow, who is described
as amiable and intelligent, married Maj. Bideman. The Mormon Church
property was sold to a company of French socialists, about 600 in number,
under M. Cabot, for about $20,000. It appears that many of the French
are leaving the place, finding that they can do better elsewhere, individually,
than by living in common with others.
After the Mormons had been driven from Missouri, the people of Illinois
received them with great kindness. When they had established themselves
at Nauvoo, the legislature granted them extraordinary powers, and the city
laws, in some respects, became superior to those of the state. Under these
laws, difficulties ensued. Smith acted as mayor, general of the Nauvoo Le-
gion, keeper of the Nauvoo Hotel, and as their religious prophet, whose will
was law. Smith, and some others, forcibly opposed the process issued against
them for a riot. The people were aroused at their resistance, and deter-
mined that the warrants should be executed. In June 1844, some 3,000
militia 'from the adjacent country, and bands from Missouri and Iowa, as-
sembled in the vicinity of Nauvoo. Gov. Ford hastened to the spot to pre-
vent blood-shed. On the 24th, Gen. Joseph Smith, the prophet, and his
brother, Gen. Hyrum Smith, having received assurances of protection from
the governor, surrendered, and went peaceably to prison, at Carthage, to
await their trial for treason. On the evening of the 27th, the guard of the
jail were surprised by a mob of some 200 men disguised, who overpowered
them, broke down the door, rushed into the room of the prisoners, fired at
random, severely wounding Taylor, editor of the Nauvoo Neighbor. They
finished by killing the two Smiths, after which they returned to their
homes.
In Sept. 1845, the old settlers of Hancock county, exasperated by the
lawless conduct of the Mormons, determined to drive them from the state,
and commenced by burning their farm houses, scattered through the county.
The result was, that they were compelled to agree to emigrate beyond the
settled parts of the United States. On the 16th of September, 1846, the
Anti-Mormons took possession of Nauvoo. Whatever doubts might have
then existed abroad, as to the justice of the course pursued by them, it is now
evident by the subsequent history of the Mormons, that they are, as a people,
governed by doctrines which render them too infamous to dwell in the heart
of civilized communities.
Rev. Peter Cartwright, the celebrated pioneer Methodist itinerant of UK-
ILLINOIS. 241
nois, gives this amusing account of an interview he had with Joe Smith, the
father of Mormonism :
At an early day after they were driven from Missouri and took up their residence
in Illinois, it fell to my lot to become acquainted with Joe Smith, personally, and
with many of their leading men and professed followers. On a certain occasion L
fell in witli Joe Smith, and was formally and officially introduced to him in Spring-
field, then our county town. We soon fell into a free conversation on the, subject
of religion, and Mormonism in particular. I found him to be a very illiterate and
impudent desperado in morals, but, at the same time, he had a vast fund of low
cunning.
In the first place, he made his onset on me by flattery, and he laid on the soft
eodder thick and fast He expressed great and almost unbounded pleasure in the
high privilege of becoming acquainted with me, one of whom he had heard so
many great and good things, and he had no doubt I was one among God's noblest
creatures, an honest man. He believed that among all the churches in the world,
the Methodist was nearest right, and that, as far as they went, they were right
Hut they had stopped short by not claiming the gift of tongues, of prophecy, and
of miracles, and then quoted a batch of scripture to prove his positions correct
Upon the whole, he did pretty well for clumsy Joe. I gave him rope, as the sail-
ors say, and, indeed, I seemed to lay this flattering unction pleasurably to my
Boul.
" Indeed," said Joe, " if the Methodists would only advance a step or two further,
they would take the world. We Latter-day Saints are Methodists, as far as they
have gone, only we have advanced further, and if you would come in and go with
us, we could sweep not only the Methodist Church, but all others, and you would
be looked up to as one of the Lord's greatest prophets. You would ' be honored
by countless thousands, and have, of the good things of this world, all that heart
could wish."
I then began to inquire into some of the tenets of the Latter-day Saints. He
explained. 1 criticized his explanations, till, unfortunately, we got into high de-
bate, and he cunningly concluded that his first bait would not take, for he plainly
saw I was not to be flattered out of common sense and honesty. The next pass he
made at me was to move upon my fears. He said that in all ages of the world,
the good and right way was evil spoken of, and that it was an awful thing to fight
against God.
"Now," said he, "if you will go with me to Nauvoo, I will show you many living
witnesses that will testify that they were, by the Saints, cured of blindness, lame-
ness, deafness, dumbness, and all the diseases that human flesh is heir to; and I
will show you," said he, " that we have the gift of tongues, and can speak in un-
known languages, and that the Saints can drink any deadly poison, and it will not
hurt them ; " and closed by saying, " the idle stories you hear about us are noth»
ing but sheer persecution.'
J then gave him the following history of an encounter I had at a camp-meeting
in Morgan county, some time before, with some of his Mormons, and assured him
1 could prove all I said by thousands that were present
The camp meeting was numerously attended, and we had a good and gracious
work of religion going on among the people. On Saturday there came some
20 or 30 Mormons to the meeting. During the intermission after the eleven
o'clock sermon, they cellected in one corner of the encampment, and began to
sing, they sang well. As fast as the people rose from their dinners they drew up
to hear the singing, and the scattering crowd drew until a large company sur-
rounded them. 1 was busy regulating matters connected with the meeting. At
length, according, I have no doubt, to a preconcerted plan, an old lady Mormon
began to shout, and after shouting a while she swooned away and fell into the
arms of her husband. The old man proclaimed that his wife had gone into a
trance, and that when she came to she would speak in an unknown tongue, and
that he would interpret This proclamation produced considerable excitement,
and the multitude crowded thick around. Presently the old lady arose and be-
gan to speak in an unknown tongue, sure enough,
16
242 ILLINOIS.
Just then my attention was called to the matter. I saw in one moment that
the whole maneuver was intended to bring the Mormons into notice, and break up
the good of our meeting. I advanced, instantly, toward the crowd, and asked the
people to give way and let me in to this old lady, who was then being held in the
arms of her husband. I came right up to them, and took hold of her arm, and or-
dered her peremptorily to hush that gibberish ; that I would have no more of it ; that
it was presumptuous, and blasphemous nonsense. I stopped very suddenly her
unknown tongue. She opened her eyes, took me by the hand, and said:
" My dear friend, T have a message directly from God to you." I stopped her
abort, and said, " 1 will have none of your messages. If God can speak through
no better medium than an old, hypocritical, lying woman, I will hear nothing of
it." Her husband, who was to be the interpreter of her message, flew into a mighty
rage, and said, ''Sir, this is my wife, and J will defend her at the risk of my life. '
I replied, "Sir, this is my camp-meeting, and L will maintain the good order of it
at the risk of my life. If this is your wife, take her off from here, and clear your-
selves in five minutes, or 1 will have you under guard."
The old lady slipped out and was off quickly. The old man stayed a little, and
began to pour a tirade of abuse on me. 1 stopped him short, and said, "Not an-
other word of abuse from you, sir. I have no doubt you are an old thief, and if
your back was examined, no doubt you carry the marks of the cowhide for your
villainy." And sure enough, as if I had spoken by inspiration, he, in some of the
old states, had been lashed to the whipping-post for stealing, and I tell you, the old
man began to think other persons had visions besides his wife, but he was very
clear from wishing to interpret my unknown tongue. To cap the climax, a young
gentleman stepped up and said he had no doubt all I said of this old man was true,
and much more, for he had caught him stealing corn out of his father's crib. By
this time, such was the old man's excitement, that the great drops of sweat ran
down his face, and he called out,
"Don't crowd me, gentlemen, it is mighty warm."
Said I, " Open the way, gentlemen, and let him out." When the way was
opened, I cried, " Now start, and don't show your face here again, nor one of the
Mormons. If you do, you will get Lynch! s law." They all disappeared, and our
meeting went on prosperously, a great many were converted to God, and the church
was much revived and built up in her holy faith.
My friend, Joe Smith, became very restive before T got through with my narra-
tive ; and when I closed, his wrath boiled over, and he cursed me in the name of
his God, and said, " I will show you, sir, that I will raise up a government in these
United States which will overturn the present government, and I will raise up a
new religion that will overturn every other form of religion in this country ! "
"Yes,1 said I, "Uncle Joe, but my Bible tells me 'the bloody and deceitful matt
shall not live out half his days,' and 1 expect the Lord will send the devil after you
some of these days, and take you out of the way."
"No, sir," said he, "I shall live and prosper, while you will die in your sins."
" Well, sir," said I, " if you live and prosper, you must quit your stealing and
abominable whoredoms ! "
Thus we parted, to meet no more on earth; for, in a few years after this, an
outraged and deeply injured people took the law into their own hands, and killed
him, and drove the Mormons from the state. They should be considered and
treated as outlaws in every country and clime. The two great political parties
in the state were nearly equal, and these wretched Mormons, for several years,
held the balance of power, and they were always in market to the highest bidder.
and I have often been put to the blush to see our demagogues and stump orators,
from both political parties, courting favors from the Mormons, to gain a triumph in
an election.
Great blame has been attached to the state, the citizens of Hancock conn in
which Nauvoo is situated, as well as other adjoining counties, for the part tliey
acted in driving the Mormons from among them. But it should be remembered
they had no redress at law, for it is beyond all doubt that the Mormons would
swear anything, true or false. They stole the stock, plundered and burned the
houses and barns of the citizens, and there is no doubt they privately murdered
ILLINOIS.
243
some of the best people in the county; and owing to the perjured evidence al-
ways at their command, it was impossible to have any legal redress. If it had
not been for this state of things, Joe Smith would not have been killed, and
they would not have been driven with /violence from the state. Repeated efforts
were made to get redress for these wrongs and outrages, but all to no purpose;
and the wonder is, how the people bore as long as they did with the outrageous
villainies practiced on them, without a resort to violent measures.
View of Mt. Joliet.
JOLIET is a thriving town, the county seat of Will co., situated on both
sides of the Des Plaines River, and on the Illinois and Michigan canal, 148
miles N. E. by N. from Springfield, 280 from Detroit, and 40 S. W. from
Chicago. It was formerly known on the maps as " McGree's mill dam."
On the eastern side of the river the city extends over a plain of considerable
extent, rising as it recedes from the river. Upon the western side the land
is formed into bluffs, beneath which is one of the principal streets. It
is an important station on the Chicago and Rock Island, and the Chicago,
Alton, and St. Louis Railroads, and is connected directly with the east by
Joliet and Northern (cut-off) Railroads. The river affords valuable water
power for mills. It is the center of considerable commerce, several manu-
factories; and in its vicinity is a rich farming country, and valuable quar-
ries of building stone. The new state penitentiary is in the vicinity. Popu-
ation about 7,000.
Joliet received its name from Mt. Joliet, a mound supposed to be an arti-
ficial elevation, situated about two and a half miles S. W. of the court house
in this place, and so called from Louis Joliet, who was born of French pa-
rents, at Quebec, in 1673. He was commissioned by M. de Frontenac to
discover the Great River, some affluents of which had been visited by mis-
sionaries and traders. Joliet chose, for his companion, Father M<trqiiette,
whose name was thus connected with the discovery of the Mississippi.
The first dwellings erected in this place was a log house built by Charles Reed,
about half a mile north-west of the court house, back of the blufF, and the house
erected by James McGee, from Kentucky, near the National Hotel. The original
plat of the town was laid out by James K Campbell, in 1834. West Joliet, by
Martin H. Deinmond, in Jan. 183"); East Joliet by Albert W. Bowen.in Feb. 1S35,
since which time in;my additions have been made. The city of Joliet was incor-
244 ILLINOIS.
/
porated in 1852. The first house of worship was erected by the Methodists, in
1838, about 15 rods south-west of the court house: it is now used for an engine
house. The Catholic Church, still standing, was commenced the next year. The
first Episcopal Church was organized in 1838, their house was erected in 1857.
The Congregational Church was organized in 1844; the present Congregational
and Methodist Church buildings were erected in 1857. The Universalists
erected their first house in 1845; the Baptists about 1855.
The Joliet Courier, now called Joliet Signal, was first printed by Gregg and
Hudson, about 1836 or '37; the True Democrat, the second paper, was established
in 1847, by A. Mackintosh, from New York. The first regular school house, a
stone building now standing in Clinton-street, was built in 1843, at a cost of
$700, considered at that time an extravagant expenditure. Among the first
settlers on the east side of the river, were Dr. Albert W. Bowen, from N. Y., the
first physician; Edward Perkins, Oneida Co., N. Y. ; Kobert Shoemaker, Thomas
Blackburn, Richard Hobbs, from Ohio; Joel A. Matteson, since governor of the
state ; Daniel Wade, of Penn., and Lyman White, of N. Y. On the west side, Mar-
tin H. Demmond, from N. Y. ; James McKee, or Gee, from Kentucky; ,lohn Cur-
ry, G. H. Woodruff, Deac. Josiah Beaumont, John J. Garland, Deac. Chauncy,
from N. Y. ; Charles Clement, from New Hampshire, and K. J. Cunningham, from
Maryland.
La Salle, is a flourishing city, on the right bank of Illinois River, at the
head of steamboat navigation, one mile above Peru, and at the terminus of
the Illinois Canal, 100 miles long, connecting it with Chicago. It has a
ready communication, both with the northern and southern markets, by rail-
road, canal and river, the latter of which is navigable at all stages of water.
At this point the Illinois Central Railroad crosses the Chicago and Rock
Island Railroad. This place has great facilities for trade and manufactures.
A substantial railroad bridge, 900 feet in length, crosses the Illinois at La
Salle. An extensive establishment for the manufacture of flint glass is in
operation here, under the charge of a French gentleman. Large warehouses
line the river bank, and the dwellings occupy the high bluffs a little back.
The surrounding country is highly productive, and contains extensive beds
of bituminous coal, which is extensively mined. The city of Peru received
its charter in 1851: it is separated from La Salle by only an imaginary line.
Its manufacturing interests are well developed. The two cities are in effect
one, so far as regards advantages of business, and are nearly equal in popu-
lation. Peru and La Salle have several fine educational institutions, 11
churches, 5 weekly newspapers, and about 7,000 inhabitants.
Dixon, the capital of Lee county, is beautifully situated on the banks of
Rock River, at the junction of a branch of the Galena Railroad, with the
Illinois Central, 98 miles west of Chicago. It has about 5,000 inhabitants.
Dunleith, a smaller town, is the north-western terminus of the Illinois
Central Railroad, on the Mississippi opposite Dubuque.
Kankakee City is a fine town of 3,500 inhabitants, 56 miles south of Chi-
cago, on Kankakee River and Illinois Central Railroad, and at a spot that a
few years since had not a single dwelling.
St. Anne, on the Central Railroad, in Kankakee county, is a colony of
800 French Canadian emigrants, under the pastoral care of Father Chiniquy,
originally a Catholic priest, who, with his people, have embraced Protest-
antism. Each settler has about 40 acres, and their farms are laid along par-
allel roads, at right angles to the railroad. They exhibit signs of careful
cultivation, and the village and church of the colony are prettily situated
near the woods on the riverside. In the three years prior to 1860, the crops
of these people were cut off, and but for benevolent aid they would have per-
ished from famine.
ILLINOIS. 245
Decatur, in Macon county, at the junction of the Illinois Central with the
Toledo, Wabash and Great Western railroad, is a substantial, thriving little
city, within a few miles of the geographical center of the state. It is the
seat of a large internal trade and extensive domestic manufactures, and has
about 6000 inhabitants. An effort has been made to create it the state
capital.
Vandalia, capital of Fayette county, is on Kankakee River and Illinois
Central Railroad, 80 miles south-easterly from Springfield. It was laid out
in 1818, and until 1836 was the capital of Illinois. It is a small village.
Sandoval is a new town, on the prairies, 230 miles from Chicago, and 60
from St. Louis. It is a great railroad center, at the point where intersect the
Illinois Central and Ohio and Mississippi Railroads. "Here east meets west,
and north meets south in the thundering conflict of propulsive motion, energy
and speed."
Elgin, Waukegan, St. Charles, Sterling, Moline, Naperville, Urbana, Bel-
videre, Batavia, Aurora, Abingdon, Macomb, Belleville^ Sycamore, and Otta-
wa are all thriving towns, mostly in the northern part of the state, the largest
of which may have 5,000 inhabitants.
A few miles below Ottawa, on the Illinois River, are the picturesque hights
of the Illinois, called the Starved Rock and the Lover's Leap. Starved Rock
is a grand perpendicular limestone cliff, 150 feet in hight. It was named in
memory of the fate of a party of Illinois Indians, who died on the rock
from thirst, when besieged by the Pottawatomies. Lover's Leap is a pre-
cipitous ledge just above Starved Rock, and directly across the river is
Buffalo Rock, a hight of 100 feet. This eminence, though very steep on the
water side, slopes easily inland. The Indians were wont to drive the buffa-
loes in frightened herds to and over its awful brink. '
246 ILLINOIS.
MISCELLANIES.
THE BLACK HAWK WAR.
The following account of the " Black Hawk war" is taken from Mr. Peck's
edition of Perkins' Annals:
In the year 1804, Gen. Harrison made a treaty with the Sacs and Foxes— two
tribes united as one — by which they ceded the lands east of the Mississippi, to the
United States; but to these lands they had no original right, even in the Indian
sense, as they were intruders on the country of the Santeaurs and lowas. By this
treaty, they were permitted to reside and hunt upon these lands, until sold for set-
tlement by the government
This treaty was reconfirmed by the Indians, in the years 1815 and 1816. Black
Hawk, who was never a chief, but merely an Indian brave, collected a few disaf-
fected spirits, and refusing to attend the negotiations of 1816, went to Canada,
proclaimed himself and party British, and received presents from them.
The treaty of 1804, was again ratified in 1822, by the Sacs and Foxes, in "full
council," at Fort Armstrong, Rock Island, on the Mississippi. In 1825, another
treaty was held at Prairie du Chien, with the Indians, by William Clark and Lewis
Cass, for the purpose of bringing about a peace, between the Sacs and Foxes, the
Chippewas and the lowas on the one hand, and the Sioux and Dacotahs on the
other. Hostilities continuing, the United States, in 1827, interfered between the
contending tribes. This offended the Indians, who thereupon murdered two whites
in the vicinity of Prairie du Chien, and attacked two boats on the Mississippi, con-
veying supplies to Fort Snelling, and killed and wounded several of the crews.
Upon this, Gen. Atkinson marched into the Winnebago country, and made prison-
ers of .Red Bird and six others, who were imprisoned at Prairie du Chien. , A part
of those arrested, were convicted on trial, and in December of the following year
(1828) executed. Among those discharged for want of proof, was Black Hawk,
then about sixty years of age.
About this time, the president issued a proclamation, according to. law, and the
country, about the mouth of Rock River, which had been previously surveyed,
was sold, and the year following, was taken possession of by American families.
Some time previous to this, after the death of old Quashquame, Keokuk was ap-
pointed chief of the Sac nation. The United States gave due notice to the Indians
to leave the country east of the Mississippi, and Keokuk made the same proclama-
tion to the Sacs, and a portion of the nation, with their regular chiefs, with Keo-
kuk at their head, peaceably retired across the Mississippi. Up to this period.
Black Hawk continued his annual visits to Maiden, and received his annuity for
allegiance to the British government. He would not recognize Keokuk as chief,
but gathered about him all the restless spirits of his tribe, many of whom were
young, and fired with the ambition of becoming "braves," and set up himself for a
chief. .
Black Hawk was not a Pontiac, or a Tecumseh. He had neither the talent nor
the influence to form any comprehensive scheme of action, yet he made an abor-
tive attempt to unite all the Indians of the west, from Rock River to Mexico, in a
war against the United States.
Still another treaty, and the seventh in succession, was made with the Sacs and
Foxes, on the 15th of July, 1830, in which they again confirmed the preceding
treaties, and promised to remove from Illinois to the territory west of the Mis-
sissippi. This was no new cession, but a recognition of the former treaties by
the proper authorities of the nation, and a renewed pledge of fidelity to the United
Statea
During all this time, Black Hawk was gaining accessions to his party. Like
Tecumseh, he, too, had his Prophet — whose influence over the superstitious savages
was not without effect
In 1830, an arrangement was made by the Americans who had purchased the
land above the mouth of Rock River, and the Indians that remained, to live as
neighbors, the latter cultivating their old fields. Their inclosures consisted of
stakes stuck in the ground, and small poles tied with strips of bark transversely.
ILLINOIS. 247
The Indians left for their summer's hunt, and returned when their corn was in
the milk — gathered it, and turned their horses into the fields cultivated by the
Americans, to gather their crop. Some depredations were committed on their hogs
and other property. The Indians departed on their winter's hunt, but returned
early in the spring of 1831, under the guidance of Black Hawk, and committed
depredations on the frontier settlements. Their leader was a cunning, shrewd In-
dian, and trained his party to commit various depredations on the property of the
frontier inhabitants, but not to attack, or kill any person. His policy was to pro-
voke the Americans to make war on him, and thus seem to fight in defense of In-
dian rights, and the " graves of their fathers." Numerous affidavits, from persons
of unquestionable integrity, sworn to before the proper officers, were made out and
sent to Gov. Reynolds, attesting to these and many other facts.
Black Hawk had about five hundred Indians in training, with horses, well pro-
vided with arms, and invaded the state of Illinois with hostile designs. These facts
were known to the governor and other officers of the state. Consequently, Gov.
Reynolds, on the 28th of May, 1831, made a call for volunteers, and communicated
the facts to Gen. Gaines, of this military district, and made a call for regular troops.
The state was invaded by a hostile band of savages, under an avowed enemy of
the United States. The military turned out to the number of twelve hundred or
more, on horseback, and under command of the late Gen. Joseph Duncan, marched
to Rock River.
The regular troops went up the Mississippi in June. Black Hawk and his men,
alarmed at this formidable appearance, recrossed the Mississippi, sent a white flag,
and made a treaty, in which the United States agreed to furnish them a large
amount of corn and other necessaries, if they would observe the treaty.
In the spring of 1832, Black Hawk, with his party, again crossed the Mississippi
to the valley of Rock River, notwithstanding he was warned against doing so by
Gen. Atkinson, who commanded at Fort Armstrong, in Rock Island. Troops, both
regular and militia, were at once mustered and marched in pursuit of the native
band. Among the troops was a party of volunteers under Major Stillman, who, on
the 14th of May, was out on a tour of observation, and close in the neighborhood
of the savages. On that evening, having discovered a party of ^Indians, the whites
galloped forward to attack the savage band, but were met with so much energy and
determination, that they took to their heels in utter consternation. The whites
were 175 in number; the Indians from five to six hundred. Of this party, twenty-
five followed the retreating battalion, after night for several miles. Eleven whites
were killed and shockingly mangled, and several wounded. Some four or five In-
dians were known to be killed. This action was at Stillman's run, in the eastern
part of Ogle county, about twenty-five miles above Dixon.
Peace was now hopeless, and although Keokuk, the 1'egitimate chief of the na-
tion, controlled a majority, the temptation of war and plunder was too strong for
those who followed Black Hawk.
On the 21st of May, a party of warriors, about seventy in number, attacked the
Indian Creek settlement in La Salle county, Illinois, killed fifteen persons, and took
two young women prisoners ; these were afterward returned to their friends, late
in July, through the efforts of the Winnebagoes. On the following day, a party
of spies was attacked and four of them slain, and other massacres followed.
Meanwhile 3,000 Illinois militia had been ordered out, who rendezvoused upon the
20th of June, near Peru; these marched forward to the Rock River, where they
were joined by the United States troops, the whole being under command of Gen.
Atkinson. Six hundred mounted men were also ordered out, while Gen. Scott,
with nine companies of artillery, hastened from the seaboard by the way of the
lakes to Chicago, moving with such celerity that some of his troops, we are told,
actually went 1,800 miles in eighteen days; passing in that time from Fort Mon-
roe, on the Chesapeake, to Chicago. Long before the artillerists could reach the •
scene of action, however, the western troops had commenced the conflict in earn-
est, and before they did reach the field, had closed it. On the 24th of June, Black
Hawk and his two hundred warriors were repulsed by Major Demint, with but one
hundred and fifty militia: this skirmish took place between Rock River and Ga-
lena. The army then continued to move up Rock River, near the heads of which,
248 ILLINOIS.
it was understood -that the main party of the hostile Indians was collected; and
as provisions were scarce, and hard to convey in such a country, a detachment was
sent forward to Fort Winnebago, at the portage between the Wisconsin and Fox
Rivers, to procure supplies. This detachment, hearing of Black Hawk's army,
pursued and overtook them on the 21st of July, near the Wisconsin River, and in
the neighborhood of the Blue Mounds. Gen. Henry, who commanded the party,
formed with his troops three sides of a hollow square, and in that order received
the attack of the Indians ; two attempts to break the ranks were made by the na-
tives in vain ; and then a general charge was made by the whole body of Ameri-
cans, and with such success that, it is said, fifty-two of the red men were left dead
upon the field, while but one American was killed and eight wounded.
Before this action, Henry had sent word of his motions to the main army,- by
whom he was immediately rejoined, and on the 28th of July, the whole crossed the
Wisconsin in pursuit of Black Hawk, who was retiring toward the Mississippi.
Upon the bank of that river, nearly opposite the Upper Iowa, the Indians were
overtaken and again defeated, on the 2d of August, with a loss of one hundred and
fifty men, while of the whites but eighteen fell. This battle entirely broke the
power of Black Hawk ; he fled, but was seized by the Winnebagoes, and upon the
27th, was delivered to the officers of the United States, at Prairie du Chien.
Gen. Scott, during the months of July and August, was contending with a worse
than Indian foe. The Asiatic cholera had just reached Canada; passing up the
St. Lawrence to Detroit, it overtook the western-bound armament, and thenceforth
the camp became a hospital. On the 8th of July, his thinned ranks landed at Fort
Dearborn or Chicago, but it was late in August before they reached the Mississippi.
The number of that band who died from the cholera, must have been at least seven
times as great as that of all who fell in battle. There were several other skir-
mishes of the troops with the Indians, and a number of individuals murdered;
making in all about seventy-five persons killed in these actions, or murdered on the
frontiers.
In September, the Indian troubles were closed by a treaty, which relinquished
to the white men thirty millions of acres of land, for which stipulated annuities
were to be paid ; constituting now the eastern portion of the state of Iowa, to
which the only real claim of the Sacs and Foxes, was their depredations on the
unoffending lowas, about 140 years since. To Keokuk and his party, a reserva-
tion of forty miles square was given, in consideration of his fidelity ; while Black
Hawk and his family were sent as hostages to Fort Monroe, in the Chesapeake,
where they remained until June, 1833. The chief afterward returned to his na-
tive wilds, where he died. ^
CAVE IN-ROCK. * P J I
On the Ohio River, in Hardin county, a few miles above Elizabethtown, near the
south- eastern corner of the state, is a famous cavern, known as Cave-in-Rock. Its
entrance is a semi-circular arch of about 80 feet span and 25 feet in hight, and
ascending gradually from the bed of the river, it penetrates to the distance of
nearly 200 feet. This cave, in early times, was the terror of the boatmen on the
Ohio, for it was one of the haunts of Mason and his band of outlaws, whose acts
of murder upon travelers through the wilderness are elsewhere detailed in this
work. The pioneers of the west suffered greatly from the desperadoes, who in-
fested the country in the early stages of its history. And there have not been
wanting, even in more recent times, instances in which bands of villains have been
formed to set all law at defiance by preying upon society.
About the year 1820, the southern counties of Illinois contained a gang of horse
thieves, so numerous and well organized as to defy punishment by legal means, un-
til a company of citizens was formed, called "regulators," who, taking the law into
• their own hands, at last drove the felons from the neighborhood. In 1841, a gang
oi' these scoundrels existed in Ogle county and its vicinity, in the Rock River coun-
trv. Win. Cullen Bryant was traveling there at the time, and in his published
volume of letters, gives, substantially, this narrative of their operations :
The thieves were accustomed to select the best animals from the drove, and these
vere passed from one station to another, until they arrived at some distant market,
ILLINOIS.
249
where they were sold. They had their regular lines of communication from Wis-
consin to St. Louis, and from the Wabash to the Mississippi. In Ogle county, it is
said they had a justice of the peace and a constable among their associates, and
they contrived always to secure a friend on the jury whenever one of their num-
oer was tried. Trial after trial had taken place at Dixon, the county seat, and it
had been found impossible to obtain a conviction on the clearest evidence, until in
Cave-in- Rock, on the Ohio.
April of this year, when two horse thieves being on trial, eleven of the jury threat-
ened the twelfth juror with a taste of the cowskin, unless he would bring in a-
verdict of guilty. He did so, and the men were condemned. Before they were
removed to the state prison, the court house, a fine building, just erected at an ex-
pense of $20,000, was burnt ^down, and the jail was in flames, but luckily they
were extinguished without tlie liberation of the pnsoners. Such, at length, be-
came the feeling of insecurity, that 300 citizens of Ogle, De Kalb and Winnebago
counties formed themselves into a company of volunteers, for the purpose of clear-
ing the country of these scoundrels. The patrons of the thieves lived at some
of the finest groves, where they owned large farms. Ten or twenty stolen horses
would be brought to one of these places of a night, and before sunrise, the despera-
does employed to steal them were again mounted and on their way to some other
station. In breaking up these haunts, the regulators generally proceeded with
some of the formalities commonly used in administering justice, the accused being
allowed to make a defense, and witnesses examined both for and against him.
At this time, there lived at Washington Grove, in (Ogle county, one Bridge, a no-
torious confederate and harborer of horse thieves and counterfeiters. In July two
horse thieves had been flogged, and Bridge received a notice from the regulators
that he must leave the county by the 17th, or become a proper subject for the
lynch law. Thereupon he came into Dixon, and asked for assistance to defend
his person and dwelling from the lawless violence of these men. The people of
Dixon then came together, and passed a resolution to the effect that they fully ap-
proved of what the association had done, and that they allowed Air. Bridges the
term of four hours to depart from the town. He went away immediately, and in
great trepidation, but made preparations to defend himself. He kept 20 armed
men about his place for two days, but thinking, at last, that the regulators did not
mean to carry their thrents into execution, he dismissed them. The regulators
subsequently removed his family, and demolished his dwelling.
Not long after, two men, mounted and carrying rifles, called at the residence of
250 ILLINOIS.
a Mr. Campbell, living at Whiterock Grove, in Ogle county, who belonged to too
company of regulators, and who acted as the messenger to convey to Bridges the
order to leave the county. Meeting Mrs. Campbell without the house, they toid
her that they wished to speak to her husband. Campbell made his appearance *t
the door, and immediately both the men fired. He fell, mortally wounded, and dihd
in a few minutes. "You have killed my husband," said Mrs. Campbell to one of
the murderers, whose name was Driscoll. Upon this they rode off at full speed.
As soon as the event was known, the whole country was roused, and every man
who was not an associate of the horse thieves, shouldered his rifle to go in pursuit
of the murderers. ' They apprehended the father of Driscoll, a man nearly 70
years of age, and one of his sons, William Driscoll, the former a reputed horse
thief, and the latter a man who had hitherto born a tolerably fair character, and
subjected them to a separate examination. The father was wary in his answers,
and put on the appearance of perfect innocence, but William Driscoll was greatly
agitated, and confessed that he, with his father and others, had planned the mur-
der of Campbell, and that David Driscoll, his brother, together with another asso-
ciate, was employed to execute it The father and son were then sentenced to
death; they were bound and made to kneel. About 50 men took aim at each, and
in three hours from the time they were taken, they were both dead men. A pit
was dug on the spot where they fell, in the midst of the prairie near their dwelling.
Their corpses, pierced with bullet holes in every part, were thrown in, and the
earth was heaped over them.
The pursuit of David Driscoll, and the fellow who was with him when Campbell
was killed, went on wifh great activity, more than a hundred men traversed the
country in every direction, determined that no lurking place should hide them.
The upshot was, that the Driscoll family lost another member, and the horse thieves
and their confederates were driven from the country.
Within a very few years, the thinly settled parts of Iowa have suffered from like
organized gangs of horse thieves, until the people were obliged to resort to a like
summary process of dispelling the nuisance. To the isolated settler in a wilder-
ness country, living many a long mile from neighbors, the horse is of a peculiar
value, elsewhere unknown. So keenly is the robbery of these animals felt, that,
in the failure of ordinary penalties to stop the perpetration of this crime, public
opinion justifies the generally recognized "Frontier Law" that DEATH is to be
meted out to horse thieves.
MICHIGAN.
THE discovery and early settlement of Michigan is due to the French
whose motives were the prosecution of the fur trade, and, incidentally, the
conversion of the Indians. To pro-
mote the latter object, Father Sagard
reached Lake Huron in 1632, seven
years after the founding of Quebec,
but the present site of the city of
Detroit appears to have been visited
somewhat earlier. The tract of ter-
ritory now embraced in the state of
Michigan, derives its name, it is said,
from the Indian word, Michi-sawg-ye-
gan, the meaning of which, in the
Algonquin tongue, is, the Lake
Country.
The Huron tribe of Indians were
the aboriginal inhabitants of Michi-
gan. They were anciently very nu-
merous, brave and powerful, and their
settlements extended as far north as
Lake Superior. As early as 1634,
the French Catholic missionaries
founded a mission near Lake Huron,
and in 1660, a station was established on the rocky and pine clad borders of
Lake Superior. In 1668, the Mission at St. Marys Falls was founded, and
in 1671, Father Marquette gathered a little flock of Indian converts at Point
St. Ignatius, on the main land, north of the island of Mackinaw. The great
body of the Hurons were converted to the profession of Christianity by the
efforts of the missionaries. The Iroquois, or Five Nations, made war upon
them, and massacred or dispersed most of their number.
In 1667, Louis XIV sent a party of soldiers to this territory, to protect
the French fur traders. In 1701, a French colony left Montreal, and begun
the settlement of Detroit, which was a place of resort of the French mis-
sionaries at a much earlier period. Having established military posts at this
and other places in Michigan, they soon extended their commerce westward
of Lake Michigan, to the Indians on the Mississippi. They were steadily
opposed by the Iroqueis, and the settlements being somewhat neglected by
251
AKMS OF MICHIGAN.
MOTTO — Tuebor ti miCKris peninmlam amcenam cir-
cumtpice — If you seek a beautiful peuinsula, look
around you.
252 MICHIGAN.
the French government, they never flourished as colonies. At the peace of
1763, all the French possessions in North America came under the dominion
of Great Britain. On the expulsion of the French, the celebrated Indian
chief, Pontiac, seized the occasion to rid the country of the hated whites, by
a general uprising, and simultaneous attacks on all the forts of the English
on the lakes. Mackinaw was taken by stratagem, and the garrison butch-
ered. Detroit was besieged some months, by Pontiac, with 600 Indians, but
it held out until the Indian allies, becoming weary of the siege, retired, and
left Pontiac no choice but to make peace. At the termination of the revo-
lutionary war, by the peace of 1783, Michigan, being included in the North-
west Territory, was ceded to the United States ; the British, however, did
not surrender the post of Detroit until 1796.
Soon after the treaty of Greenville, by Wayne, with the Indians, which
was made in 1795, the settlements upon the Maumee (now wholly included
in Ohio), upon the Raisin and Detroit Rivers, were organized under the
name of Wayne county, and Detroit was the seat of justice. In 1796, the
whole of the North-west Territory was,organized into five extensive counties,
of which Wayne, as described above, was one. The others, with their loca-
tion, were as follows: "Washington county comprised all that portion of the
present state of Ohio within forty miles of the Ohio River, and between the
Muskingum and the Little Miami; Marietta was the seat of justice. Ham-
ilton county comprised all that region of country between the Little and
the Great Miami, within the same distance of the Ohio River; and Cincin-
nati was the county seat. Knox county embraced the country near the Ohio
River, between the Great Miami and the Wabash Rivers; and Vincenneswas
the county seat. St. Clair county embraced the settlements upon the Illinois
and upon the Kaskaskia Rivers, as well as those upon the Upper Mississippi;
and Kaskaskia was the seat of justice."
In 1805, the territory of Michigan was organized, and Gen. Wm. Hull
appointed governor; Detroit was the sefct of government. The census
of 1820 gave it an aggregate population of only 8,900. This included the
Huron District, on the west side of Lake Michigan, now known as the state
of Wisconsin. " About the year 1832, the tide of emigration began to set
strong toward Michigan Territory. Steamboat navigation had opened a new
commerce upon the lakes, and had connected the eastern lakes and their pop-
ulation with the Illinois and Upper Mississippi. This immense lake navi-
gation encircled the peninsula of Michigan. It became an object of explo-
ration. Its unrivaled advantages for navigation, its immense tracts of the
most fertile arable lands, adapted to the cultivation of all the northern grains
and grasses, attracted the attention of western emigrants. The tide soon
began to set strong into Michigan. Its fine level and rolling plains, its deep
and enduring soil, and its immense advantages for trade and commerce had
become known and duly appreciated. The hundreds of canoes, pirogues,
and barges, with their half-civilized couriers du bois, which had annually
visited Detroit for more than a century, had given way to large and splendid
steamboats, which daily traversed the lakes from Buffalo to Chicago, from
the east end of Lake Erie to the south-western extremity of Lake Michigan.
Nearly a hundred sail of sloops and schooners were now traversing every
part of these inland seas. Under these circumstances, how should Michigan
remain a savage wilderness? New York state and the New England states
began to send forth their numerous colonies, and the wilderness to smile.
At the end of two years more, or in 1834, the population of Michigan had
MICHIGAN. 253
increased to 87,273 souls, exclusive of Indians. The following year the
number amounted to more than ninety thousand persons, distributed over
thirty-eight counties, comprised in the southern half of the peninsula, and
the 'attached Huron, or Wisconsin District,' lying west of Lake Michigan.
The town of Detroit, which in 1812 was a stockade village, had now become
'a city,' with nearly 2,500 inhabitants.
The humble villages and wigwams of the Indians, sparsely distributed over
a wide extent of wilderness, had now given way to thousands of farms and
civilized habitations. Towns and smiling villages usurped the encampment
and the battle-field. The fertile banks of_the 'River Raisin' were crowned
with hamlets and towns instead of the melancholy stockade. A constitu-
tion had been adopted on the 15th of June, 1836, and the 'state of Michi-
gan' was admitted into the "Union on the 26th day of January, 1837, and
Stephens T. Mason was made the first governor."
In the war of 1812, the important fortress of Mackinaw, being garrisoned
by only 57 men, under Lieut. Hanks, was surrendered to a party of British
and Indians on July 17, 1812. On the 15th of August, Gen. Brock,
with a force of 1,300 men, of whom 700 were Indians, summoned Gen. Hull
to surrender Detroit, stating that he would be unable to control the Indians
if any resistance should be offered. Although Hull had a force of 800 men,
he supposed it would be useless to resist, and, to the astonishment of all, he
surrendered the fort, and, in the capitulation, included the whole territory
of Michigan. The indignation was great against him, and after he was ex-
changed, he was tried by a court martial, sentenced to death, but on account
of his age and services in the Revolution, the president remitted the punish-
ment, but deprived him of all military command. In Jan., 1813, Gen. Win-
chester, who was encamped at Frenchtown, on the River Raisin, was sur-
prised by a force of British and Indians, under Gen. Proctor. After a severe
contest, Gen. Winchester surrendered, under the promise of being protected
from the Indians. The promise was broken : a large number of prisoners,
mostly those who were wounded, were murdered by the Indians. The cele-
brated naval victory of Perry occurred on the waters of Lake Erie, only a
few miles from her shores, and the victory of the Thames, in which the Brit-
ish and Indians were defeated by Harrison, and in which Tecumseh was
elain, took place only a short distance from Detroit, within the adjacent
Canadian territory. A brief outline of these events we present below:
"Perry s Victory. — The grand object of the Americans in the campaign of 1813,
in the west, was to attack Maiden and reconquer Michigan from the enemy; but
this could not be effectually done, so long as the fleet of the enemy held possession
of Lake Erie. To further the desired object, a number of vessels had been build-
ing at Erie, on the south-east shore of the lake, and were finished early in August.
They consisted of two twenty gun vessels, and seven smaller vessels, carrying from
one to three each — the whole fleet numbering fifty-four guns On the 10th of Sep
tember, Perry fell in with, and gave battle to, the British fleet near the western
end of the lake, under Commodore Barclay, consisting of six vessels, carrying in
all sixty-four guns. The number of guns in both fleets, in some cases, is surpassed
by those of a single battle-ship of the line. The engagement between these little
fleets was desperate, and lasted three hours. Never was victory more complete;
every British ship struck her colors, and the Americans took more prisoners than
they themselves numbered men.
Gen. Harrison, at this time, lay with the main body of the. Americans in tho
vicinity of Sandusky Bay and Fort Meigs; the British and their Indian allies, un-
der Proctor and Tecumseh, were at Maiden, ready, in case of a successful issue,
to renew their ravages upon the American borders.
254 MICHIGAN.
Battle of the Thames. — Harrison's army had received a reinforcement of 3,000
Kentucky volunteers, under Gov. Shelby. On the 27th of September, the main
body of the army sailed for Detroit River, intending to enter Canada by the valley
of the Thames. Two days after, Harrison was at Sandwich, and M'Arthur took
possession of Detroit. Proctor retreated up the Thames, was pursued, and come
up with on the 5th of October, by Harrison's army; the Americans numbering
something over 3,000, and their enemy about 2,000. The latter were badly posted
in order of battle. Their infantry was formed in two lines, extending from the
river to a small dividing swamp ; the Indians extended from the latter to a larger
Swamp. The Kentucky mounted men, under Col. Richard M. Johnson, divided
into two parts. The one under the colonel in person, charged the Indians ; the
other under his brother. James, charged the infantry. The latter received the
enemy's fire, broke through their ranks, and created such a panic, that they at
once surrendered. Upon the left, the contest with the Indians was more severe;
but there the impetuosity of the Kentuckians overcame the enemy, Tecumseh,
their leader, being among the slain. The battle was over in half an hour, with a
loss to both armies of less than fifty killed. Proctor fled at the beginning of the
action. In January, 1814, the enemy again took a position near the battle-field of
the Thames. Capt. Holmes, while advancing to meet them, learned that a superior
force was approaching. Having posted himself on a hill, and thrown up intrench-
ments, he was vigorously attacked, but repulsed the enemy with considerable loss.
Attack on Mackinaw. — In the June following. Col. Croghan attempted to take
the island of Mackinaw, but his force being insufficient, he was repelled with the
loss of twelve men, among whom was Major Holmes.
M'Arthur s Expedition. — The last movement of consequence in the north-west,
during the Avar, was the expedition of Gen. M'Arthur. He left Detroit on the 26th
of October, with seven hundred cavalry, intending to move to the relief of Gen.
Brown, who was besieged by the enemy at Fort Erie, on the Niagara River, oppo-
site Buffalo. When he had proceeded about two hundred and fifty miles, he ascer-
tained that the enemy were too strong in front, and he changed his course, de-
feated a body of opposing militia, destroyed several mills, and returned to Detroit,
without the loss of a man, although pursued by about 1,200 regular troops."
"The history of Michigan," says Lannian, "exhibits three distinct and
strongly marked epochs. The first may properly be denominated the roman-
tic, which extends to the year 1760, when its dominion was transferred from
France to Great Britain. This was the period when the first beams of civili-
zation had scarcely penetrated its forests, and the paddles of the French fur
traders swept the lakes, and the boat songs of the traders awakened tribes afc
wild as the wolves which howl around the wigwams. The second epoch ifi
the military, commencing with the Pontiac war; and, running down through
the successive struggles of the British, the Indians and the Americans, to
obtain the dominion of the country, it ends with the victory of Commodore
Perry, defeat of Proctor, and the death of Tecumseh, the leader of the Anglo-
savage confederacy upon the banks of the Thames. The third epoch is the
enterprising, the hardy, the practical, the working age of Michigan, and it
commences with the introduction of the public lands into market. It is
the age of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures; of harbors, cities, ca-
nals, and railroads."
Michigan consists of two peninsulas, lying between latitudes 41° 45' and
48° N., and between longitudes 82° 25' and 90° 34" W. from Greenwich.
It is bounded N., N. E. and E., by Canada, from which it is separated by
Lake Superior, the Sault St. Marie. Lake Huron, the Strait and Lake St.
Clair, Detroit Strait and Lake Erie; on the S. by the states of Ohio and
Indiana; and on the W. by Lake Michigan and the state of Wisconsin.
The total land surface comprises an area of move than 5(5,000 square miles,
and the area of waters within the constitutional limits of the state, is computed
MICHIGAN. 255
at 36,324 square miles. The lake coast of Michigan is more than 1,400
miles long. The Southern Peninsula, or Michigan proper, comprises nearly
two thirds of the land surface of the state. The Northern Peninsula has
Lake Superior on the north, and Lake Huron and Lake Michigan on the
south. It is about 220 miles from S. E. to N. W., and about 120 miles in
its greatest width. The Southern Peninsula, about 283 miles from N. to S.,
and 200 from E. to W. in its broadest part.
The Southern Peninsula of Michigan may be considered, generally, as one
vast undulating plain, seldom becoming rough or broken. There are occa-
sional conical elevations from 150 to 200 feet in hight, but generally much
less. The shores of Lake Huron are often steep, forming bluffs; while those
of Lake Michigan are coasted by shifting sand hills of from 100 to 200 feet
in hight. The central part of the peninsula may be regarded as a fertile
table land, elevated about 300 feet above the level the great lakes. To the
traveler, the country presents an appearance picturesque and delightful.
Through a considerable part, it is so even and free from brush as to permit
carriages to be driven through with considerable facility. The lowering
forest and grove, the luxuriant prairie, the numerous crystal lakes and lim-
pid rivulets, are so frequently and happily blended together, especially in the
southern section, as to render this country one of the most beautiful in the
Union.
The part of the Southern Peninsula generally known to travelers, and
containing seven eighths of the population and productive industry of the
state, stretches north 100 miles or so, from the north line of Indiana, reach-
ing from Toledo on the east to within some 50 miles of Chicago on the west,
embracing some 20,000 square miles of mainly arable land, having the aver-
age climate of New York, or Connecticut and Rhode Island, with about the
area of Vermont and New Hampshire combined.
The Northern Peninsula exhibits a striking contrast to the Southern.
While the latter is level or moderately undulating and quite fertile, the for-
mer (sometimes called the Siberia of Michigan) is rugged, mountainous, and
to a considerable extent, sterile in soil. The shores of Lake Superior are
composed of a sandstone rock, which, in many places, is worn by the action
of the winds and waves into fancied resemblances of castles, etc., forming
the celebrated "Pictured Rocks;1' while the shores of Lake Michigan are
composed of a limestone rock.
The Northern Peninsula is primitive in formation, but rich in mineral
wealth. Here are the richest copper mines in the world. A block of almost
pure copper, weighing over a tun, and bearing the arms' of the state rests
imbedded in the walls of the national monument at Washington.
Michigan has not advanced with equal rapidity to the prairie states ; but
she has enduring elements of solid wealth, which, in time, will render her
among the most prosperous. Among these are her vast forests of valuable
timber, her inexhaustible quarries of the finest of gypsum, her extensive
fisheries; her recently discovered salt springs, and deposits of coal, and of
copper and iron ore, a climate rendered equable and healthy by the vast
bodies of water which nearly surround her, together with a soil that pays
fairly the labors of the husbandman. A popular journalist gives us some
substantial thoughts upon this subject. He says:
At first view, Michigan would seem far less inviting to farmers in quest of a lo-
cation, than her more western sisters, and accordingly her growth has, for the last
20 years, been far slower than theirs. Her soil is, in the average, not nearly so
vich aa that of the prairies, and is generally covered with heavy timber, while
256 MICHIGAN.
her untimbered lands are apt to be swampy. There are some exceptions near
her southern border; but in general, her low levels are covered with bog-grass,
or with a growth of black ash or low spruce, and can not be made productive
of grain nearly so soon, so cheaply, nor so abundantly, as can the prairies of
Illinois or Iowa. Hence it is but natural that the great majority of eastern far-
mers, in quest of new lands, should push on to the prairie states, there to secure
lands that are readily made, broadly and generously productive.
To buy a heavily timbered quarter section, let daylight in upon it, put up a log
cabin, and move a family into it, with a determination to make there a farm, and
get a living while making it, is an act of genuine courage. Many a man has
been crowned a hero on considerably cheaper terms. He who does it, better de-
serves a pension than the ex-soldiers, whom congress has seemed disposed to
quarter for life on the treasury. For the first half dozen years or so, the growth
of that farm will be scarcely perceptible, sintfe five days' work must be done else-
where to every one devoted to the enlargement of the clearing. Making roads,
going to mill, hunting cattle astray in the dense forest, making fences, etc., with
the necessity of working for others to procure those necessaries of life that the
narrow patch of stumpy clearing refuses to supply, consume at least five sixths of
the time; so that the poor man who, from the first, adds five acres per annum to
the area of arable soil which surrounds his cabin, does very well. But when 15
or 20 acres thus cleared, begin to furnish adequate bread for his family, and grass
for his cattle, the case is bravely altered. Mills are by this time nearer and more
easily reached; roads are better, and require less labor at his hands; each addi-
tion to his clearing requires fencing on but two sides, instead of three or four as
at first ; the older stumps begin to yield to the plow ; wild animals and birds are
less destructive of his growing crops than when the clearing was but a hand's
breadth ; so that two or three days per week may now be given to clearing instead
of one. After 40 acres have been cleared, the timber ceases to be an obstacle;
the neighboring saw mill or embryo village will take some of it at a price that will
at least pay for cutting and drawing; the black ash swamp supplies in abundance
the best of rail timber; a barn this year, a corn-crib next, and a wagon shed the
year after, absorb a good many trees; the household fires lick up the residue; so
that acres are insensible swept off without an effort; the remaining woods break
the force of the sharp winds, and furnish nuts and other food for swine ; and when
the eightieth acre has been cleared, the quarter section is worth more than if it
were all treeless, and clearing for clearing's sake may be suspended. Local or
personal circumstances must necessarily modify this picture, but its essential and
general truth will be conceded. And thus a state or section, like a single farm,
when denuded of a portion of its timber, is far more inviting to the settler than if
it had no timber at all.
" Michigan is encompassed by five lakes, four of which are the largest col-
lections of fresh water on the globe. These are, Lake Superior, Lake Michi-
gan, Lake Huron, Lake St. Clair, and Luke Erie, which are connected by
the Straits of Detroit, St. Clair, Michilimackinac, and St. Mary. Nor is this
state merely surrounded by lakes, but the interior is interspersed with them
from one border to the other. The country, indeed, is literally maculated
with small lakes of every form and size, from an area of 1 to 1,000 acres,
though, as a general rule, they do not, perhaps, average 500 acres in extent,
they are sometimes so frequent that several of them may be seen from the
same position. They are usually very deep, with gravelly bottoms, waters
transparent, and of a cool temperature at all seasons. This latter fact is
supposed to be in consequence of springs which furnish them constant sup-
plies. Water fowl of various sorts inhabit their shores, and their depths are
the domain of abundance of fish, trout, bass, pike, pickerel, dace, perch, cat-
fish, sucker, bull-head, etc., which often grow to an extraordinary size. It
is usual to find some creek or rivulet originating in these, but what is a sin-
gular fact, and not easily accounted for, many of these bodies of living water
MICHIGAN. 257
have no perceptible outlet, and yet are stored with fish. A lake of this de-
scription, with its rich stores of fish and game, forms no unenviable append-
age to a farm, and is properly appreciated. But with all its length of lake
coast, Michigan can boast of but few good harbors, yet there are several that
afford excellent shelter from the storms that frequently sweep over these
great island seas, and lash them into turmoil."
The fisheries of Michigan are an important element of her industry. The
proceeds of these amount, annually, to more than half a million of dol-
lars, exceeding, in value, the combined product of the rest of the fresh-
water fisheries in the Union.
Among them the white fish, Mackinaw trout, and the muscolonge, are un-
surpassed for their delicacy of flavor. Mackinaw has been famous as the
greatest fishing point on the lakes. The work in that vicinity is mostly
done by half-breeds — of French and Indian blood — in the employ of mer-
chants. Of late years colonies of Norwegians have embarked in the busi-
ness. Trained in the severe school of their rugged northern homes, they
exhibit the greatest daring, going out in their tiny craft during the heaviest
gales.
The settled parts of Michigan are well supplied with railroads, and others
ire in progress which will bring her valuable lands on the north into mar-
ket. Within the state are an unusually large number of plank roads. In
A country so full of lumber, these are easily constructed, and add much, to
the increase of business communication.
The great bulk of the present population of Michigan, is of New England
descent. About one third of its settlers came directly from the state of New
York. The number of inhabitants in 1810, was 4,762; in 1830,31,639,
in 1850, 397,G54 : in I860, 754,291.
South-eastern view of Detroit.
Showing the appearance of the city as seen from the Great Western Depot, at Windsor, on ttie Canada
side of the river. The buildings of the Michigan Central Railroad appear on the left.
DETROIT, the principal city, and formerly the capital of Michfgan, is sit-
uated on the N.W. or right bank of Detroit River, or strait, 82 miles E.SVE.
from Lansing, the present capital. The name d'etroit, the French word for
"strait," indicates its location. T1ie city extends more than a mile and a half,
the center of it being about 7 miles from Lake St. Clair, and 18 above the
west end of Lake Erie, 526 from Washington, and, by steamboat, 327 from
17
258 MICHIGAN.
Buffalo. The width between the docks at Windsor, Canada West, and those
of Detroit, opposite, is about half a mile, and the depth of water from 12 to
48 feet. The current in the deepest part of the stream, opposite the city,
flows at the rate of two and a half miles per hour. Such is its depth and
uniformity, that it makes Detroit a secure and accessible harbor in all
seasons.
Bordering the river, and for 1,200 feet back from it, the plan of the city
is rectangular — in rear of this triangular. The streets are spacious, and
among the more noted are eight avenues; three of these are 200 feet, and
five others 120 feet wide. Five of these center at a public ground called the
Grand Circus. In the city are several public squares or spaces, the princi-
pal of which are the Campus Martius and the Circus. A large portion of
the buildings are of wood, but there are many handsome and substantial
brick buildings. Among these may be mentioned, the old state house, now
used for literary purposes; the two Catholic cathedrals; the first Presbyte-
rian church, and several others. There are in all about 30 churches. The
Central Railroad freight depot, is one of the largest in the United States.
The city is supplied with the purest of water from the Detroit River; the
reservoir, which is of cast iron, is kept supplied by means of a steam engine.
The business of Detroit is immense. It has several extensive manufactories,
large steam saw mills, founderies, machine shops, etc. It is most admirably
situated for trade, and is becoming a great commercial emporium. The nav-
5$ation of the river and lake is open about eight months in the year; the
'arrivals and departures of steam and sailing vessels is very great, and con-
stantly increasing. By this, and the numerous railroad communications,
thousands of emigrants travel annually, and millions of dollars ,worth of
produce are transported. A direct trade has, of late years, sprung up with
Europe, by means of sailing vessels, from this and other lake ports, via the
Welland Canal, of Canada, the St. Lawrence River, and Atlantic Ocean. In
1859, 22 vessels in all sailed for Europe, laden with staves and lumber. The
population of Detroit, in 1830, was 2,222; in 1840, 9,102; in 1850, 21,057;
in 1853, 34,436; and in 1860, 46,834.
Detroit was founded in 1701, by Cadillac, a French nobleman, acting under
a commission from Louis XIV. In June of this year, he left Montreal with
one hundred men, a Jesuit missionary, and all the necessary means for the
erection of a colony; reached Detroit in July, and commenced the founda-
tion of the settlement. Before this period, and as far back as 1620, it was
the resort of the French missionaries: when first visited by them, its site
was occupied by an Indian village, named Teuchsa Grondie. A rude fort
was erected by Cadillac, and surrounded with pickets, which inclosed a few
houses, occupied by the French traders and the soldiers attached to the post
This establishment was, however, rude, frail, and mounted with small cannon,
which were more adapted to overawe the Indians than for solid and effective
defense.*
In May, 1712, the Iroquois, or Five Nations, who were hostile to the
French and friendly Indians, instigated the Ottagamies or Foxes, their allies,
to capture Detroit. They were probably backed by the English, who wished
to destroy this post and erect a fort of their own upon its ruins. At this
period, the French had established three villages of friendly Indians in the
immediate vicinity of the post, occupied by the Pottawatomies, the Ottawas,
*Lanman's History of Michigan.
MICHIGAN.
259
and the Hurons. The Foxes, having laid a secret plan for the destruction
of the French fort, the plot was revealed by one of the friendly Indians, a
convert to the Catholic faith. On the 13th of May, Detroit was attacked by
the Foxes. At this critical juncture, the friendly Indians, to whom the
View in Woodward Avenue, Detroit.
The City Hall and Market appear on the left ; the Russell House in the corttral part. In the extreme
distance on the right, at the font of Woodward Avenue, on the opposite or Cauada side of the river, is seen
the depot of the Great Western Railroad.
French commander, M. D'Buisson, had sent for aid, appeared through the
wilderness, naked, painted and armed for battle ; they were received into the
fort, and the Foxes were obliged to retreat. They afterward endeavored to
burn out the French, and for this purpose discharged blazing arrows upon
the fort. Many of the roofs of the houses, being thatched with straw, were
set on fire, but by covering the remainder with wet skins they were pre-
served.
The French power in Michigan ceased with the conquest of Canada. In
the fall of 1760, Major Rogers, with an P'nglish detachment, proceeded to-
ward Detroit, to take possession. De Bellestre, when he heard of the ad-
vance of Rogers, erected a high flag-staff, with an effigy of a man's head on
top, and upon this head he had placed the image of a crow. He told the
Indians, who are strongly impressed with symbols, that the head represented
Maj. Rogers, and the crow was himself. The interpretation of this group
was, that the French commandant would scratch out the brains of the En-
glish. The Indians, however, were skeptical as to the truth of this emblem,
and told him that the reverse would be the fact. Maj. Rogers, having
pushed his boats up the Detroit River, drew up his detachment in a field
within half a mile of the fort. Lieuts. Lefflie and M'Cormick, accompanied
260 MICHIGAN.
by thirty-sis Royal Americans, were sent forward to take possession of De-
troit. The French garrison surrendered their arms, and the first British
flag was raised upon the fort, amid the shouts of 700 ^ Indians, collected
around that station, who exulted that their prediction respecting the crow
had been verified.
The next event of importance in the history of Detroit, and, indeed, of
the whole north-west, was the Indian outbreak called the "Pontiac War."
The fort at Detroit was, at this time, garrisoned by 122 men and 8 officers,
under the command of Maj. Gladwyn. Two armed vessels were anchored
in front of the town for defense. The Indians who besieged it were 600 in
number.
" The plan which was devised by Pontiac to destroy the fort at Detroit; exhibited
remarkable cunning as well as strategy. He had ordered the Indians to saw off
their rifles so as to conceal them under their blankets, gain admission to the fort,
and, at a preconcerted signal, which was the delivery of a belt of wampum in a
certain way, to rush upon the troops, massacre the officers, and open the gates to the
warriors on the outside, who should stand ready to co-operate with those within.
In order to carry this plan into execution, he encamped at a little distance from
Detroit, and sent word to Major Gladwyn that he and his warriors wished to hold
a council with the English commandant on the following day, that 'they might
brighten the chain of peace.' This was the 8th of May, 1763. The council was
granted. On the evening of that day, an Indian woman, who had been employed
by Major Gladwyn to make him a pair of elk-skin moccasins, which he intended
to present to a friend, brought them to the fort. These were finished in so hand-
some a manner, that he requested the woman to take back the remainder of tho
skin, and make them into others for himself. He then paid her for those which
she had made, and ordered his servant to see her from the fort. Having arrived
at the gate which looks out upon the Detroit River, she lingered as if her business
had been unfinished ; and this conduct excited some remark. The servant of the
commandant was ordered to inquire the reason of her delay, but he could procure
no satisfactory answer. At length the commandant called her within the fort, and
inquired why she loitered about the gate, and did not hasten home before they
were shut, so that she might complete the moccasins at the proper time. She re-
plied that the commandant had treated her with great kindness, and that she did
not wish to take the skin away, as he prized it so much, because she could ' never
bring it back.' Something seemed to be struggling in her bosom for utterance, and
at length, after a promise that the disclosure should not turn to her disadvantage,
and that, if profitable, she might be rewarded, this Indian woman, named Catha-
rine, developed the plot. Major Gladwyn mentioned his apprehensions to the officer
next in command, but he deemed it a mere trick to frighten him, and not worthy
of consideration. The night was occupied in making the proper preparations; the
ammunition was examined and arranged, and every man within the fort, both tra-
der and soldier, was directed to be prepared for sudden and active service. The
defenses of the fort were strengthened, the arms made ready, and during the night
guards were kept upon the ramparts. The war songs and dances of the Indians,
which generally precede any important enterprise, breaking upon the silence of
midnight, only strengthened his suspicions that the Indian woman had told the
truth. In the morning of the 9th, about ten o'clock, Pontiac and his warriors re-
paired to the fort of Detroit, and they were immediately admitted to the council-
house, where they were received by Major Gladwyn and his officers. During their
progress toward the fort, the savages had noticed a remarkable parade of soldiers
upon the ramparts and within the town, and that the officers in the council cham-
ber, and also the governor, had each pistols in their belts. When the Indians were
seated on their skins in the council chamber, Pontiac inquired what was the cause
of this extraordinary military preparation ; and he was told that it was necessary
to keep the soldiers to rigid discipline. The council commenced by a speech from
Pontiac, in which he professed the utmost friendship for the English ; and as he
approached the period of the concerted signal, the delivery of the belt of warn
MICHIGAN. 261
pum, his gesticulations became more violent Near the period which had been
described by the Indian woman as the time when the belt was to be delivered, and
the fire upon the garrison commenced, the governor and his officers drew their
swords from their scabbards; and the soldiers of the fort, who had been drawn
around the doors of the council-house, which had been intentionally left open,
made a clattering upon the ground with their arms. Pontiac, whose eagle eye had
never quailed in battle, turned pale and trembled, and delivered the belt in the
usual manner; while his warriors looked at each other with astonishment, but con-
tinued calm.
Pontiac's speech having been concluded, Major Gladwyn commenced his answer;
but instead of thanking Pontiac for his professions of friendship, he accused him
of being a traitor; and in order to convince him of his knowledge of the plot, he
advanced toward the chief who sat nearest, and drawing aside his blanket, dis-
closed the shortened rifle. He advis%d him at the same time, to leave the fort be-
fore his young men should discover the design and massacre the Indians; and as-
sured him that his person should be held safe until he had advanced beyond the
pickets, as he had promised him safety. As soon as the warriors had retired from
the gates of the fort, they gave the veil, and fired upon the English garrison.
After this the fort was closely besieged, and the garrison reduced to great
distress. On the 29th of July, the garrison was relieved by a detachment
of 300 regular troops, under Capt. Dalyell. This officer, supposing that
Pontiac might be surprised in his camp, marched out with 247 men, during
the night of the 30th of July. The Indians, having information of the
proposed attack, laid in wait for the party, concealed in the high grass, near
a place since called the Bloody Bridge, upward of a mile from Detroit on
the main road. Upon their arrival, a sudden and destructive fire was poured
upon them, Capt. Dalyell and 19 others were killed and 42 wounded ; the
rest made good their retreat to the fort. Pontiac, having invested Detroit
for about twelve months, hearing that Gen. Bradstreet was advancing with
3,000 men, gave up the siege and sued for peace, which was granted.
In 1796, the post of Detroit was delivered up by the British to the United
States, according to treaty.
On tho llth day of June, 1805, the sun rose in cloudless splendor, over the little town
of Detroit. A few minutes after a poor washer-woman kindled a fire in a back yard, to
begin her daily toil, a spark set fire to some hay. At noon of the same day, but one soli-
tary dwelling remained, to mark the site of the town. All the others were in ashes, and
the whole population, men, women and children — the aged and the young, the sick, the
halt, and the blind, were driven into the streets, houseless and homeless. All the boats,
pirogues and skiffs lying along the beach (as it then was), were loaded with goods, and
pushed off into the stream; but burning shingles, driven by the wind, followed and de-
stroyed them even there. The town being built of dry pine, and very compact, the streets
being but about Iwenty feet wide (the width of a sidewalk on Jefferson Avenue), the pro-
press of the fire was extremely rapid, and the heat tremendous. The whole population,
like Bedouins of the desert, pitched their tents, by the cooling embers of their late happy
dwellings. Fortunately, Providence permitted the calamity to fall on them in summer.
The Lea-light hearts of the French habilans rose above the pressure of misfortune, and to
work they went, to repair damages. No grumbling at Providence. Their religion told
them that repining was useless. So they worked, and fiddled, and danced, and sung, and
soon a new town began to appear, in its present extended form; and with the regret of the
moment, passed away all sorrow for the losses endured. — Witlterell's Reminiscences.
The following account of the invasion of Detroit, by Gen. Brock, and of
its surrender by Gen. Hull, on the 15th of August, 1812, is from Perkins'
History of the Late War:
Gen. Brock had been educated in arms, and had sustained a distinguished rank
202 MICHIGAN.
and character in the army of Egypt. He arrived at Maiden with reinforcements
in high spirits on the 13th, just as the American troops retired from the Canadian
shore, dispirited, disappointed and disgusted with their commander. On the 15th,
he planted batteries on the bank of the river opposite the fortress of Detroit, and
sent a summons to the American general to surrender, stating that he should other-
wise be unable to restrain the fury of the savages. This was answered by a spir-
ited refusal, and a declaration that the fort and town would be defended to the
last extremity. The firing from the batteries and the fort immediately commenced,
and continued with little interruption, and without much effect, until the next day.
The alarm and consternation of Gen. Hull had now become extreme, and appeared
in a series of irregular and incoherent measures. On the 12th, the field officers
suspecting the general intended a surrender of the fort, had determined on his
arrest. This was prevented in consequence of Cols. Duncan M' Arthur and Lewis
Cass, two very active, intelligent, and spirited*officers, being detached on the 13th
with four hundred men, on a third expedition to the River Raisin. They advanced
about fourteen miles, when on the 15th they received orders to return. At day-
light on the 16th, the British commenced crossing the river at Spring Wells, three
miles below the town, under cover of two ships of war. They accomplished their
landing by seven o'clock without opposition, and took up their line of march in
close column of platoons, twelve in front, toward the fort along the bank of the
river. The fourth regiment of United States troops was stationed in the fort ; the
Ohio volunteers and a part of the Michigan militia behind the pickets, in a situa-
tion where the whole flank of the enemy would have been exposed. The residue
of the militia were in the upper part of the town to resist the incursions of the
savages. Two twenty-four pounders loaded with grape were posted on a command-
ing eminence, ready to sweep the advancing columns. Cols. M' Arthur and Casa
had arrived within view of Detroit, ready to act on the rear of the enemy. In this
situation the troops waited in eager expectation the advance of the British, antici-
pating a brilliant victory.
When the head of the British columns had advanced within five hundred yards
of the line, and the artillery ready to sweep their ranks, orders were given for the
troops to retire into the fort, and for the artillery not to fire. A white flag was
hoisted. A British officer rode up to inquire the cause. A communication passed
between the commanding generals, which soon ended in a capitulation. The for-
tress of Detroit, with all the public stores, property, and documents of every kind,
were surrendered. The troops were made prisoners of war. The detachment un-
der M'Arthur and Cass, and the troops at the River Raisin, were included in the
capitulation. On the 17th, Gen. Brock dispatched a flag to Capt. Brush with the
terms. He immediately called a council of his officers, who determined that they
•were not bound by the capitulation, and advised to break up the camp and return.
In pursuance of their advice, Capt. Brush immediately broke up his camp, took
with him what public stores and property he could, and commenced his retreat to
Ohio. The Michigan militia who had not joined the army were paroled, on con-
dition of not serving during the present war. No provision was made for the un-
fortunate Canadians who had joined Gen. Hull, or accepted his protection. They
were left exposed to suffer as traitors ; nine were executed at one time, and several
more afterward. Gen. Hull in this measure took counsel only from his own fears.
He held no council of war, knowing that all his officers would be opposed to the
surrender. In his official report he expressly exempts them from any share in the
disgraceful transaction.
The British force at Maiden at the time Gen. Hull entered Canada, and until
the 12th of August, consisted of one hundred regular troops, four hundred Cana-
dian militia, and several hundred Indians. After the arrival of Gen. Brock with
his reinforcements, the whole amounted to three hundred and thirty regulars, four
hundred militia, and six hundred Indians. The troops surrendered by Gen. Hull
amounted to twenty-five hundred, consisting of two troops of cavalry, one compa
ny of artillery, the fourth United States regiment, and detachments from the first
and third ; three regiments of Ohio volunteers, and one regiment of Michigan
militia, amounting to about twelve hundred. By this capitulation the British ob-
tained 2,500 muskets stacked on the esplanade "at the time of the surrender, 450
MICHIGAN. 263
brought in by the detachment under M' Arthur and Cass, 700 received from the
Michigan militia, thirty-three pieces of ordnance, one thousand rounds of fixed
ammunition, 200 tuns of ball, 200 cartridges of grape shot, 75,000 musket car-
tridges made up, 24 rounds in the possession of each man, 60 barrels of gunpow-
der, 150 tuns of lead, provisions for the army for 25 days in the fort, and a large
escort at the River Raisin. An event RO disgraceful to the American arms did not
fai] to excite universal indignation. When M' Arthur's sword was demanded, he
indignantly broke it, tore the epaulets from his shoulders, and threw himself on
tho ground.
John Kinzie, Indian trader, so long identified with the annals of Chicago,
was, at the time of the surrender, residing in Detroit. In " Wau-hun, the
'Early Day' in the North-west," is given this narrative, which shows the
conduct of the British to their prisoners in no pleasing light:
It had been a stipulation of Gen. Hull, at the surrender of Detroit, that the inhabitants
of that place should be permitted to remain undisturbed in their homes. Accordingly the
family of Mr. Kirzie took up their quarters with their friend? in the old mansion, which
many will still recollect as standing ou the north-east corner of Jefferson-avenue and
Wayne-street.
The feelings of indignation and sympathy were constantly aroused in the hearts of the
citizens during the winter that ensued. They were almost daily called upou to witness the
cruelties practiced upon the American prisoners brought in by their Indian captors. Those
who could scarcely drag their wounded, bleeding feet over the frozen ground, were com-
pelled to dance for the amusement of the savages, and these exhibitions sometimes took
place before the Government House, the residence of Col. McKee. Some of the British
officers looked ou from their windows at these heartrending performances; for the honor
of humanity we will hope such instances were rare.
Everything that could be made available among the effects of the citizens were offered,
to ransom their countrymen from the hands of these inhuman beings. The prisoners
brought in from the River Raisin — those unfortunate men who were permitted after their
surrender to Gen. Proctor, to be tortured and murdered by inches by his savage allies, ex-
cited the sympathies and called for the action of the whole community. Private houses
were turned into hospitals, and every one was forward to get possession of as many as pos-
sible of the survivors. To effect this, even the articles of their apparel were bartered by
the ladies of Detroit, as they watched from their doors- or windows the miserable victims
carried about for sale.
In the dwelling of Mr. Kinzie one large room was devoted to the reception of the suf-
ferers. Few of them survived. Among those spoken of as objects of the deepest inter-
est were two young gentlemen of Kentucky, brothers, both severely wounded, and their
wounds aggravated to a mortal degree by subsequent ill-usage and hardships. Their so-
licitude for each other, and their exhibition in various ways of the most teuder fraternal
'\ffection, created an impression never to be forgotten.
Mr. Kinzie joined his family at Detroit in the month of January. A short time after
mspicions arose in the mind of Gen. Proctor that he was iu correspondence with Gen. Har-
rison, who was now at Fort Meigs, und who was believed to be meditating an advance up-
>n Detroit. Lieut. Watson of the British army waited upon Mr. Kin/.ie one day, with an
invitation to the quarters of Gen. Proctor, on the opposite side of the river, saying he
wished to speak with him on business. Quite unsuspicious, he complied with the invita-
tion, when to hw surprise he was ordered into confinement, and strictly guarded in the
house of his former partner, Mr. Patterson, of Sandwich. Finding that he did not return
io his homo, Mrs. Kinzie informed some of the Indian chiefs, his particular friends, who
^immediately repaired to the head-quarters of the commanding officer, demanded their
"friend's" release, and brought him back to his home. After waiting a time until a fa-
vorable opportunity presented itself, the general sent a detachment of dragoons to arrest
him. They had succeeded in carrying liim away, and crossing the river with him. Just
at this moment a party of friendly Indians made their appearance.
" Where is the Shaw-nee-aw-kee? " was the first question. " There," replied his wife,
pointing across the river, " in the hands of the red-coats, who are taking him away
again."
The Indians ran to the river, seized some canoes that they found there, and crossing
over to Sandwich, compelled Gen. Pioctor a second time to forego his intentions.
A third time this officer was more successful, and succeeded in arresting Mr. Kinzie and
conveying him heavily ironed to Fort Maiden, in Canada, at the mouth of the Detroit
River. Here he was at first treated with great severity, but after a time the rigor of his
264 MICHIGAN.
confinement was somewhat relaxed, and he was permitted to walk on the bank of the
river for air and exercise.
On the 10th of September, as he was taking his promenade under the close suporvision
of a guard of soldiers, the whole party were startled by the sound of guns upon Lake Erie,
at no great distance below. What could it mean? It must be Commodore Barclay firing
into some of the Yankees. The firing continued. The time allotted the prisoner for his
daily walk expired, but neither he nor his guard observed the lapse of time, so anxiojsly
were they listening to what they now felt sure was an engagement between ships of war.
At length Mr. Kinzie was reminded that the hour for his return to confinement had arrived.
He petitioned for another half-hour.
" Let me stay," said he, " till we can learn how the battle has gone."
Very soon a sloop appeared under press of sail, rounding the point, and presently two
gun-boats in chase of her.
" She is running — she bears the British colors," cried he, " yes, yes, they are lowering
—she is striking her flag! Now," turning to the soldiers, " I will go back to prison con-
tented— I know how the battle has gone."
The sloop was the Little Belt, the last of the squadron captured by the gallant Perry on
that memorable occasion which he announced in the immortal words: — " We have met the
enemy, and they are ours! "
Matters were growing critical, and it was necessary to transfer all prisoners to a place
of greater security than the frontier was now likely to be. It was resolved, therefore, to
send Mr. Kinzie to the mother country. Nothing has evec appeared, which would explain
the course of Gen. Proctor, in regard to this gentleman. He had been taken from the
bosom of his family, where he was living quietly under the parole which he had received,
and protected by the stipulations of the surrender. He was kept for months in confine-
ment. Now he was placed on horseback under a strong guard, who announced that they
had orders to shoot him through the head if he offered to speak to a person upon the road.
He was tied upon the saddle in a way to prevent his escape, and thus they sat out for
Quebec. A little incident occurred, which will help to illustrate the course invariably pur-
sued toward our citizens at this period, by the British army on the north-western frontier.
The saddle on which Mr. Kinzie rode had not been properly fastened, and owing to -the
rough motion of the animal on which it was, it turned, so as to bring the rider into a most
awkward and painful position. His limbs being fastened, he could not disengage himself,
and in this manner he was compelled by those who had charge of him to ride until he was
nearly exhausted, before they had the humanity to release him-
Arrived at Q,uebec, he was put on board a small vessel to be sent to England. The ves-
sel when a few days out at sea was chased by an American frigate and driven into Hali-
fax. A second time she set sail, when she sprung a leak and was compelled to put back.
The attempt to send him across the ocean was now abandoned, and he was returned to
Quebec. Another step, equally inexplicable with his arrest, was now taken. This was
his release and that of Mr. Macomb, of Detroit, who was also in confinement in Quebec,
and the permission given them to return to their friends and families, although the war
was not yet ended. It may possibly be imagined that in the treatment these gentlemen
received, the British commander-in-chief sheltered himself under the plea of their being
" native born British subjects," and perhaps when it was ascertained that Mr. Kinzie was
indeed a citizen of the United States, it was thought safest to release him.
In the meantime, Gen. Harrison at the head of his troops had readied Detroit. He
landed on the 29th September. All the citizens went forth to meet him — Mrs. Kinzie,
leading her children by the hand, was of the number. The general accompanied her to
her home, and took up his abode there.
Watson visited Detroit in the summer of 1818, and has given in his Remi-
niscences a sketch of his visit, descriptive of what then fell under his notice
here:
Here I am at the age of sixty in Detroit, seven hundred miles west of Albany. I little
d: earned thirty years ago, that I should ever tread upon this territory
The location of Detroit is eminently pleasant, being somewhat elevated, and boldly front-
ing it- beautiful river. The old town has been burnt, which was a cluster of miserable
B'ructures picketed in and occupied by the descendants of Frenchmen, who pitched their
tent-! here early in the seventeenth century in prosecution of the fur trade. The city is
now laid out upon a large scale, the streets spacious, and crossing at right angles. The
main street is called Jetterson-a venue, and stretches the whole length of the city. De-
troit must always be the emporium of a vast and fertile interior. By the existing estima-
tion of tho value of real estate here, it has, I think, been greatly overrated. Commerce
MICHIGAN.
265
is languishing, and agriculture at its lowest degradation. In proof of this, I saw at the
Grand Marie, four miles north of the city, a large, clumsy, wooden plow, such as doubt
less were in use in France, at the period of the emigration from that country of the ances-
tors of this people. It was drawn by two yoke of oxen and two horses, and was con-
ducted by three men, who were making as much noise as if they were moving a barn.
The most attractive object I have seen on this beautiful river are its innumerable and
lovely islands, most of which are cultivated. The dense forest approaches in close prox-
imity to the city, and spreads over a level surface quite into the interior. From the high-
est point of elevation I could attain, I discerned no uplands, all was a dead plain. The land
belongs to the government, and is of the richest quality, but has hitherto been represented
as unhealthy. The territory of Michigan has not been adequately explored; but while I
was at Detroit, several parties of enterprising and energetic young men penetrated into
the woods with packs on their shoulders to investigate, and returned with the most glow-
ing and flattering accounts of a country of the choicest land, generally undulating, aittt
requiring nothing but the vigorous arm of industry to convert it into the granary of
America.
The near approach of the wilderness to Detroit, brings the howling wolves within a
short distance of the city, and I was frequently called on to listen to their shrill cries in
the calm, hot nights. The numerous and large old orchards of the finest apples, origin-
ally imported from France, and the extensive fisheries of white fish in the vicinity, gre;itly
augment the wealth and comfort of the people. Although possessing the most lei-tile soil
such is the wretched character of their agriculture, th«t the inhabitants are mainly de-
pendent upon the young and thriving state of Ohio, for their supplies of pork, beef, bread-
stuffs, and even of potatoes. *
.—
East view of the State House at Lansing.
The engraving shows the front or the eastern side of the Michigan State Capitol. One of the Union
Public Schools is seen in the distance on the left, and the State building containing the office of the Secre-
tary of State, Auditor, etc., on the right.
I daily notice squaws fighting in the streets like wild-cats, and in conditions too revolt-
ing to describe. They lay about the city like swine, begging for cats and dogs, which
they devour at the river side half-cooked. The most disgusting and loathsome sight I
ever witnessed, was that of a coarse, fat, half-naked Indian, as filthy as a beast, under n
tree immediately in front of my son's residence, filling his mouth with whisky until hi.s
cheeks were completely distended, and then two or three squaws in succession sucking it
out of the corners. 1 called my daughter-in-law to see the revolting sight, but she as
sured me it was nothing unusual, and that the practice was common with this tribe of In-
dians. I often visited the fort that my old friend Hull so fatally and ignominiously sur-
rendered. Col. Myers, who was in command of Fort George at its capture, informed me
while a prisoner in Pittsfield, that one half of Brock's army, at the surrender of Detroit,
wore Canadian militia dressed in British red coats.
LANSING, the capital of Michigan, is situated on both sides of Grand
River, here a large mill stream, 85 miles N. W. of Detroit, 20 from St. Johns
on the Detroit and Milwaukee Railroad, and 40 from Jackson on the Central
266 MICHIGAN.
Railroad. The town, which is laid out on an extended plan, has at present
a scattered appearance. The state capitol (of wood) was erected in the sum-
mer of 1847. at an expense of about $15,000. The state agricultural college
is situated three and a half miles east from the capital, and has a model farm of
about 700 acres: it is crowded with pupils, and the noble example set by
Michigan, in founding this institution, has been followed by several other
states. The house of Correction, for juvenile offenders, opened in 1856, is
about three fourths of a mile east from the capital. In 1852, a plank road
to Detroit was constructed, at an expense of $130,000. Plank roads also
connect it with Jackson and Marshall. Population about 3,000.
*The lands comprising the northern part of Lansing were first entered from the
United States, in 1836, by James Seymour, Frederic Bushnell, and Charles M. Lee,
of Rochester, New York. The first settler was John W. Burchard, a young lawyer,
who bought, on the east side of Grand River, 109 acres of James Seymour, situated
at the lower town bridge extending up the river to the school section. He built a
log cabin still standing in the rear of the Seymour House. This was in 1843 ; and
in June of the same year, he removed his family to this place, and immediately
commenced building a saw-mill and dam. In the spring of 1844, he was drowned
while amusing himself, in a boat, at the sheet of water which fell over the dam,
which he had constructed. Approaching too near, his boat was overturned, and
he perished amid the eddying waters. He was buried at Mason, 12 miles distant,
universally lamented. He was a man of much promise, and was the first prose-
cuting attorney in the county. On the death of Mr. Burchard, his family left the
place, and the settlement was, for a short time, abandoned, and the lands and im-
provements reverted back to Mr. Seymour.
In Aug. 1844, Mr. Seymour employed Joab Page, and his two sons-in-law, Whit-
ney Smith and Geo. D. Pease, all of Mason, to finish the mill, etc. All these
lived in Burchard's log house for several years.
In Jan. 1847, Mr. Seymour made a proposition to the legislature of Michigan,
that if they would remove the seat of government on to his lands, he would give
20 acres, erect the capitol and buildings for the use of the state. This offer, how-
ever, was not accepted ; but they passed an act to locate the capital in the town-
ship. A commission was appointed, consisting of the commissioner of the land
office, James Seymour, and Messrs. Townsend and Brother, of New York, to make
a definite location. The commission selected a spot on which to erect a capitol
building, one mile from the Burchard Mill, on section 16, called the " School Sec-
tion." The commission, in May of the same year, united in laying out a town
plat, two and one fourth miles long, and one wide, comprising both sides of the
river. At this period there were no settlers on the tract but the Page family, whose
nearest neighbors, on the south and east, were four and a half miles distant, and
one settler, Justus Gilkley, a mile and a half to the north-west. Within a few
weeks after the town was laid out, one thousand persons moved into the
place.
The following are the names of some of the first settlers besides those already
mentioned:
E. B. Danforth, D. L. Case, James Turner, Charles P. Bush, George W. Peck,
John Thomas, Whitney Jones, A. T. Grossman, Henry C. Walker, C. C. Darling,
Dr. B. S. Taylor, J. C. Bailey, M. W. Quackenbush.
Lansing received its name from Lansing in New York, from which some of the
settlers had emigrated. The first public worship in the place was held in the Bur-
chard log house, by the Methodist traveling preachers. In 1849, the Methodists
and Presbyterians united in building the first church in the place, now solely oc-
cupied by the Methodists. The first Presbyterian clergyman here, was the Rev.
S. Millard, from Dexter. The first school was kept in a little shanty built in 1847
and stood near the Seymour House. The first physician was a Dr. Smith, who,
soon after his arrival in 1847, died of a fever in Page's log house. The first post-
master was George W. Peck, who, for a time, kept the office in Bush and Town-
send's store, near the upper town bridge. The first framed house in the township
MICHIGAN. 267
wag erected in 1847, by James Turner, a native of New York, whose ancestors
were from New London, Connecticut This building is now standing, about 40
rods below the lower town bridge.
Southern view of the Penitentiary at Jackson.
Showing its appearance as seen from the railroad.
JACKSON is a large, thriving, and well-built town, on the line of the
Michigan Central Railroad, on and near the head of Grand River, 76 miles
W. from Detroit, and 32 S. from Lansing, the capital. The streams here
afford excellent water power, and the soil is well adapted to grass or grain.
Coal and an abundance of white sand-stone and lime-stone are found in the
vicinity. The inhabitants are extensively engaged in the manufactures of
flour, leather, iron ware, machinery, etc. It contains the county buildings,
a branch of the state university, the state penitentiary, 7 churches, and several
banks. Its situation and facilities for travel give it a large trade. Popula-
tion about 9,500.
"In this, Jackson county, the matter of mining coal has recently become
an enterprise of considerable magnitude. There are several 'workings' of
coal in the vicinity of Jackson, and companies have been formed for the pur-
pose of mining coal. Considerable coal has been mined and sold from these
different workings and mines. The principal mine, and one which in all its
arrangements and provisions, is equal to any mine in the country, is that of
.the Detroit and Jackson Coal and Mining Company. The works of this
company are at Woodville station, on the line of the Michigan Central Rail-
road, about three and a half miles west of Jackson city. The mine is situated
on the north side of the railroad, and about half a mile from the main track.
The Coal Company have built a side track from the Central Road to the
mouth of their shaft. The shaft from which the coal is taken, is 90 feet
deep, and at the bottom passes through a vein of coal about four feet in
thickness. This vein has been opened in different directions, for several
hundred feet from the shaft, and with a tram road through the different
entries the coal is reached and brought from the rooms to the shaft, and
then lifted by steam to the surface. This coal has been transported to
different points in the state, and is rapidly coming into use for all ordinary
purposes, taking the place of many of the Ohio coals, and at a reduced
cost. The existence of valuable beds of coal, in Central Michigan, has
only been determined within the past few years. Beside the openings in
this county, there have been others made at Owesso and Corunna, in Shia-
wassee county ; at Flint in Genesee county, and at Lansing. Most of these
have been upon veins outcropping at the surface of the ground."
268
MICHIGAN.
Adrian, a flourishing town, is situated on a branch of the Raisin River,
and on the Michigan Southern Railroad, 80 miles S. E. from Lansing; 37
W. from Monroe, and 70 W. S. W. fi^m Detroit. The Erie and Kalamazoo
Railroad, which was opened in 1836, connects the town with Toledo, 32
miles distant; and the Southern Railroad was extended westward to Chicago,
in 1852. Adrian was incorporated as a city in 1853. Being in the midst
of a fine, fertile, farming region, it has, since the construction of its railroads,
increased with rapidity. It has several flouring mills, foundries, machine
shops, etc. ; 10 houses of worship, and about 6,000 inhabitants.
The village was surveyed and platted in 1828, by Addison J. Comstock, who
made a location in 1826, and having erected a shanty, he brought his family here
in the spring of 1827, and was soon joined by Noah Norton and others. The first
sermon preached in the place, was in 1827, by Rev. John Janes, of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, at the house occupied by Mr. Norton. In 1830 a Methodist
Church was organized. Other churches were soon after established by the Bap
tists and Presbyterians. The first house of worship was erected in 1832, on Church
stree£, by the Presbyterians: it was afterward sold to the Episcopalians, and ii-
now owned hy the Methodists. The first framed school house was erected in th»
winter of 1831-2. It stood at the corner of Main and Winter-streets, and was used
for some time, for the double purpose of school and church. Mr. Comstock built
, a saw mill in 1827, and soon after a flouring mill, the only one for many miles
around. The seat of justice for Lenawee county was removed from Tecuuiseh to
Adrian, in 1836. The city received its name from Mrs. Comstock. James Sword
was the first mayor. Mr. S. is a native of the county of Kent, in England; he was
a soldier in the Peninsular war, in Spain, and was in several important battles at
that period. The Lenawee Republican and Adrian Gazette, R. W. Ingalls, editor
and proprietor; the first paper in the county, was issued Oct. 22. 1834. ]ts name
has been changed to "The Watch Tower." In 1843, the Messrs. Jermain com-
menced the publication of the "Expositor." The first physician was Dr. Onnsby,
the second Dr. Behee, who died of the small pox, and the third, Dr. P. J. Spahling,
who came to Adrian in 1832.
Ann Arbor, the county seat of Washtenaw county, is on Huron River, and
on the Michigan Central Railroad. It is 37 miles W. from Detroit, and 51
southerly from Lansing. It is
considered one of the most beau-
tifully situated places in the
state. The site of the city ia
elevated, dry, and healthy, and
it is regularly laid out. The
state university, in this place,
was established in 1837, and is
now a flourishing and well en-
dowed institution. The literary
department was opened in 1841 :
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN. ,1 J* i j i. • -totn
the medical department in 1849,
and in 1853 a scientific course was added. The buildings are large, in an
elevated, commanding, and pleasant situation. Ann Arbor is surrounded by
an excellent farming district, has considerable trade and manufactures of va-
rious kinds. Population about 6,000.
MONROE is near the head of Lake Erie, on one of the branches of the
Michigan Southern Railroad, 41 miles from Detroit and 24 from Toledo, by
the railroad connecting those cities. It is on both sides of the River Raisin,
2 miles from its entrance into the lake. It has a fine harbor, and the soil
MICHIGAN.
269
WINCHESTER'S HEAD Qc'tnTEEs,
On the River Raisin.
This house, modernized, is now the Episcopal par-
sonage in Monroe. It is of hewn logs: the liiumeys
were built of stone from the river bed a few yards
distant, and th<! original form of the house in tha
usual K^yle of the French settlers, with a very steep
roof. The grove of pear trees in the rear is sup-
posed to be over 70 years old.
u a limestone formation which furnishes inexhaustible quarries for the manu-
facture of lime. Population about 4,000.
This point formerly called FRENCHTOWN, and sometimes the settlement of
the River Raisin, is one of the most noted in the history of Michigan. The
following details are communicated
for this work, by Edwin Willits,
Esq., of Monroe, who has given
much attention to the investigation
of the history of this section :
Monroe was one of the earliest set-
tlements in the state of Michigan, a
small body of Canadians and French
having settled there in 1784. In 1794,
Detroit and Frenchtown (Monroe) were
the principal towns on the eastern side
of the peninsula. The latter consisted,
however, of only a few log cabins bor-
dering both banks of the River Kaisin,
the claims on which they were situated
being narrow and running back from
the river a long distance. The culti-
vated portions of the claims lay next to
the river, and were inclosed by pickets
which were very substantial, being split
out roughly from logs,and driven or set in
the ground closely together. The
first American settlement was established there in 1793, and soon after a Catholic
chapel was erected for the French.
The region around about Frenchtown was originally inhabited and claimed by
the Pottawatomie Indians. At a treaty concluded at Fort Mclntosh in 1785, these
Indians and other tribes ceded to the United States a strip of territory six inilea
wide, extending from the southern bank of the lliver Raisin to Lake St. Clair.
As late as the year 1800, the Pottawatoinies had a village of a thousand warriors,
beside their wives and children, at what is now called Chase's Mill, on the River
Raisin, eight miles west of the city of Monroe. Their huts were made of bark, and
were thatched with wild grass. This was their permanent dwelling place, save
when they were absent on hunting expeditions. They cultivated the flat between
the high grounds and the river for their cornfields : they were peaceable when
sober.
At Hull's treaty at Detroit, in 1807, the Indians ceded to the United States about
14 of the present counties in the eastern part of Michigan, and two and one half
counties in northern Ohio. After this, therefore, the Pottawatomies abandoned
their village near Monroe, and moved west. They reserved, however, a tract of
land in Monroe county, three miles square, called the Macon Reservation, 14 miles
from the mouth of the River Raisin.
In 1805, there were, according to the report of Judge "Woodward, 121 settle-
ments, or farms, on the River Raisin. These, however, must have included the
neighboring settlement on Sandy and other creeks, as there could scarcely have
been that number on the River Raisin, according to the memory of the oldest set-
tlers. At this time there was no village, nor any collection of houses nearer than
they would naturally be on the narrow French claims. In 1807 a block house and
stockade were built on the spot now occupied by the residence of Hon. Charles
Noble; they were erected for the protection of the people from the Indians. The
stockade was an acre in size, surrounded with pickets 12 feet high, and 12 to 15
inches through, set closely together, forming a very substantial defense. For some
time the upper part of the block house was used to hold courts in, and the lower
part was the prison.
270 MICHIGAN.
In consequence of the fact, that the settlement of the River Raisin was on the
direct road from Detroit to Ohio, it was deemed a post of considerable importance
during the difficulties that preceded, as well as during the actual hostilities of the
war of 1812. Detroit depended, in a great measure, on Ohio and Kentucky for
men and provisions, and as these, since Gen. Hull had cut a narrow wagon road
through, would pass through Frenchtown, it was of importance that the place
should be kept out of the hands of the enemy, who could easily cross over from
Canada and cut off the supplies before they reached Detroit. For this reason,
Monroe became the scene of actual warfare, not on a very extended scale, it is true,
but worthy of record among the incidents of the war of 1812.
Just previous to, or about the first of August, 1812, Col. Brush was sent from
Ohio at the head of two companies of Ohio militia, with 3 or 400 cattle, and a large
stock of provisions, and some arms and ammunition, for Gen. Hull, then in com-
mand of the American troops at Detroit. He got as far as Frenchtown, but learn-
ing that a large party of British and Indians had been sent out from Maiden,
Canada, to intercept him at Brownstown, a place some 20 miles from Frenchtown,
on the road to Detroit, and fearing to advance farther without assistance from Gen.
Hull, he occupied the block house and stockade. Two expeditions were sent out
by Gen. Hull to relieve Col. Brush. The first consisting of 200 men under Maj. V;m
Horn, fell into an ambuscade of Indians at Brownstown, on the 8th of August, and,
after fighting gallantly against a hidden and superior force, he thought it best, aa
his force was evidently too small, to return to Detroit, leaving 18 dead on the field.
The second expedition was made by Col. Miller, on the 9th of August, with 600
men, who met, fought and dispersed, after a desperate battle, a large body of
British and Indians at Monguagon, a place 15 miles below Detroit. The British
were commanded by Maj. Muir, the Indians by the celebrated Indian warrior and
statesman, Tecuraseh. who, on that day, fought with desperate valor, and although
wounded, maintained his ground while the British regulars gave way. Col. Miller
was obliged to await provisions before he could advance further toward the Raisin,
and was finally ordered back by Gen. Hull, who feared or expected an attack on
Detroit. Arrangements were now made to convey Col. Brush and the supplies in
his charge by a more circuitous and less exposed route, which had been traveled by
James Knaggs, who had carried a letter from Col. Brush to Gen. Hull. In order
to effect this, Colonels McArthur and Cass were sent to his relief with 350 of the
best troops, on the 13th of August, but they had not arrived at the Raisin before
the surrender of Detroit to the British, which occurred the 16th of August, their
command, as well as that of Col. Brush and his supplies, being included in the
capitulation.
In order to secure the force under Col. Brush and the supplies in his charge,
Capt. Elliott, a British officer, accompanied by a Frenchman and a Wyandot In-
dian, was sent to Frenchtown with a copy of the capitulation. Col. Brush, learn-
ing from his scouts that Capt. Elliott was coming with a flag of truce, sent a guard
out to meet him. He and his companions were blindfolded and brought into the
stockade. Brush would not believe Elliott's story, and thought it was a hoax, and
the copy of the capitulation a forgery, so utterly improbable did it seem that De-
troit had been taken. For this reason he threw Elliott and his two companions
into the block-house. The next day, however, the story was confirmed by an
American soldier, who had escaped from Detroit. Upon this, Brush packed up
what provisions he could, and, driving his cattle before him, escaped to Ohio, leav-
ing orders to release Elliott on the next day, which was done. Elliott, of course,
was indignant at his treatment, and at the escape of Brush with so much of the
supplies. To add to his rage, a great portion of the provisions and ammunition
left by Brush, had been carried off and secreted by the inhabitants of the place,
before he had been released, they thinking it no great harm to take, for their own
use, what would otherwise fall into the hands of the rascally British, as they called
them. These acts were certainly very injudicious, and all concur in attributing a
treat portion of the calamities that befell the settlement to the manner in which they
ad treated Elliott, and to their evasion of the terms of the capitulation. Elliott
sent for Tecumseh to pursue Brush, and permitted the Indians to ravage and plun-
MICHIGAN. 271
der the settlement in spite of the remonstrances of Tecumseh.* The settlement
was plundered not only of provision and cattle, but horses, saddles, bridles, house-
hold furniture, and every valuable which had not been secreted. The place was
so stripped of horses, that James Knaggs, who, for In days, lay hid in the set-
tlement (a reward of $500 having been offered for his scalp), could find only one on
which to escape to Ohio, and that one had been hidden by a tailor in a cellar:
Knaggs gave his coat and a silver watch for it. After much peril he succeeded
in escaping, and afterward was present at the battle of the Thames, under Col. II.
M. Johnson, and was not far from Tecumseh at the time of his death. Mr. Knaggs
is still living, and resides at Monroe.
About this time, at the command of Elliott, the block-house was burned, and also
a portion of the pickets were destroyed, as it was impossible for the British to oc-
cupy the place then, and it would not answer to leave them standing. Elliott
then left, and bands of Indians repeatedly came and plundered the settlement, until
about October, when some British officers came with some militia and took per-
manent possession of the place. They occupied the houses of Jerome and Con-
ture, below the brick house now owned by Gibson, not far from the present rail-
road bridge. This location was made from the fact that it was adjacent to, and
commanded the road to Detroit, and because, from its elevation, it overlooked the
opposite (south) side of the River Raisin, whence would come the attacks of the
Americans, who were shortly expected to advance under Gen. Harrison to Detroit
Here they remained with a considerable force of British and Indians, until the ap-
pearance of the advance troops under Gen. Winchester, on the 18th of January,
1813. These advance troops were led by Colonels Lewis and Allen, and came
from Maumee on the ice, and attacked, on the afternoon of that day. the »ne-
my, from a point below where the storehouses on the canal are now situated.
The British had posted a six-pounder on the high ground in front of the camp, and
with it attempted to prevent the Americans from crossing, by firing diagonally
down the river, but the attack was made with such vigor, that the British were dis-
lodged after a short contest, and compelled to retreat toward Maiden. The In-
dians held out until dark, being protected, in a measure, by the rushes which con-
*0ne incident we have never seen published, shows the character of the great Indian
chieftain, Tecumseh, in a noble light. When he came to the Raisin, after the retreat
of Col. Brush, he found that most of the cattle of the settlement had been driven off, either
by the settlers in order to save them, or by the Indians as plunder. Therefore he expe-
rienced much difficulty in getting meat for hi* warriors. He, however, discovered a yoke
of fine black oxen, belonging to a man by the name of Rivard, who resided up the river
some distance above Monroe. Tecumseh took the cattle, but Rivard begged so hard, stat-
ing that they were the only property he had left, and taking him into the house, showed
the chieftain his father, sick and in need of medicine, and appealed so hard to Tecumseh's
generosity, that Tecumseh said he must have the cattle, as his men were hungry, but that
he would pay him $100 for them. The cattle were speedily killed, and during the evening
a man who could write made out an order on Elliott for $100, and it was signed by Tecum-
seh. The next morning Rivard went to the block-house to get the money, but Elliott
would not pay the order, and treated Rivard harshly, telling him the oxen did not belong to
him, but to the British who had conquered the country. Rivard returned and reported what
had occurred. Tecumseh was indignant, declaring that if that was the way his orders
were treated, he would pay the debt himself, and leave with his men. The truly insulted
chieftain then strode into Elliott's presence, accompanied by Rivard, and demanded why
his order had not been paid ? Elliott told him that he had no authority to pay such debts,
that it was no more than right that the citizens- should support the army for their willful-
ness. Tecumseh replied that he had promised the man the money, and the money he should
have, if he had to sell all his own horses to raise it: that the man was poor and had a sick
father as he knew, having seen him, and that it was not right that this man should suffer
for the evil deeds of his government, and that if this was the way the British intended to
carry on the war, he would pay the debt and then leave with his men for his home, and let
the British do their own fighting. Elliott, subdued by the will of the Indian leader,
brought out $100 in government scrip, but Tecumseh bade him take it back, as be bad
promised the man the money, and the money he should have, or he would leave. Elliott
was therefore compelled to pay the specie, and then, in addition, Tecumseh made him givo
the man a dollar extra for the trouble he had been at.
272
MICHIGAN.
cealed them, on the low grounds below the British camp. Finally they retreated
to the woods, and the Americans so heedlessly pursued them, that in the darkness
they fell into an ambuscade, and had about 13 men killed and several wounded. The
loss in the afternoon is not known, but is supposed to have amounted to as many more.
Colonels Lewis and Allen took possession of the quarters vacated by the British,
and established guards at the picket fences, some distance from the houses, and
patrols in the woods.
On the 19th, two hundred Americans, under Col. Wells, arrived and encamped
on the Reaume farm, about 80 rods below the other troops. On the 20th of Janu-
ary, Gen. Winchester arrived and took up his quarters in the house of Col. Francis
Navarre, on the opposite (south) side of the river, about three quarters of a mile
above the position of Cols. Lewis and Allen. The troops that came with him, un-
der Major Madison, occupied the same camp that the others did. All the forces
amounted to not far from 1,000 men.
Immediately after the battle of the 18th, some of the French inhabitants who
had sold provisions to the British, followed them to Maiden to get their pay. On
their return, they brought word that the British and Indians were collecting in
large force, to the amount of 3,000 to attack Frenchtown. Gen. Winchester paid
but little attention to these reports, feeling considerable confidence in his own
strength, and expecting reinforcements that would render him safe beyond a doubt,
before the enemy could possibly attack him. The British seemed to be aware that
they must make the attack before these reinforcements came up, if they wished to
effect anything ; hence they hastened their preparations. On the 21st, several of
the more prominent French citizens went to Winchester and told him that they
had reliable information that the American camp would be attacked that night or
the next day. He was so infatuated that he paid no further deference to their
statement than to order those soldiers who were scattered around the settlement,
drinking cider with the inhabitants, to assemble and remain in camp all night
About daylight on the morning of the 22d of January, 1813, a large force of
British and Indians, under Proctor and the celebrated Indian chiefs, Round Head
and Split Log, attacked the camp of the Americans. The attack was made all
along the lines, but the British forces were more particularly led against the upper
camp, occupied by Major Madison and Cols. Lewis and Allen, and the Indians
against the lower camp, occupied by Col. Wells. The British were unsuccessful
at their part of the lines, where the Americans fought with great bravery, and were
protected very much
by the pickets, which
being placed at some
distance from the
woods, afforded the
Kentucky riflemen a
fine opportunity t o
shoot the enemy down
as they were advanc-
ing. An attempt, was
then made by the Brit-
ish to use a field piece
just at the edge of the
woods, by which they
hoped to prostrate the
pickets and batter
down the houses, but
SITE or THE STOCKADE ox THE KIVEB RAISIN.
The upper camp and where the wounded prisoners were massacred after
their surrender, was ou the site of the large house on the extreme left.
The site of the lower camp appears iu tho distance below. The view was
taken from the railroad bridge on the Toledo, Monroe and Detroit E.B.
the Kentuckians with their sharpshooters picked the men off as fast as they at-
tempted to load it, so that they were forced to abandon the attack and suffer a re-
pulse.
While these things were happening at the upper camp, a far different state of
things existed at the lower one. The attack of the Indians was so impetuous, the
position so indefensible, and the American force so inadequate, consisting of only
200 men, that, notwithstanding the bravery of Col. Wells and his men, it was im-
possible to retain the position. Cols. Lewis and Allen attempted to take a rein-
MICHIGAN. 273
foreemcnt to the right wing, to enable Col. Wells to retreat up the river on the ice,
under cover of the high bank, to the upper camp. But before they arrived at tho
lower camp, the fire of the savages had become so galling that Wells was
forced to abandon his position. This he attempted to do in good order, but as soon
as his men began to give way, the Indians redoubled their cries and the impetuos-
ity of their attack, so that the retreat speedily became a rout. In this condition
they were met by Col. Allen, who made every effort to call them to order and lead
them in safety to the upper camp. But, notwithstanding the heroic exertions of
Col. Allen, and his earnest protestations and commands, they continued their dis-
ordered flight, and from some unaccountable reason, probably through an irre-
sistible panic, caused by the terrible cries and onslaught of the savages, instead
of continuing up the river to the upper camp, they fled diagonally across
to the Hull road, so called, which led to Maumee, and attempted to escape
to Ohio. And now the flight became a carnage. The Indians seeing the
disorder of the Americans, who thought of nothing save running for their
lives, and escaping the tomahawks of the savages, having warriors posted all
along the woods which lined or were within a short distance of the river, now
raised the cry that the Americans were flying, which cry was echoed by thousands
nf warriors, who all rushed to the spot and outstripped the fleeing soldiers. Some
followed them closely in their tracks and brained them with their tomahawks from
Behind; some posted themselves both sides of the narrow road and shot them
down as they passed ; and finally some got in advance, and headed them off at
Plumb creek, a small stream about a mile from the Kiver Kaisin. Here the panic
stricken soldiers, who had thrown away most of their arms to facilitate their flight,
huddled together like sheep, with the brutal foe on all sides, were slaughtered, and
so closely were they hemmed in, that tradition says, that after the battle, forty
dead bodies were found lying scalped and plundered on two rods square.
Gen. Winchester, impressed with the foolish idea that an attack would not be
made, had retired the night before without having made any arrangements for
safety or dispatch in case of an attack. Therefore when awakened by the tiring,
he and his aids made great confusion, all crying for their horses, which were in
Col. Navarre's stable, the servants scarcely awake enough to equip them with haste.
The luckless commander became very impatient to join his forces, nearly a mile
distant, and, to gratify his desire, Col. Navarre offered him his best and fleetest
horse, which had been kept saddled all night, as Navarre, in common with all the
French inhabitants, expected an attack before morning. On this horse he started
for the camp, but, on the way, finding that a larg§ number of the troops were then
fleeing on the Hull road, he followed after them to rally them, and, .if possible, re-
gain the day, but on his way he was taken prisoner by an Indian (said to have
been Jack Brandy), who knew by his dothes that he was an officer, and therefore
spared his life. Proctor persuaded the Indian to deliver him over into his hands.
Col. Allen was also taken prisoner about the same time; he had behaved with ex-
traordinary courage during the whole action, although wounded in the thigh.
He was finally killed by an Indian while held a prisoner.
With Winchester as his prisoner, Proctor felt that he could dictate terms to that
portion of the American troops under the command of Major Madison in the upper
camp, who had thus far made a successful resistance. Proctor sent with a flag
one of Gen. Winchester's aids, with the peremptory orders of the latter, directing
Major Madison to surrender. Col. Proctor had demanded an immediate surrender,
or he would burn the settlement, and allow the Indians to massacre the prisoners
and the inhabitants of the place. Major Madison replied, that it was customary
for the Indians to massacre the wounded and prisoners after a surrender, and he
would not agree to any capitulation Gen. Winchester might make, unless the safe-
ty and protection of his men were guaranteed. After trying in vain to get an un-
conditional surrender, Major Madison and his men being disposed to sell their lives
as dearly as possible, rather than run the risk of being massacred in cold blood,
Proctor agreed to the terms demanded, which were, that private property should
be respected, that sleds should be sent next morning to take the sick and wounded
to Maiden,, and that their side arms should be restored to the officers on thoir ar-
rival there.
18
274 MICHIGAN.
These terms completed, the surrender was made, and the prisoners and British
and Indians started for Maiden: not, however, until the Indians had violated the
first article of the agreement, by plundering the settlement. But finally all de-
parted, except the sick and wounded American soldiers, who were left in the two
houses of the upper camp, to await the coming of the sleds on the morrow. Only
two or three persons were left in charge of them, a neglect which was nearly or
quite criminal on the part of Proctor. The last and most disgraceful scene in this
bloody tragedy was yet to be enacted. The sleds that were to take the ill-fated
sufferers to Maiden never came. In their stead came, the next morning, 300 In-
dians, painted black and red, determined on massacreing the wounded Americans,
in revenge for their loss the day before. The slaughter soon commenced in earn-
est. Breaking into the houses where the Americans were, they first plundered
and then tomahawked them. The houses were set on fire, and those within were
coHsumed ; if any attempted to crawl out of the doors or windows they were
wounded with the hatchet and pushed back into the flames : those that happened
to be. outside were stricken down, and their dying bodies thrown into the burning
dwellings. Major Wolfolk, the secretary of Gen. Winchester, was killed in the
massacre. Thus ended the "Massacre of the River Raisin." Thus perished in
cold blood some of Kentucky's noblest heroes : their death filled with sorrow many
homes south of the Ohio. No monument marks the place of their death : but lit-
tle is known of the private history of those brave spirits who traversed a wilder-
ness of several hundred miles, and gave up their lives for their country : who died
alone, unprotected, wounded, in a settlement far from the abode of civilization.
But few of the killed were ever buried. Their bones lay bleaching in the sun
for years. On the 4th of July, 1818, a company of men under the charge of Col.
Anderson, an old settler of Frenohtown, went to the spot of the battle and col-
lected a large quantity of the bones, and buried them, with appropriate ceremo-
nies, in the old graveyard in Monroe. For years after, however, it was not un-
common to find a skull, fractured by the fatal tomahawk, hidden away in some
clump of bushes, where the dogs and wild beasts had dragged the body to devour
its flesh.
In addition to the preceding communication, we annex extracts from Dar-
nall's Journal of Winchester's Campaign, which gives additional light upon
the disaster of the River Raisin :
Jan. 19<&. Frenchtown is situated on the north side of this river, not more than three
miles from the place it empties into Lake Erie. There is a row of dwelling houses, about
twenty in number, principally frarojs, near the bank, surrounded with a fence made in the
form of picketing, with split timber, from four to five feet high. This was not designed
as a fortification, but to secure their yards and gardens.
21«<. A reinforcement of two hundred and thirty men arrived in the afternoon; also
Gen. Winchester, Col. Wells, Major M'Clanahan, Capt Hart, Surgeons Irvin and Mont-
gomery, and some other gentlemen, who came to eat apples and drink cider, having been
deprived of every kind of spirits nearly two months. The officers having viewed and laid
off a piece of ground for a camp and breastworks, resolved that it was too late to remove
and erect fortifications that evening. Further, as they resolved to remove early next day,
it was not thought worth while, though materials were at hand, to fortify the right wing,
which therefore encamped in the open field; this want of precaution was a great cause of
our mournful defeat. Col. Wells, their commander, set out for the Rapids late in the
evening. A Frenchman arrived here late in the evening from Maiden, and stated that a
large number of Indians and British were coining on the ice, with artillery, to attack us;
he judged their number to be three thousand; this was not believed by some of our lead-
ing men, who were regaling themselves with whisky and loaf sugar; but the generality of
the troops put great confidence in the Frenchman's report, and expected some fatal disas-
ter to befall us; principally because Gen. Winchester had taken up his head-quarters near-
ly half a mile from any part of the encampment, and because the right wing was exposed.
Ensign Harrow, who was sent with a party of men, some time after night, by the orders
of Col. Lewis, to bring in all the men, either officers or privates, that he might find out
of their quarters; after finding some and giving them their orders, went to a brick house
about a mile up the river, and entered a room; finding it not occupied, he immediately
went above stairs, and saw two men whom he took to be British officers, talking with the
landlord; the landlord asked him to walk down into a store room, and handing his bottle,
asked him to drink, and informed him " there was no danger, for the British had not a
MICHIGAN.
275
force sufficient to whip us." So Harrow returned about 1 o'clock, and reported to Col.
Lewis what he had seen. * Col. Lewis treated the report with coolness, thinking the per-
sons seen were only spme gentlemen from town. Just at daybreak the reveille began to
beat as usual; this gave joy to the troops, who had passed the night under the apprehen-
sions of being attacked before day. The reveille had not been beating more than two
minutes, before the sentinels fired three guns in quick succession. This alarmed our
troops, who quickly formed, and were ready for the enemy before they were near enough
to do execution. The British immediately discharged their artillery, loaded with balls,
bombs, and grape-shot, which did little injury. They then attempted to make a charge o&
those in the pickets, but were repulsed with great loss. Those on the right being less
secure for the want of fortification, were overpowered by a superior force, and were ordered
to retreat to a more advantageous piece of ground. They got in disorder, and could not
be formed.* The Indians pursued them from all quarters, and surrounded, killed, and
took the most of them. The enemy again charged on the left with redoubled vigor, but
were again forced to retire. Our men lay close behind the picketing, through which they
had port holes, and every one having a rest, took sight, that his ammunition might not be
spent in vain. After a long and bloody contest, the enemy finding they could not either
by stratagem or force drive us from our fortification, retired to the woods, leaving their
dead on the ground (except a party that kept two pieces of cannon in play on'our right.)
A sleigh was seen three or lour hundred yards from our lines going toward the right, sup-
posed to be laden with ammunition to supply the cannon; four or five men rose up and
fired at once, and killed the man and wounded the horse. Some Indians who were hid
behind houses, continued to annoy us with scattering balls. At this time bread from the
commissary's house was handed round among our troops, who sat composedly eating and
watching the enemy at the same time. Being thus refreshed, we discovered a white flag
udvanciug toward us; it was generally supposed to be for a cessation of arms, that our ene-
mies might carry off their dead, which were numerous, although they had been beaiing
nway both dead and wounded during the action. But how were we surprised and mortified
when we heard that Gen. Winchester, with Col. Lewis, had been taken prisoners by the
Indians in attempting to rally the right, wing, and that Gen. Winchester had surrendered
us prisoners of war to Col. Proctor! M.'jor Madison, then the highest in command, did not
agree to this until Col. Proctor had promised that the prisoners should be protected from
the Indians, the wounded taken care of, the dead collected and buried, and private proper-
ty respected. It was then, with extreme reluctance, our troops accepted this proposition.
There was scarcely a person that could retrain from shedding tears! some plead with the
officers not to surrender, saying they wo^»ld rather die on the field! We had only five
killed, and twenty-five or thirty wounded, inside of the pickets.
The British collected their troops, and marched in front of the village. We marched
out and grounded our arms, in heat and bitterness of spirit. The British and Indians took
possession of them. All the prisoners, except those that were badly wounded, Dr. Todd,
Dr. Bowers, and a few attendants, were marched toward Maiden. The British said, as
they had a great many of their wounded to take to Maiden that evening, it would be out
of their power to take ours before morning, but they would leave a sufficient guard so that
they should not be interrupted by the Indians.
As they did not leave the PROMISED GUARD, I lost all confidence in them, and expected
we would all be massacred before morning. I being the only person in this house not
wounded, with the assistance of some of the wounded, I prepared something for about
thirty to eat.
We passed this night under the most serious apprehensions of being massacred by the
tomahawk, or consumed in the flames: — I frequently went out to see if the house was set
on fire. At length the long wished for mom arrived, and filled each heart with a cheerful
hope of being delivered from the cruelty of these merciless savages. We were making
every preparation to be ready for the promised sleighs. But, alas! instead of the s eighs,
about an hour by sun, a great number of savages, painted with various colors, came yell-
ing in the most hideous manner! These blood-thirsty, terrific savages (sent here by their
more cruel and perfidious allies, the British), rushed into the houses where the desponding
wounded lay, and insolently stripped them of their blankets, and all their best clothes, and
ordered them out of the houses! I ran out of the house to inform the interpreters t what
the Indians were doing; at the door, an Indian took my hat and put it on his own head; I
* When the right wing began to retreat, it is said orders were given by some of the officers
to the men in the eastern end of the picketing, to march out to their assistance. Captain
Price, and a number of men sallied out. Captain Price was killed, and most of the men.
•fl was 'since informed that Col. Elliott instructed the interpreters to leave the wounded,
after dark, to the mercy of the savages. They all went off except one half-Indian.
276 MICHIGAN.
then discovered that the Indians had been at the other house first, and had used the
wounded in like manner. As I turned to go back into the house, an Indian taking hold
of me, made signs for me to stand by the corner of the house. I made signs to him 1
wanted to go in and get my hat; for I desired to see what they had done with the wounded.
The Indians sent in a boy who brought out a hat and threw it down to me, and I could not
get in the house. Three Indians came up to me and pulled off my coat. My feeble pow-
ers can not describe the dismal scenes here exhibited. I saw my fellow soldiers naked and
wounded, crawling out of the houses, to avoid being consumed in the flames. Some that
had not been able to turn themselves on their beds for four days, through fear of being
burned to death, arose and walked out and about the yard. Some cried for help, but there
was none to help them. "Ah! " exclaimed numbers, in the anguish of their spirit, " what
shall we do? " A number, unable to get out, miserably perished in the unrelenting flames
of the houses, kindled by the more unrelenting savages. Now the scenes of cruelty and
murder we had been anticipating with dread, during last night, fully commenced. The
savages rushed on the wounded, and, in their barbarous manner, shot and tomahawked, and
scalped them; and cruelly mangled their naked bodies while they lay agonizing and wel-
tering in their blood. A number were taken toward Maiden, but being unable to march
with speed,, were inhumanly massacred. The road was, for miles, strewed with the mangled
bodies, and all of them were left like those slain in battle, on the 22d, for birds and beasts
to tear in pieces and devour. The Indians plundered the town of every thing valuable,
and set the best houses on fire. The Indian who clnimed me, gave me a coat, and when
he had got as much plunder as he could carry, he ordered me, by signs, to march, which I
did with extreme reluctance, in company with three of the wounded, and six or seven In-
dians. In traveling about a quarter of a mile, two of the wounded lagged behind about
'twenty yards. The Indians, turning round, shot one and scalped him. They shot at the
other and missed him; he, running up to them, begged that they would not shoot him. He
said he would keep up, and give them money. But these murderers were not moved with
his doleful cries. They shot him down, and rushing on him in a crowd, scalped him. In
like manner, my brother Allen perished. He marched with difficulty after the wounded,
about two or three hundred yards, and was there barbarously murdered.
In traveling two miles, we came to a house where there were two British officers; the
Indian made a halt, and I asked one of the officers what the Indian was going to do with
me; he said he was going to take me to Amherstburgh (or Maiden.) I judged these vil-
lains had instructed the Indians to do what they had done.
During my captivity with the Indians, the other prisoners were treated very inhumanly.
The first night they were put in a woodyard; the rain commenced early in the night and
put out all their fires; in this manner they passed a tedious night, wet and benumbed with
cold. From this place they were taken to a cold warehouse, still deprived of fire, with
their clothes and blankets frozen, and nothing to eat but a little bread. In this wretched
condition they continued two days and three nights.
Captain Hart, who was among those massacred, was the brother-in-law of
Henry Clay. Timothy Mallary, in his narrative of his captivity, says on
this point :
The Indians ordered several other prisoners and myself to march for Maiden. We had
not proceeded far before they tomahawked four of this number, amongst whom was Capt.
Hart, of Lexington. He had hired an Indian to take him to Maiden. I saw part of this
hire paid to the Indian. After having taken hinksome distance, another Indian demanded
him, saying that he was his prisoner; the hireling would not give him up; the claimant,
finding that he could not get him alive, shot him in the left side with a pistol. Captain
Hart still remained on his horse; the claimant then ran up, struck him with a tomahawk,
pulled him off his horse, scalped him, and left him lying there.
Hon. B. F. H. Witherell, of Detroit, in his Reminiscences, gives some
facts upon the inhuman treatment of the prisoners taken at the River Raisin.
He says :
Our fellow-citizen, Oliver Bellair, Esq., at that time a boy, resided with his parents at
Maiden. He states that, when the prisoners, some three or four hundred in number, ar-
rived at Maiden, they were pictures of misery. A \ong, cold march from the states in
mid winter, camping out in the deep snow, the hard-fought battle and subsequent robbery
of their effects, left them perfectly destitute of any comforts. Many of the prisoners wero
also slightly wounded; the blood, dust, and smoke of battle were yet upon them. At
Maiden, they were driven into an open woodyard, and, without tents or covering of any
kind, thinly clad, they endured the bitter cold of a long January night; but they were
soldiers of the republic, and suffered without murmuring at their hard lot. They were
MICHIGAN.
277
surrounded by a strong chain of sentinels, to prevent their escape, and to keep the savagea
oft', who pressed hard to enter the iuclosure. The inhabitants of the village, at night, in
large numbers, sympathizingly crowded around, and thus favored the escape of a few of
the prisoners.
The people of Maiden were generally kind to prisoners.. It is not in the nature of a
Frenchman to be otherwise than kind to the suffering.
Mr. Bellair tells me, that, at the time these prisoners were brought into Maiden, the vil-
lage presented a horrid spectacle. The Indians had cut off the heads of ttiose who had
fallen in the battle and massacre, to the number of a hundred or more, brought them to
Maiden, and stuck them up in rows on the top of a high, sharp-pointed picket fence; and
there they stood, their matted locks deeply stained with their own gore — their eyes wide
open, staring out upon the multitude, exhibiting all variety of feature; some with a pleas-
ant smile; others, who had probably lingered long in mortal agony, had a scowl of de-
fiance, despair, or revenge; and others wore the appearance of deep distress and sorrow —
they may have died thinking of their far-off wives and children, and friends, and pleasant
homes which they should visit no more; the winter's frost had fixed their leaiures as they
died, and they changed not.
The savages had congregated in large numbers, and had brought back with them from
the bloody banks of the Raisin, and other parts of our frontiers, immense numbers of
scalps, strung upon poles, among wh;''h might be seen the soft, silky locks of young chil-
dren, the ringlets and tresses of fair maidens, the burnished locks of middle life, and the
silver gray of age. The scalps were hung some twenty together on a pole; each was ex-
tended by a small hoop around the edge, and they were all painted red on the flesh side,
and were carried about the town to the music of the war-whoop and the scalp-yell.
That the British government and its officers did not attempt to restrain the savages is
well known; on the contrary, they were instigated to the commission of these barbarous
deeds. Among the papers of Gen. Proctor, captured at the battle of the Thames, was
found a letter from Gen. Brock to Proctor, apparently in answer to one asking whether he
should restrain the ferocity of the savages. The reply was: " The Indians are necessary
to his Majesty's service, and must be indulged." If the gallant Brock would tolerate the
atrocious conduct of his savage allies, what couWbe expected from others?
The State Asylum for Deaf Mutes and the Blind, Flint.
The cut shows the west front of the Asylum. (Inscription on the comer stone.) 1857. Erected by the
State of Michigan. J. B. Walker, Building Commissioner; J. T. Johnson, foreman of the mason work ;
R. Vaiitifflin, foreman of the joiner work.
FLINT, the county seat for Genesee county, on both sides of the river of
its own name, is situated in the midst of a beautiful and fertile country, 46
miles E.N.E. from Lansing, and 58 N.W. from Detroit. It has considerable
water power. The Michigan Asylum for Deaf Mutes and the Blind,
one of the most elegant and beautiful buildings in the state, is at this
place. The city was incorporated in 1855, comprising three localities or
villages, viz: Flint, Flint River, and Grand Traverse. Population about
4,000.
278 MICHIGAN.
In 1S32, Olmsted Chainberlin and Gideon O. Whittemore, of Oakland, Mich.,
made a location in Flint of 40 acres, and Levi Gilkey, of 50 acres. John Todd,
with his wife, originally Miss P. M. Smith, of Cayuga county, New York, with
their children, Edwin A. and Mary L. Todd, were the first white settlers of Flint
Thev arrived here April 18, 1833, with two wagons, on the second day after leav-
ing Pontiac. They moved into a log hut on the bank of the river, then a trading
house, a few rods from the bridge, and used afterward as a stopping place. The
next regular settler was Nathaniel Ladd, who located himself on Smith's reserva-
tion, on the north side of the river, in a hut which had been occupied by two In-
dian traders. Lyinan Stow, from Vermont, who bought out Mr. Ladd, came next
At the time of the arrival of Mr. Todd, the whole country here was an entire for-
est, excepting a small tract cleared by the Indian traders. The silence of the wil-
derness was nightly broken by the howling of wolves. The " wild forest serenade,"
as not inaptly termed by Mrs. Todd, began with a slight howl, striking, as it were,
the key note of the concert ; this was soon succeeded by others of a louder tone,
which, still rising higher and louder, the whole forest finally resounded with one
almost continuous yelL
In 1834, there were only four buildings at this place, then without a name: at
this period there was a fort at Saginaw, and the U. S. government was opening a
military road from Detroit to Saginaw. They had just built the first bridge across
Flint Kiver, where previously all travelers had been ferried over in an Indian
canoe. Among the first settlers was Col. Cronk, from New York, who bought land
for his children, among whom were James Cronk, who died in the Mexican war,
and his son-in-law, Elijah Davenport, now Judge Davenport, of Saginaw. Col.
Cronk died at the house of John Todd, after an illness of eight days. He was dis-
tinguished for his alfability and benevolencerand was much respected. The first
religious meeting was held by Rev. 0. F. North, a Methodist traveling preacher, at
the dwelling of Mr. Todd, who built a frame house the fall after his arrival ; the
lumber used was sawed at Thread mill, about one and a half miles from Flint
Kev. W. II. Brockway, an Indian missionary, was for a time the only regular
preacher in the wide range of the counties of Lapeer, Genesee, Shiawasse, and
Saginaw. He traveled on foot, and usually alone. Once in four weeks he visited
Flint, and preached in Todd's log cabin, afterward in a room over the store of
& Wright. Daniel Sullivan commenced the first school near the close of
1834, and had some 10 or 12 scholars, comprising all the white children in the
neighborhood. His compensation was ten cents weekly for each scholar. Miss
Lucy Riggs, the daughter of Judge Riggs, it is believed, was the first female teacher;
she kept her school in a kind of shanty in Main-street, some 60 or 70 rods from
the river.
The township of Flint was organized under the territorial government, in 1 836.
The first election for township officers was held in the blacksmith shop of Kline &
Freeman, Rufus W. Stephens, acting as moderator, and David Mather as clerk
The first church erected was the Presbyterian : it stood on Poney Sow, a street
said to have been named from the circumstance that, at an early period, a number
of men who lived there were short of stature. The Episcopalians erected the
second church ; Rev. Mr. Brown was their first minister. The Methodist church
was the third erected, the Catholic the fourth, and the Baptist the fifth, the first
minister of which was the Rev. Mr. Gamble. The Episcopal church of St. Paul
was raised in 1844. The present Methodist church was built in 1845. The Pres-
byterian church was erected about the year 1847. The first regular physician was
John Hayes, from Massachusetts ; the second was Dr. Lamond. The first printing
press was introduced about 1836; the "Genesee Whig" was established in 1850;
the first newspaper printed by steam power was the "Wolverine Citizen," by F. H.
1'ankin, a native of Ireland.
GRAND RAPIDS, first settled in 1833, laid out as a village in 1836, and in-
corporated in 1850, is the second city in importance in Michigan. It is the
county seat of Kent county, on the line of the Detroit and Milwaukie Rail-
road, at the Rapids of Grand River; 60 miles W. N.W. of Lansing, and 150
from Detroit.
MICHIGAN.
279
Grand River is here about 900 feet wide, and has a fall of 18 feet, which
gives an immense water power. The city contains a large number of mills
of various kinds, as flouring, saw, plaster; also founderics, lime-kilns, lum-
ber dealers, marble gypsum, gravel sand, and manufactories of staves, hubs,
etc. Building material of every description is found in the neighborhood,
and also salt springs of extraordinary strength, far greater than those at
Syracuse, requiring but 29 gallons to produce * bushel of salt.
The manufacture of salt, now in its infancy here, is destined to work mar-
velous changes in this
region of country. —
"Grand Rapids also has
in its vicinity inexhausti-
ble quarries of the finest
gypsum, of which 20,000
tuns per annum are al-
ready used in agriculture
by the farmers of Michi-
gan, which amount will
be doubled, and soon
trebled, on the construc-
tion of the north and
south land-grant road
.»- ,»• i£ j» ^
from Indiana through
Kalamazoo and Grand
Rapids, to some point
near Mackinaw, of which
road a part has already
been graded."
Grand Rapids now has
a population of about
8,000, and it is the re-
mark of the editor of the
New York Tribune, after visiting this place, that in view of its natural ad-
vantages, he shall be disappointed if the census of 1870 does not swell its
population to 50,000.
Grand Rapids is a handsome city, and is remarkable for the erilrgy and
enterprise of its population. It is the great seat of the lumber trade in west-
«;rn Michigan. This being a branch of industry of primary importance, not
'inly .to this point, but to the whole state, we introduce here an extract from
iv recent article in the Detroit Tribune, from the pen of Kay Haddock, Esq.,
Its commercial editor, which will give an idea of the amount of wealth Michi-
gan possesses in her noble forests. These although repelling the early emi-
grants to the west, in view of the easy tillable lands of the prairie states, will
in the end add to her substantial progress, and educate for her a population
rendered more hardy by the manly toil required to clear up and subdue vast
forests of the heaviest of timber. Careful estimates show that, in prosper-
ous times, the annual products of the pineries of the state even now amount
to about TEN MILLIONS of dollars.
It is now almost universally admitted that the state of Michigan possesses in
her soil and timber the material source of immense wealth. While in years past
it has been difficult to obtain satisfactory information concerning the real condi-
tion and natural resources of a large portion of the surface of the Lower Penin-
sula, the re-survey of portions of the government land, the exploration of the COUD-
VIEW IN MONROE-STREET, GRAND KAPIDS.
230 MICHIGAN.
try by parties in search of pine, the developments made by the exploring and sur-
veying parties along the lines of the Land Grant Railroads, and the more recent
examinations by the different commissions for laying out the several state roads
under the acts passed by the last legislature, have removed every doubt in refer-
ence to the subject. The universal testimony from all the sources above mentioned,
beem to be that in all the natural elements of wealth the whole of the northern
part of the peninsula abounds.
The pine lands of the state, which are a reliable source of present and future
wealth, are so located and distributed as to bring almost every portion of the state,
sooner or later in connection with the commerce of the lakes. The pine timber
of Michigan is generally interspersed
with other varieties of timber, such
as beech, maple, whiteash, oak, cher-
ry, etc., and in most cases the soil is
suited to agricultural purposes. This
is particularly the case on the west-
ern, slope of the peninsula, on the
waters of Lake Michigan, and along
the central portion of the state. On
the east and near Lake Huron, the
pine districts are more extensively
covered with pine timber, and gener-
ally not so desirable for farming pur-
poses. There are good farming lands,
however, all along the coast of Lake
LUMBERMAN'S CAMP, Huron and extending back into the
In the Pine Forests of Michigan. interior.
A large proportion ot the pine lands
of the state are in the hands of the Canal Company, and individuals who are hold-
ing them as an investment, and it is no detriment to this great interest, that the
whole state has been thus explored, and the choicest lands secured. The develop-
ments which have thus been made of the quality and extent of the pine districts,
have given stability and confidence to the lumbering interest. And these lands
are not held at exorbitant prices, but are sold upon fair and reasonable terms, such
as practical business men and lumbermen will not usually object to.
It is a remarkable fact that almost every stream of water in the state, north of
Grand River, penetrates a district of pine lands, and the mouths of nearly all these
streams are already occupied with lumbering establishments of greater or less
magnitude. These lumber colonies are the pioneers, and generally attract around
them others who engage in agriculture, and thus almost imperceptibly {be agricul-
tural invests of the state are spreading and developing in every direction. Tho
want of rai table means of access alone prevents the rapid settlement of large and
fertile districts of our state, which are not unknown to the more enterprising and
persevering pioneers, who have led the way through the wilderness, and are now
engaged almost single-handed in their labors, not shrinking from the privations and
sufferings which are sure to surround these first settlements in our new districts.
The Grand Traverse region, with its excellent soil, comparatively mild climate,
and abundance of timber of every description is attracting much attention, and
extensive settlements have already commenced in many localities in that region.
The coast of Lake Michigan, from Grand River north, for upward of one hundred
miles to Manistee River, presents generally a barren, sandy appearance, the sand
hills of that coast almost invariably shutting out from the view the surrounding
conn try.
North of the Manistee, however, this characteristic of the coast changes, and
the hard timber comes out to the lake, and presents a fine region of country ex-
tending from Lake Michigan to Grand Traverse Bay and beyond, embracing the
ho;id waters of the Manistee River. This large tract of agricultural land is ono
oi' the richest portions of tho state, and having throughout its whole extent ex-
tenMve groves of excellent pine timber interspersed, it is one of the most desirable
portions of the peninsula. Grand Traverse Bay, the Manistee River, and the
MICHIGAN. 281
River Atix Bees Scies are the outlets for the pine timber, and afford ample moans
of communication between the interior and the lake for such purposes. The
proposed state roads will, if built, do much toward the settlement of this region.
A natural harbor, which is being improved by private enterprise, is found at the
mouth of the River Aux Bees Scies, and a new settlement and town has been
started at this point. This is' a natural outlet for a considerable portion of the re-
gion just described. The lands here, as in other localities in the new portions of
the c'ate, are such as must induce a rapid settlement ^whenever the means of com-
munication shall be opened.
The valley of the Muskegon embraces every variety of soil and timber, and is
one of the most attractive portions of the peninsula. The pine lands upon this
river are scattered all along the valley in groups or tracts containing several thous-
and acres each, interspersed with hard timber and surrounded by fine agricultural
lands. The Pere Marquctte River and White River, large streams emptying into
Lake Michigan, pass through a region possessing much the same characteristics.
This whole region is -underlaid with lime rock, a rich soil, well watered with living
springs, resembling in many features the Grand River valley. Beds of gypsum
have been discovered on the head waters of the Pere Marquette. The unsettled
counties in the northern portion of the state, the northern portion of Montcalm,
and Gratiot, Isabella, Gladwin, Clare, and a portion of Midland, arc not inferior to
any other portion. There is a magnificent body of pine stretching from the head
of Flat Kiver, in Montcalm county, to the upper waters of the Tettibewassee, and
growing upon a fine soil, well adapted to agriculture. This embraces a portion of
the Saginaw valley, and covers the high ground dividing the waters of Lakes Huron
and Michigan.
The eastern slope of the peninsula embraces a varietj7 of soil and timber some-
what different in its general features from other portions of the state. The pine
lands of this region are near the coast of the lake, and lie in large tracts, but with
good agricultural land adjoining.
There are in the lower peninsula, in round numbers, about 24,000,000 acres of
land. Taking Houghton Lake, near the center of the state, as a point of view, the
general surface maybe comprehended as follows: The Muskegorr*valley to the
south-west, following the Muskegon River in its course to Lake Michigan. The
western slope of the peninsula directly west, embracing the pine and agricultural
districts along the valleys of several largo streams emptying into Lake Michigan.
The largo and beautiful region to the north-west, embracing the valley of the Ma-
nistee and the undulating lands around Grand Traverse I5ay. Northward, the re-
gion embraces the head waters of the Manistee and Au Sauble, with the large
tracts of excellent pine in that locality, and beyond, the agricultural region extend-
ing to Little Traverse Bay and. the Straits of Mackinaw. To the north-cast, the
valley of the Au Sauble, and the pine region of Thunder Bay. To the cast, tho
pine and hard timber extending to Saginaw Bay. To the south-east, the Saginaw
valliy; and to tho south, the high lands before described in the central counties.
That portion of the state south of Saginaw and the Grand River valley, is so well
known that a description here would be unnecessary. Thus we have yot undevel-
oped over half of the surface of this peninsula, embracing, certainly, 12,000,000 to
15,000,000 of acres, possessing stores of wealth in the timber upon its surface, re-
serving soil for the benefit of those, who, as the means of communication are
opened, will come in and possess it, and thus introduce industry and prosperity into
our waste places.
We have not the figures at hand, but it is probable that'at least one tenth of the
area north of the Grand River is embraced in the pine region. The swamp lands
granted to the state will probably cover nearly double the area of the pine lands
proper. The remainder, for the most part, is covered with a magnificent growth
of hard timber suited to the. necessities of our growing population and commerce.
The trade in pine timber, lumber, shingles, and other varieties of lumber, with
the traffic in staves form one of the most important branches of manufacture
and commerce in our own state, and this trade alone is now accomplishing more
for the development and settlement of the country than all other causes in opera-
tion.
282 MICHIGAN.
, tlie county seat of Saginaw county, is 57 miles N. E. of Lansing,
and 95 N. N. W. of Detroit, and is built on the site of a trading post which,
during the war of 1812, was occupied as a military post. It is on the W.
bank of Saginaw River, elevated about 30 feet above the water, 22 miles
from the mouth of the river at Saginaw Bay, an inlet of Lake Huron. It
possesses advantages for commerce, as the river is large, and navigable
for vessels drawing 10 feet of water. The four branches of this river
coining from various directions, unite a few miles above the town, and afford
intercourse by boats with a large portion of the state. Population about
3,000. •
A very extensive lumber business is carried on at ^Saginaw. Within a
short time the manufacture of salt has begun here, from brine obtained at
the depth of 620 feet. The salt is of extraordinary purity, and the brine of
unusual strength. This industry, when developed, will greatly increase tho
prosperity of the Saginaw valley.
Pontiac, named after the celebrated Indian chieftain, is situated on Clin-
ton River, on the line of the railroad, 25 miles N. W. from Detroit. It is a
flourishing village, and the county seat of Oakland county. Is an active
place of business, and is one of the principal wool markets in the state. It
has quite a number of stores, mills, and factories, and six churches. Popu-
lation about 3,000.
Mr. Asahel Fuller, a native of Connecticut, emigrated to Michigan in 1827, and
located himself at Waterford, seven miles north-west from Pontiac, on the Old In-
dian trail from Detroit to Saginaw, and was a long period known as an inn keeper
in this section of the state. The Chippewa Indians who received their annuities
from the British government at Maiden, Canada West, in their journeyings, ^ften
camped or stopped near his house, sometimes to the number of 2 or 300. On
one occasion htj saw them go through their incantations to heal a sick man, one
of their number. They formed a circle around him, singing a kind of hum drum
tune, beating a drum made of a hollow log with a deer skin stretched over it. The
Indian priest or powaw would occasionally throw into the lire a little tobacco,
which had been rubbed in the hand, likewise pour whistfey into the fire after
drinking a little himself, evidently as a kind of sacrifice. On another occasion a
man breathed into a sick child's mouth, and prayed most fervently to the Great
Spirit to interpose. In 1830, Mr. Fuller purchased the first lot of government
lands in Springfield, 12 miles from Pontiac. He removed there in 1831, and
erected the first house in the place, his nearest neighbor being 5 miles to the south--
east, and 15 to the north-west. Here he kept a public house on the Indian trail
on a most beautiful spot, called Little Spring, near two beautiful lakes; a favorite
place of resort for the Indians, and where they sometimes held the " White Dog
Feast," one of their sacred observances. Mrs. Julia A. O'Donoughue, the daughter
of Mr. F., and wife of Mr. Washington O'Donoughue, was the first white child
born in Springfield.
Port Huron is in St. Clair county, 77 miles from Detroit, at the junction
of Black and St. Clair Rivers, two miles south from Lake Huron, and one
mile from Fort Gratiot^a somewhat noted post. It has a good harbor and su-
perior facilities for ship building, and is largely engaged in the lumber busi-
ness. Great amounts of excellent pine timber are sent down Black River,
and manufactured or shipped here. It is the eastern terminus of the Port
Huron and Lake Michigan Railroad, the western terminus of the Grand
Trunk Railroad, which extends from the eastern to the western limits of the
Canadas. It is one of the greatest lumber markets in the west. Its annual
exports amount to $2,000,000. Population about 3,500.
On the line of the Michigan Central Railroad, beside those already de-
scribed. are the following large and flourishing towns, all having abundance
MICHIGAN.
283
of water power mills, factories, etc., and each containing from 3,000 to 7,000
inhabitants. Ypsilanti, 30 miles from Detroit on Huron River, is the seat
of the state normal school, a branch of the state university. Marshall is
107 miles from Detroit. Battle Creek 120 miles from Detroit Kalamazoo,
23 miles farther west, contains a United States land office, the state asylum
for the insane, and a branch of the state university. This is one of the most
beautiful of villages : it is planted all over with trees, every street being
lined with them. JVt'fcs, 191 miles from Detroit, has a branch of the state
university, and is the principal market for 'south-western Michigan. The St.
Joseph River is navigable beyond this point for small steamers.
Farther south, in the state, are other important towns, containing each
about 3,000 inhabitants. They are: Tecumseh, 10 miles N. E. of Adrian,
and connected by a branch railroad, eight miles in length, with the Michigan
Southern Railroad. Hlllsdale, on the last named railroad, 110 miles from
Detroit, and noted as the seat of Hillsdale College, a thriving and highly
popular institution, chartered in 1855. Coldwater is also on the same
railroad, 22 miles westerly from Hillsdale. St. Joseph, at the entrance of
St. Joseph River into Lake Michigan, 194 miles west of -Detroit, has a fine
harbor and an extensive trade in lumber and fruit, with Chicago.
In 1679, the noted explorer, La Salle, built a fort at the mouth of St.
Joseph's River. Afterward there was a Jesuit mission here, which Charle-
voix visited in 1721. When the west came into possession of Great Britain,
they had a fort also at this point. This was twice captured in the war of
the revolution, by expeditions of the brave frontiersmen of Cahokia, Illi-
nois. The annexed sketch of these exploits is thus given in Perkins' Annals,
Peck's edition:
" There was at Cahokia, a restless, adventurous, daring man, by the name
of Thomas Brady, or as he was familiarly called, 'Tom Brady;' a native
of Pennsylvania, who, by hunting, or in some other pursuit, found him-
self a resident of Cahokia. He raised a company of 16 resolute persons,
all of Cahokia and the adjacent village of Prairie du Pont, of which the
father of Mr. Boismenue, the informant, was one. After becoming organ-
ized for an expedition, the party moved through a place called the 'Cow
Pens,' on the River St. Joseph, in the south-western part of Michigan.
Here was a trading-post and fort originally established by the French,
but since the transfer of the country, had been occupied by the British
by a small fqrce, as a protection of their traders from the Indians. In 1777,
it consisted of 21 men.
Brady, with his little band of volunteers, left Cahokia about the 1st of
October, 1777, and made their way to the fort, which they captured in the
night, without loss on either side, except, a negro. This person was a slave
from some of the colonies on the Mississippi, who, in attempting to escape,
was shot. One object of this expedition, probably, was the British goods
in the fort.
The company started back as far as the Calumet, a stream on the border
of Indiana, south-east of Chicago, when they were overtaken by a party of
British, Canadians and Indians, about 300 in number, who attacked the Ca-
hokiaus and 'forced them to surrender. Two of Brady's party were killed,
two wounded, one escaped, and 12 were made prisoners. These remained
prisoners in Canada two years, except Brady, who made his escape, and re-
turned to Illinois by way of Pennsylvania. M. Boismenue, Sr., was one of
the wounded men.
284
MICHIGAN".
The next spring, a Frenchman, by the name of Paulette Maize, a darinp
fellow, raised about 300 volunteers from Cahokia, St. Louis, and other French
villages, to re-capture the fort on the River St. Joseph. This campaign wad
jy land, across the prairies in the spring of 1778. It was successful ; the
fort was re-taken, and the peltries and goods became the spoil of the victors.
The wounded men returned home with Maize. One gave out; they had no
horses; and he was dispatched by the leader, to prevent the company being
detained on their retreat, lest the same disaster should, befall them as hap-
pened to Brady, and his company. Some of the members of the most an-
cient and respectable families in Cahokia, were in this expedition. Thomas
Brady became the sheriff of the county of St. Clair, after its organization by
the governor of the North-western Territory in 1790. He was regarded as
a trust-worthy citizen, and died at Cahokia many years since."
Almont, Mt. Clemens, Romeo, Allegan, and Grand Haven, are flourishing
towns in the Southern Peninsula of Michigan. Almont is in Lapeer county,
49 miles north of Detroit. Mt. Clemens is the county seat of Macomb, and
is 20» miles from Detroit, on Clinton River, 4 miles from its entrance into
The Isle, Mackinaw.
Engraved from a drawing by the late Francis Howe, of Chicago, taken about the year 1846.
Lake St. Clair. It. is well situated for ship building, and has daily steam
boat communication with Detroit. Romeo is also on Clinton River, 40 miles
from Detroit. Allegan, distant from Kalamazoo 28 miles, at the head of
navigation on Kalamazoo River, is a young and thrifty lumbering village.
Grand Haven is at the mouth of Grand River, at the termination of
the Detroit and Milwaukie Railroad. It has a noble harbor, and does an
enormous lumber trade. Lumber is shipped from here to Chicago, and other
ports on the west side of the lake; and steamers ply regularly between this
point and Chicago, and also on the river to the flourishing city of Grand
Rapids, above.
MACKINAW, called "the Gem of the Lakes," is an exquisitely beautiful
island in the straits of Mackinaw. It is, by water, 320 miles north of De-
MICHIGAN.
285
troit, in Lat. 45° 54' N. Long. 84° 30' W. Its name is an abbreviation of
Michilimackinac, which is a compound of the word Jiu'ssi or missil, signifying
"great," and Mackinac, the Indian word for " turtle," from a fancied resem-
blance to a great turtle lying upon the water.
Among the curiosities of the island, are the Arched Rock, the Natural
Pyramid, and the Skull Rock. The Arched Rock is a natural arch project-
ing from the precipice on the north-eastern
/ a^& side of the island, about a mile from the
town, and elevated 140 feet above the water.
Its abutments are the calcareous rock com-
mon to the island, and have been created by
the falling down of enormous masses of rock,
leaving the chasm. It is about 90 feet in
hight, and is crowned by an arch of near 60
feet sweep. From its great elevation, the
view through the arch upon the wide expanse
of water, is of singular beauty and grandeur.
The Natural Pyramid is a lone standing
rock, upon the top of the bluff, of probably
30 feet in width at the base, by 80 or 90 in
hight, of a rugged appearance, and support-
ing in its crevices a few stunted cedars. It
pleases chiefly by its novelty, so unlike any-
' thing to be found in other parts of the world ;
and on the first view, it gives the idea of
a work of art. The Skull Rock is chiefly
noted for a cavern, which appears to have
been an ancient receptacle of human bones.
The entrance is low and narrow. It is here
that Alexander Henry was secreted by a friendly Indian, after the horrid
massacre of the British garrison at old Machilimackinac, in 1763.
"The world," says the poet Bryant, "has not many islands so beautiful as
Mackinaw — the surface is singularly irregular with summits of rocks and
pleasant hollows, open glades of pasturage, and shady nooks."
It is, in truth, one of the most interesting spots on the continent, and is
becoming a great summer resort, from its natural attractions ; its bracing,
invigorating atmosphere, and the beauty of its scenery. Its sky has a won-
derful clearness and serenity, and its cold deep waters a marvelous purity,
that enables one to discover the pebbles way down, fathoms below. To
mount the summits of Mackinaw, and gaze out northward upon the expanse
of water, with its clustering islets, and the distant wilderness of the Northern
Peninsula; to take in with the vision the glories of*that sky, so clear, so
pure, that it seems as though the eye penetrated infinity; to inhale that
life-giving air, every draught of which seems a luxury, were well worth
a toilsome journey, and when once experienced, will remain among the
most pleasant of memories.
The island is about nine miles in circumference, and its extreme elevation
above the lake, over 300 feet. The town is pleasantly situated around a
small bay at the southern extremity of the island, and contains 1.000 inhabi-
tants, which are sometimes nearly doubled by the influx of voyagers,
traders, and Indians. On these occasions, its beautiful harbor is seen
checkered with American vessels at anchor, and Indian canoes rapidly shoot'
THE AECHED ROCK,
On the Isle of Mackinaw.
286
MICHIGAN.
ing across the water in every direction. It was formerly the seat of an ex-
tensive fur trade : at present it is noted for the great amount of trout and
white fish annually exported. Fort Mackinaw stands on a rocky bluff over-
looking the town. The ruins of Fort Holmes are on the apex of the island.
It was built by the British in the war of 1812, under the name of Fort
George, and changed to its present appellation by the Americans, in com-
pliment to the memory of Maj. Holmes, who fell in an unsuccessful attack
upon the island. This occurred in 1814. The expedition consisted of a
strong detachment of land and naval forces under Col. Croghan, and was
shamefully defeated, the death of the gallant Holmes having stricken
them with a panic.
The first white settlement in this vicinity was at Point Ignace, the south-
ern cape of the upper peninsula of Michigan, and shown on the map where
Father Marquette established a mission in 1671.*
The second site was on the opposite point of the straits, now called Old
Mackinaw, nine miles south, being the northern extremity of the lower pe-
ninsula, or Michigan Proper.
"In the summer of 1679, the Griffin, built by La Salle and his company on the
shore of Lake Erie, at the present site of the town of Erie, passed up the St. Clair,
•sailed over the Huron, and entering the straits, found a safe harbor at Old Mack-
inaw. La Salle's expedition passed eight or nine years at this place, and from
hence they penetrated the country in all directions. At the same time it continued
to be the summer resort of numerous Indian tribes, who came here to trade and
engage in. the wild sports and recreations peculiar to the savage race. As a city
of peace, it was regarded in the same light that the ancient Hebrews regarded their
cities of refuge, and among those who congregated here all animosities were for-
gotten. The smoke of the calumet of peace always ascended, and the war cry
never as yet has been heard in its streets.
In Heriot's Travels, published in 1807, we find the following interesting item:
"In 1671 Father Marquette came hither with a party of Hurons, whom he pre-
vailed on to form a settlement A fort was constructed, and it afterward became
an important spot It was the
place of general assemblage for all
the French who went to traffic with
the distant nations. It was the
asylum of all savages who came to
exchange their furs for merchan-
dise. When individuals belonging
to tribes at war with each other
came thither, and met on commer-
cial adventure, their animosities
were suspended."
" Notwithstanding San-ge-man
and his warriors had braved the
dangers of the straits and had slain
a hundred of their enemies whose
residence was here, yet it was not
in the town that they were slain.
No blood was ever shed by Indian hands within its precincts up to this period, and
had it remained in possession of the French, the terrible scenes sulisequontly
enacted within its streets would in all probability never have occurred, and Old
Mackinaw would have been a city of refuge to this day.
The English, excited by the emoluments derived from the fur trade, desired to
secure a share in this lucrative traffic of the north-western lakes. They accord-
ingly, in the year 1686, fitted out an expedition, and through the interposition of
the Fox Indians, whose friendship they secured by valuable presents, the expedi-
RUINS or OLD FORT MACKINAW.
Drawn by Capt. S. Eastman, U.S.A. Mackinaw Island
la seen on the right : Point St. Ignace, on the north side
of the straits, on the left.
MICHIGAN. 287
tion reached Old Mackinaw, the "Queen of the Lakes," and found the El Dorado
they had so long desired."
The following interesting description, from Parkman's " History of the Conspir-
acy of Pontiac," of a voyage by an English merchant to Old Mackinaw about this
time, will be in place here : " Passing the fort and settlement of Detroit, he soon
enters Lake St. Clair, which seems like a broad basin filled to overflowing, while
along its far distant verge a faint line of forests separates the water from the sky.
He crosses the lake, and his voyagers next urge his canoe against the current of
the great river above. At length Lake Huron opens before him, stretching its
liquid expanse like an ocean to the furthest horizon. His canoe skirts the eastern
shore of Michigan, where the forest rises like a wall from the water's edge, and as
he advances onward, an endless line of stiff and shaggy fir trees, hung with long
mosses, fringe the shore with an aspect of desolation. Passing on his right the ex-
tensive Island of Bois Blanc, he sees nearly in front the beautiful Island of Mack-
inaw rising with its white cliffs and green foliage from the broad breast of waters. He
does not steer toward it, for at that day the Indians were its only tenants, but keeps
along the main shore to the left, while his voyagers raise their song and chorus.
Doubling a point he sees before him the red flag of England swelling lazily in the
wind, and the palisades and wooden bastions of Fort Mackinaw standing close up-
on the margin of the lake. On the beach canoes are drawn up, and Canadians and
Indians are idly lounging. A little beyond the fort is a cluster of white Canadian
houses roofed with bark and protected by fences of strong round pickets. The
trader enters the gate and sees before him an extensive square area, surrounded by
high palisades. Numerous houses, barracks, and other buildings form a smaller
.square within, and in the vacant place which they inclose appear the red uniforms
of British soldiers, the gray coats of the Canadians and the gaudy Indian blankets
mingled in picturesque confusion, while a multitude of squaws, with children of
every hue, stroll restlessly about the place. Such was old Fort Mackinaw in
1763."
In 1763, during the Pontiac war, Old Mackinaw, or Michilimackinac, was
the scene of a horrid massacre, the fort being at the time garrisoned by the
British. It had come into their possession after the fall of Quebec, in 1759.
It inclosed an area of two acres, surrounded by pickets of cedar. It stood
near the water, and with western winds, the waves dashed against the foot
of the stockade. Within the pickets were about thirty houses with families,
and also a chapel, in which religious services were regularly performed by a
Jesuit missionary. Furs from the upper lakes were collected here for trans-
portation, and outfits prepared for the remote north-west. The garrison con-
sisted of 93 men ; there were only four English merchants at the fort.
Alexander Henry was invested with the right of trafficking with the Indians,
and after his arrival was visited by a body of 60 Chippewas, whose chieftain,
Minavavana, addressed him and his companions in the following manner:
Englishmen, it is to you that I speak, and I demand your attention. You
know that the French King is our father. He promised to be such, and we in turn
promised to be his children. This promise we have kept It is you that have made
war with this our father. You are his enemy, and how then could you have the
boldness to venture among us, his children. You know that his enemies are ours.
We are informed that our father, the King of France, is old and infirm, and that
being fatigued with making war upon your nation, he has fallen asleep. During
this sleep you have taken advantage of him, and possessed yourselves of Canada.
But his nap is almost at an end. I think I hear him already stirring and inquiring
for hi? children, and when he does awake what must become of you? He will
utterly destroy you. Although you have conquered the French, you have not con-
quered us. We are not your slaves. These lakes, these woods and mountains are
left to us by our ancestors, they are our inheritance and we will part with them to
none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, can not live without
bread, and pork, and beef, but you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and
288 MICHIGAN.
Master of Life, has provided food for us in these spacious lakes and on these
•woody mountains.
Our father, the King of France, employed our young men to make war upon
your nation. In this warfare many of them have been killed, and it is our custom
to retaliate until such time as the spirits of the slain are satisfied. But tho spirits
of the slain are to be satisfied in one of two ways; the first is by the spilling the
blood of the nation by which they fell, the other by covering the bodies of the
dead, and thus allaying the resentment of their relations. This is done by making
presents. Your king has never sent us any presents, nor entered into any treaty
with us, wherefore he and we are still at war, and until he does these things we
must consider that we have no other father or friend among the white men than
the King of France. But for you, we have taken into consideration that you have
ventured among us in the expectation that we would not molest you. You do not
come around with the intention to make war. You come in peace to trade with
us, and supply us with necessaries, of which we are much in need. We shall re-
gard you, therefore, as a brother, and you may sleep tranquilly without fear of the
Chippewas. As a token of friendship we present you with this pipe to smoke.
Previous to the attack the Indians were noticed assembling in great num-
bers, with every appearance of friendship, ostensibly for the purpose of trade,
and during one night 400 lay about the fort. In order to celebrate the king's
birth day, on the third of June, a game of ball was proposed to be played
between the Chjppewas and Sacs for a high wager. Having induced Major
Etherington, the commandant, and many of the garrison to come outside the
pickets to view the game, it was the design of the Indians to throw the ball
within the pickets, and, as was natural in the heat of the game, that all the
Indians should rush after it. The stratagem was successful — the war cry
was raised, seventy of the garrison were murdered and scalped, and the re-
mainder were taken prisoners.
" Henry witnessed the dreadful slaughter from his window, and being unarmed he
hastened out, and springing over a low fence which divided his house from that of
M. Langlade, the French Interpreter, entered the latter, and requested some one
to direct him to a place of safety. Langlade hearing the request, replied that he
could do nothing for him. At this moment a slave belonging to Langlade, of the
Pawnee tribe of Indians, took him to a door which she opened, and informed him
that it led to the garret where he might conceal himself. She then locked the door
and took away the key. Through a hole in the wall Henry could have a complete
view of the fort. He beheld the heaps of the slain, and heard the savage yells,
until the last victim was dispatched. Having finished the work of death in the
fort, the Indians went out to search the houses. Some Indiana entered Langlade'a
house and asked if there were any Englishmen concealed in it. He replied that
he did not know, they might search for themselves. At length they opened the
garret door and ascended the stairs, but Henry had concealed himself amid a
heap of birch-bark vessels, which had been used in making maple sugar, and thus
escaped. Fatigued and exhausted, he lay down on a mat and went to sleep, and
while in this condition he was surprised by the wife of Langlade, who remarked
that the Indians had killed all the English, but she hoped he might escape. Fear-
ing, however, that she would fall a prey to their vengeance if it was found that an
Englishman was concealed in her house, she at length revealed the place of Henry's
concealment, giving as a reason therefor, that if he should be found her children
would be destroyed. Unlocking the door, she was followed by several Indians,
who were led by Wenniway, a noted chief. At sight of him the chief seized him
with one hand, and brandishing a large carving knife was about to plunge it into
his heart, when he dropped his arm, saying, "1 won't kill you. My brother, Mu-
sinigon, was slain by the English, and you shall take his place and be called after
him." He was carried to L'Arbre Croche as a prisoner, where he was rescued by
a band of three hundred Ottawas, by whom he was returned to Mackinaw, and
finally ransomed by his friend "\Vawatam. At the capture of the place only one
trader, M. Tracy, lost his life. Capt Etherington was carried away by some In-
MICHIGAN.
289
dians from the scene of slaughter. Seventy of the English troops were slain. An
Englishman, by the name of Solomon, saved himself by hiding under a heap of
corn, and his boy was saved by creeping up a chimney, where he remained two
days. A number of canoes, filled with English traders, arriving soon after the
massacre, they were seized, and the traders, dragged through the water, were
beaten and marched by the Indians to the prison lodge. After they had completed
m, ^
>ld Fort. Michilimack
inack, now Mackinaw
City, and site of the
massacre of a British
Garrison in 1763.
MICHIGAN;— SOUTHERN
PENINSULA
Map of Mackinaw and vicinity.
the work of destruction, the Indians, about four hundred in number, entertaining
apprehensions that they would be attacked by the English, and the Indians who
had joined them, took refuge on the Island of Mackinaw, Wawatam fearing that
Henry would be butchered by the savages in their drunken revels, took him out to
a cave, where he lay concealed for one night on a heap of human bones. As the
fort was not destroyed, it was subsequently reoccupied by British soldiers, and the
removal to the island did not take place until about the year 1780."
The station on the island was called New Mackinaw, while the other, on
the main land, has since been termed Old Mackinaw. The chapel, fort, and
college, at the latter place, have long since passed away, but relics of the
stone walls and pickets remain to this day. To the Catholic, as the site of
their first college in the north-west, and one of their earliest mission stations,
this must be ever a spot of great interest.
19
290 MICHIGAN.
New Mackinaw formerly received its greatest support from the fur trade,
when in the hands of the late John Jacob Astor, being at that time the out-
fitting and furnishing place for the Indian trade. This trade became extinct
in 1834, and the place since has derived its support mainly from the fisheries.
The Isle of Mackinaw, in modern times, has been a prominent point for
Protestant missions among the Indians. The first American missionary was
the Rev. David Bacon, who settled here in 1802, under the auspices of the
Connecticut Missionary Society, the oldest, it is believed, in America. This
gentleman was the father of Dr. Leonard Bacon, the eminent New England
divine, who was born in Michigan. Prior to settling at Mackinaw, Mr. Bacon
attempted to establish a mission upon the Maumee. The Indians in council
listened to his arguments for this object, with due courtesy: and then, through
one of their chiefs, Little Otter, respectfully declined. The gist of the reply
is contained in the following sentence :
BROTHER — Your religion is very good, but it is only good for white people.
It will not do for Indians: they are quite a different sort of follcs.
Old Mackinaw, or Mackinack, is the site of a recently laid out town, Mack-
inaw City, which, its projectors reason, bids fair to become eventually an im-
portant point. Ferris says, in his work on the west: "If one were to point
out, on the map of North America, a site fur a great central city in the lake
region, it would be in the immediate vicinity of the Straits of Mackinaw. A
city so located would have the command of the mineral trade, the fisheries,
the furs, and the lumber of the entire north. It might become the metropo-
lis of a great commercial empire. It would be the Venice of the Lakes."
The climate would seem to forbid such a consummation ; but the tempera-
ture of this point, softened by the vast adjacent bodies of water, is much
milder than one would suppose from its latitude : north of this latitude is a part
of Canada which now contains a million of inhabitants. Two important rail-
roads, running through the whole of the lower peninsula of Michigan, are to
terminate at this point — one passing through Grand Rapids, and the other
through Saginaw City. These are building by the aid of extensive land
grants from the general government to the state, and are to give southern Mich-
igan a constant communication with the mineral region in the upper peninsula,
from which she is now ice locked five or six months in the year, and which,
in time is destined to support a large and prosperous population. The min-
eral region is also to have railroad communications through Wisconsin south,
and through Canada east to the Atlantic, extensive land grants having been
made by the American and Canadian governments for these objects, com-
prising in all many millions of acres.
The Beaver Islands are a beautiful cluster of Islands in Lake Michigan.
in the vicinity of Mackinaw. Big Beaver, the largest of them, contains
about 25,000 acres, and until" within a few years was in the possession of a
band of Mormons.
When the Mormons were driven from Nauvoo, in 1845, they were divided into
three factions — the Twelveites, the Rigdonites, and the Strangites. The Twelveites
were those who emigrated to Utah, the Rigdonites were the followers of Sidney Ki.o;-
don, and were but few in number, and the Strangites made Beaver Island their head-
quarters. Their leader, Strung, ayoung lawyer originally of western N. York, claimed
to have a revelation from God, appointing him the successor of Joe Smith. "These
Mormons held the entire control of the main island, and probably would have con-
tinued to do so for some time, but from the many depredations committed by them,
the neighboring fishermen and others living and trading on the coasts, became de-
termined to root out this band of robbers and pirates, as they believed them to be.
MICHIGAN. 291
After organizing a strong force, they made an attack upon these Mormons, and
succeeded, though meeting with obstinate resistance, in driving them from the
island. The attacking party found concealed a large number of hides and other
goods, which were buried to avoid detection. The poor, deluded followers of this
monstrous doctrine are now dispersed. Some three or four hundred were sent to
Chicago, and from thence spread over the country. Others were sent to ports on
Lake Erie. Strang was .wounded by one of the men he had some time previous to
this attack robbed and beaten. He managed to escape the island, but died in Wis-
consin shortly after, in consequence of his wounds."
SAULT DE STE. MARIE, the county seat of Chippewa county, is situated
on St. Marys River, or Strait, 400 miles
N.W. of Detroit, and about 18 from the
entrance of Lake Superior. The vil-
lage has an elevated situation, at the
Falls of St. Mary, and contains about
1,000 inhabitants. It is a famous fish-
ing place, immense quantities of white
fish being caught and salted here for the
markets of the west. The falls are
merely rapids, having a descent of 22
THE SAULT OR FALLS or ST. MART. feet in a mile. The Sault Ste. Marie is
The Tiew is looking down the lUpids. one of the prominent historic localities
of the north-west.
"On the 17th of September, 1641, the Fathers Joguesand Raymbault embarked
in their frail birch bark canoes for the Sault Ste. Marie. They floated over the clear
waters between the picturesque islands of Lake Huron, and after a voyage of sev-
enteen days arrived at the Sault. Here they found a large assembly of Chippewas.
After numerous inquiries, they heard of the Nadowessies, the famed Sioux, who
dwelt eighteen days' journey further to the west, beyond the Great Lake. Thus
did the religious zeal of the BVench bear the cross to the banks of the St. Mary
and the confines of Lake Superior, and look wistfully toward the homes of the
Sioux in the valley of the Mississippi, five years before the New England Elliott
had addressed the tribe of Indians that dwelt within six miles of Boston harbor."
In 1668, James Marquette and Claude Dablon founded a mission here. During
the whole of the French occupancy of the west, this was a great point for their
missions and fur traders. In the late war with Great Britain, the trading station
of the British North-west Fur Company, on the Canadian side, was burnt by Maj.
Holmes: this was just before the unsuccessful attack on Mackinaw. Fort Brady,
at this place, was built in 1823, and was at the time the most northerly fortress m
the United States.
Before the construction of the great canal, the copper from the Lake Su-
perior mines was taken around the falls by railway, the cars being drawn by
horses. It has added 1,700 miles of coast to the trade of the lakes, and is
of incalculable advantage to the whole of the business of the Lake Superior
country.
St. Marys Strait, which separates Canada West from the upper peninsula of
Michigan, is about 64 miles long, and is navigable for vessels drawing eight feet
of water to within about a mile of Lake Superior. At this point the navigation is
impeded by the Falls — the usault" (pronounced soo) of the river. Congress
offered Michigan 750,000 acres of land to construct a ship canal around these
rapids; and the state contracted to give these lands, free of taxation for five years,
to Erastus Corning and others, on condition of building the canal by the 19th of
May, 1855. The work was completed in style superior to anything on this conti-
nent, and the locks are supposed to be the largest in the world. The canal is 12
feet deep, being mostly excavated through solid sandstone rock. It is 100 feet wide
at the top of the water, and 115 at the top of its banks ; and the largest steamboats
292 MICHIGAN.
and vessels which navigate the Great Lakes can pass through it with the greatest
ease.
The Upper Peninsula, or Lake Superior country, of Michigan, has, of late
years, attracted great attention from its extraordinary mineral wealth,
especially in copper and iron. The territory comprised in it. together with
that portion of the Lake Superior region belonging to the state of Wiscon-
sin, has interests so peculiar to itself, that the project of ceding this
whole tract, by the legislatures of Wisconsin and Michigan, to the general
government, for the purpose of erecting a new state to be called SUPERIOR,
has been seriously agitated and may, in some not distant future, be consum-
mated.
Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water on the globe, is an object of in-
terest to the traveler. It is 1,500 miles in circumference, and in some parts more
than a thousand feet in depth. Among its many islands Isle Royal is the largest,
being nearly of the size of the state of Connecticut. The country along the lake
is one of the most dreary imaginable. Everywhere its surface is. rocky and broken ;
but the high hills, the rugged precipices, and the, rocky shores, with their spare
vegetation, are relieved by the transparency and purity of the waters that wash
their base ; these are so clear that the pebbles can often be distinctly seen at the
depth of thirty feet A boat frequently appears as if suspended in the air, so trans-
parent is the liquid upon which it floats. Among the natural curiosities, the Pic-
tured Rocks and the Doric Arch, on the south shore near the east end, are promi-
nent. The first are a series of lofty bluffs, of a light gray sandstone, 30U feet
high, which continue for twelve miles along the shore. They consist of a group
of overhanging precipices, towering walls, caverns, waterfalls, and prostrate ruins.
The Doric Arch is an isolated mass of sandstone, consisting of four natural pillars,
supporting an entablature of the same material, and presenting the appearance of
a work of art. The waters of Lake Superior, being remarkably pure, abound with
fish, particularly trout, sturgeon and white fish, which are an extensive article of
commerce. The siskowit of Lake Superior, supposed to be a cross of the trout
and white fish, is considered by epicures to possess the finest flavor of any fish in
the world, fresh or salt, and to which the brook trout can bear no comparison. It
loses its delicacy of flavor when salted ; its common weight is four pounds, and
length 16 inches. So exhilarating is the winter atmosphere here, that it is said
that to those who exercise much in the open air, it produces, not unfreqently, an
inexpressible elasticity and buoyancy of spirits, that can be compared to nothing
else but to the effects of intoxicating drinks.
The climate of the Lake Superior region is not, by any means, so severe
as its northern latitude would indicate. A writer, familiar with it saya:
" No consideration is, perhaps, more important to those seeking a country suita-
ble for residence and enterprise, than the character of its climate. Health is the
first, and comfort the next great object, in selecting a permanent abode. Tested
by these qualities, the Lake Superior region presents prominent inducements. Ita
atmosphere is drier, more transparent and bracing than those of the other states on
the same parallel. A healthier region does not exist ; here the common diseases
of mankind are comparatively unknown. The lightness of the atmosphere has a
most invigorating effect upon the spirits, and the breast of the invalid swells with
new emotion when he inhales its healthy breezes, as they sweep across the lake.
None of the American lakes can compare with Lake Superior in healthfulness of
climate during the summer months, and there ia no place so well calculated to re-
store the health of an invalid, who has suffered from the depressing miasms of the
fever-breeding soil of the south-western states. This opinion is fast gaining ground
among medical men, who are now recommending to their patients the healthful
climate of this favored lake, instead of sending them to die in enervating south-
ern latitudes.
The waters of this vast inland sea, covering an area of over 32,000 square miles,
exercise a powerful influence in modifying the two extremes of heat and cold.
MICHIGAN. 293
The uniformity of temperature thus produced, is highly favorable to animal and
vegetable life. The most delicate fruits and plants are raised without injury;
while four or five degrees further south, they are destroyed by the early frosts. It
is a singular fact, that Lake Superior never freezes in the middle ; and along the
shores, the ice seldom extends out more than fifteen to twenty miles. The temper-
ature of its waters rarely, if ever change, and are almost always at 40 deg. Fahren-
heit— the maximum density of water. I rarely omitted taking a morning bath
during my exploring cruises along the south shore of the lake, in the months of
A ugust and September, and found the temperature of the water near the shore,
much warmer than that along the north shore. I also observed a rise and fall in
the water — or a tidular motion, frequently. In midsummer, the climate is delight-
ful beyond comparison, while, at the same time, the air is softly bracing. The
winds are variable, and rarely continue for more than two or three days in the
same quarter. We have no epidemics, no endemics ; miasmatic affections, with
their countless ills, are unknown here ; and the luster of the languid eye is restored,
the paleness of the faded cheek disappears when brought into our midst. The
purity of the atmosphere makes it peculiarly adapted to all those afflicted with pul-
monary complaints, and such a thing as consumption produced by the climate, is
wholly unknown. Fever and ague, that terrible scourge of Illinois, Kanzas and
Iowa, is rapidly driven away before the pure and refreshing breezes which come
down from the north-west; and thousands of invalids from the states below, have
already found here a safe retreat from their dreaded enemy. It is also a singular
fact, that persons suffering from asthma or phthisis, have been greatly relieved, or,
in some instances, permanently cured by a residence in this climate. Having had
much experience in camping out on the shores of Lake Superior, sleeping con-
stantly on the sandy beach, with and without a tent, a few feet from the water's
edge. I would say, give me the open air in summer to the confinement of the best
houses ever constructed. It is never very dark in this latitude, and the northern
lights are usually visible every clear night. Although myself and companions
were exposed to all kinds of weather on our exploring excursions — with feet wet
every day, and nearly all day, sleeping on the beach, exposed to heavy dew, yet not
one of the party ever suffered from exposure ! Dr. Owen, the celebrated United
States geologist, says: 'At the Pembina settlement (in latitude 49 deg.), to a popu-
lation of five thousand, there was but a single physician, and he told me, that with-
out an additional salary allowed him by the Hudson Bay Company, the diseases of
the settlement would not afford him a living.' "
The Copper districts are Ontonagon, Portage Lake and Kewenaw Point The
principal iron district, Marquette. The principal mines in the Ontonagon district
are the Minnesota, Central and Rockland ; in the Portage Lake, Pewaubie, Quincy,
Franklin and Isle Royale ; and in the Kewenaw Point, Cliff, Copper Falls, North-
west and Central. The value of the copper product, in 1860, was about three mil-
lions of dollars.
The existence of rich deposits of copper in the Lake Superior region, has been
known from the earliest times. Father Claude Allouez, the Jesuit missionary, who
founded the mission of St. Mary, in 1668, says that the Indians respect this lake
as a divinity, and make sacrifices to it, partly, perhaps, on account of its magni-
tude, or for its goodness in furnishing them with fishes. He farther adds, that be-
neath its waters pieces of copper are found of from ten to twenty pounds, which
the savages often preserved as so many divinities. Other published descriptions
speak of it. Chsylevoix, who visited the west in 1722, says that the copper here
is so pure that one of the monks, who was bred a goldsmith, made from it several
sacramental articles.
Recent developments show that the mines were probably worked by the same
mysterious race who, anterior to the Indians, built the mounds and ancient works
of the west. In the latter have been found various copper trinkets bespangled
with silver scales, a peculiar feature of the Lake Superior copper, while on the
shores of the lake itself, abandoned mines, filled by the accumulation of ages, have
recently been re-opened, the existence of which was unknown, even to the tradi-
294'
MICHIGAN.
tions of the present race of Indians. There have been found remains of cop-
per utensils, in the form of knives and chisels; of stone hammers to the amount of
cart loads, some of which are of immense size and weight; of wooden bowls for
boiling water from the mines, and numerous levers of wood, used in raising mass
copper to the surface.
The Copper and Iron Region on Lake Superior.
The first Englishman who ever visited the copper region was Alex. Henry, the
trader. In August, 1765, he was shown by the Indians a mass of pure copper, on
Ontonagon River, ten miles from its mouth, that weighed 3,800 pounds; it is now
in Washington City, and forms part of the Washington monument. He cut off a
piece of 100 Ibs. weight with an axe. The first mining company on Lake Superior
was organized by this enterprising explorer. In 1770, he, with two others, having
interested the Duke of Gloucester and other English noblemen, built a barge at
Point aux Pius, and laid the keel of a sloop of forty tuns. They were in search
of gold and silver, and expected to make their fortunes. The enterprise failed,
and the American Revolution occurring, for a time caused the mineral resources
of the country to be forgotten.
Dr. Franklin, commissioner for negotiating the peace between England and her
lost colonies, purposely drew the boundary line through Lake Superior, so as to
throw this rich mineral region, of the existence of which he was then aware, with-
in the possession of the United States. He afterward stated that future genera-
tions would pronounce this the greatest service he had ever given to his country.
The celebrated Connecticut-born traveler, Capt. Jonathan Carver, visited these
regions in 1769, and in his travels dwells upon their mineral wealth. The first
definite information in regard to the metallic resources of Lake Superior, was pub-
lished in 1841, by Dr. Douglas Houghton, geologist to the state of Michigan. In
1843, the Indian title to the country was extinguished by a treaty with the Chip-
Eewas, and settlers came in, among them several Wisconsin miners, who selected
irge tracts of land,* including many of those now occupied by the best mines in
the country. In the summer of 1844, the first mining operations were commenced
*By an act of congress, in 1850, the mineral lands of Lake Superior were thrown into mar-
ket, with the right of pre-emption, as to occupants of other public lands ; and to occupants
and lessees, the privilege of purchasing one full section at the minimum price of $2 50 per
acre.
MICHIGAN. 295
I
on Eagle River, by the Lake Superior Copper Company. They sold out after two
or three years' labor, and at the very moment when they were upon a vein which
proved rich in copper, now known as the Cliff Mine.
The first mining operations brought to light many masses of native copper which
contained silver. This caused great excitement in the eastern cities, and, with the
attendant exaggerations, brought on " the copper fever," so that the next year, 1845,
the shores of Keweenaw Point were whitened with the tents of speculators. The
next year the fever reached its hight, and speculations in worthless stocks con-
tinued until 1847, when the bubble had burst. Many were ruined, and the coun-
try almost deserted, and of the many companies formed few only had actually en-
gaged in mining. They were, mostly, merely stock gambling schemes. Now,
about one third of all the copper produced on the globe comes from this region.
Such is its surprising richness, that the day may not be very distant when its an-
nual product will exceed the present product from all the other mines worked by
man combined.
We continue this subject from a valuable article, published in 1860, in the
Detroit Tribune, on the copper and iron interest of Michigan. The notes
are entirely from other sources :
This great interest of Michigan was first brought into public notice by the enor-
mous speculations and the mad fever of 1845. The large spur of country which pro-
jects far.out into the lake, having its base resting on a line drawn across from
L'Anse Bay to Ontonagon, and the Porcupine Mountains for its spine, became the
El Dorado of all copperdom of that day. In this year the first active operations
were commenced at the Cliff Mine, just back of Eagle River harbor. Three years
later, in 1848, work was undertaken at the Minesota, some fifteen miles back from
the lake at Ontonagon.
The history of the copper mines on Lake Superior shows that even the best mines
disappointed the owners in the beginning. We give the facts relative to the three
mines at present in the Lake Superior region to illustrate this. The Cliff Mine
was discovered in 1845, and worked three years without much sign of success; it
changed hands at the very moment when the vein was opened which proved after-
ward to be so exceedingly rich in copper and silver, producing now on an average
1,500 tuns of stamp, barrel, and mass copper per annum.
The Minesota Mine was discovered in 1848, and for the first three years gave
no very encouraging results. The first large mass of native copper of about seven
tuns was found in a pit made by an ancient race. After that discovery muoh mo-
ney was spent before any further indications of copper were found. This mine
yields now about 2,000 tuns of copper per annum, and declared for the year 1858
a net dividend of $300,000. The dividends paid since 1852 amount to upward of
$1,500,000 on a paid up capital of $66,000.*
*The cost to the stockholders of the Cliff Mine was $18 50 per share on 6,000 shares, and
the total cash paid in was $110,905. The highest selling price per share has been $245.
The years 1845, 1846 and 1847 not a dollar of returns came from the enterprise. In 1848
the mine was so far opened as to be worked with profit. Since then the dividends in round
numbers have been, in 1849, $60,000 ; 1850, $84,000 : 1851, $60,000 : 1852, $60,000 ; 1853,
$90,000; 1854, $108,000; 1855, $78,000 ; 1856, $180,000 ; 1857, $180,000 ; and 1858, $209,000.
Up to Jan. 1, 1859, the dividends paid stockholders, added to the cash, copper and copper
ore on hand, amounted to over $3,700,000.
The cost to the stockholders of the Minesota Mine was $3 per share on 20,000 shares, and
the total cash paid in, as above stated, $66,000. The highest selling price per share has
been $110. In 1848, $14,000 was expended, and $1,700 worth of copper produced ; in 1849,
expenditures, $28,000, copper produced, $14,000 ; 1850, expenditures, $58,000, copper pro-
duced, $29,000 ; in 1851, expenditures, $88,000, copper produced, $90,000. In 1852, the fifth
year from the beginning, the mine had been so far opened that ore in greater quantities
could be taken out, and the first dividend was declared ; it was $30,000 ; in 1853, dividend,
$60,000; 1854, $90,000; 1855, 200,000; and in 1856, $300,000; since then the dividends
have been about $200,000 per annum. In all the stockholders have received more than a
million of money for their original investment of $66,000, a fair reward for their five years
waiting on a first dividend.
These statistics, astonishing as they may seem, are equaled in mining experience in other
296
MICHIGAN.
The same has been experienced at the Pewabic Mine. That mine commenced
operations in the year 1855, with an expenditure of $26,357, which produced
$1,080 worth of copper; the second year it expended $40,820, and produced $31,-
492 of copper; in 1857, $54,484 of expenses produced $44,058 worth of copper; in
countries. That correct information should be disseminated upon this subject, is due to the
assistance required for an early development of the immense natural mineral wealth that our
country possesses. Hence we lengthen this note by statistics of successful British mines, as
given by a writer familiar with the subject :
"He has struck a mine!" is one of those sentences in every one's mouth to indicate extra-
ordinary good fortune. Phrases like these, passing into popular every day use, must orig-
inate in some great truth impressed upon the public mind. This expression is doubtless of
foreign origin, for the Americans know so little of mining, that all enterprises of this kind
are by them reproachfully termed speculative. Yet, when conducted on correct business
principles, and with knowledge, few investments are more certain than those made in this
useful branch of industry.
" This statement can now well be believed which has lately been made by the London Min-
ing Journal, that 'taking all the investments made in that country (England) in mining enter-
prises (other than coal and iron) good, bad and indifferent, at home and abroad, the returns
from the good mines have paid a larger interest upon the entire outlay than is realized in any
other species of investment*.'
" The exact figures are, for mining, an annual interest of 13 1-2 per cent. Other invest-
ments 4 8-10 per cent. Amount of dividends paid upon investments in mining, 111 per
cent. ,
This is doubtless owing to the fact that in England mining is treated as a regular busi-
ness, and is never undertaken by those who are not willing to devote the same attention,
, time, and money to it, that are considered necessary to the success of any other business."
We have before us a list of twenty- three English Mining Companies, showing, first, the
number of shares of each ; second, the cash cost per share ; third, the present selling price
per share; and fourth, the amount paid in dividends per share. The mines worked are
principally copper and lead.
From this list we gather the following facts, which we express in round numbers : Those
twenty-three companies invested in their enterprises one million and forty thousand dollars.
The present value of their property is eight millions of dollars. The shareholders Uave re-
ceived in dividends fourteen millions of dollars. The average cost per share was sixty-five
dollars. The present selling price per share is five hundred and two dollars ; and the
amount of dividends received per share, eight hundred and seventy-three dollars.
What other branch of industry will average such returns as these? And is it not owing
to the ignorance of the business men of the United States as to the actual facts of mining,
when legitimately pursued, that has, in a measure, prevented our industry from being partly
directed in that channel ?
From the list we group some of the most successful of the mines, arranging the statistics
so that they can be seen at a glance. They dwarf by comparison all ordinary investments
by the immensity of their returns.
Jamaica, Lead Mine. No. of shares 76. Amount paid per share $19. Present price per
share, $250. Total amount paid in, $1,444. Present value, $190,000. Increase value on
the original investment, thirteen times.
Wheat Basset, Copper. No. of shares, 512. Amount paid per share, $25 25. Present
price per share, $2,050. Total amount paid in, $12,800. Present value, $1,049,600. In-
crease in value, eighty times.
South Caradon, Copper. No, of shares, 256. Cost per share, $12 30. Present price per
share, $1,500. Total amount paid in, $3,200. Present value, $384,000. Increase in value,
one hundred and twenty-two times.
Wheal BuUer, Copper. No. of shares, 256. Amount paid per share, $25. Present price
per share, $3,095. Total cash capital, $6,500. Present cash value, $792,000. Increase value,
one hundred and twenty-four times.
Devon Great Consols, Copper. No. of shares, 1,024. Amount paid per share, $5. Pres-
ent price per share, $2,050. Total cash capital, $5,120. Present cash value, $2,099,200.
Increase value per share more than four hundred times.
Taking the above five mines together, and the sum of the original cash capital paid in
by the stockholders was, in round numbers, seventy-nine thousand dollars, and the present
combined value of tho investments, reckoning them at the present selling price of the shares,
is over four and a half millions of dollars.
Since the foregoing was written, later statistics than these have come to hand from Gryll's
Annual Mining Sheet, containing statistics of the copper mines of Cornwall, for the year
ending June 30, 1859.
It appears from these that during the past year the last mentioned mine — the 'Devon
Great Consols,' turned out 23,748 gross tuns of copper. On the 1st of June last, the lucky
MICHIGAN
297
1858, the amount expended was $109,152, and the receipts for copper $76,538 ; the
total expense ainou»te to $235,816, and the total receipts for copper to $153;168.
Outline view of the Minesota Mine.
The view shows only a small part of tha surface works. The aggregate extent of openings under ground
throughout the mine, by shafts and levels, is 31,8!)3 foet, or over six miles in extent. The deepest shaft is
712 feet. The entire working force at the mine is 718, and the total population supported tnere by it 1,210.
It is scarcely ten years that mining has been properly commenced in that re-
mote region. At that time it was difficult, on account of the rapids of St. Marys
River, to approach it by water with large craft. Being more than a thousand miles
distant from the ce^er of the Union, destitute of all the requirements for the de-
velopment of mines, every tool, every part of machinery, every mouthful of pro-
vision had to be hauled over the rapids, boated along the shores for hundreds of
miles to the copper region, and there often carried on the back of man and beast
to the place where copper was believed to exist. Every stroke of the pick cost
tenfold more than in populated districts; every disaster delayed the operations for
weeks and months.
The opening of the Sault Canal has changed all this and added a wonderful im-
petus to the business, the mining interests, and the development of the Lake Su-
perior country. Nearly one hundred different vessels, steam and sail, have been
shareholders received as their annual dividend $220 per share. That is mine stock worth
having; it cost only $5 per share, fifteen years ago, when the mine was first opened.
It is true that these are the successful mines. Mines to be placed in this class must be
either ordinary mines managed with great skill, or exceedingly rich mines, which possess
naturally such treasures, that they eventually yield immense return in spite of all blunders
in management."
To the above extract we append the remarks that the prominent difficulties in this coun-
try, in the way of successful mining, consist in the total ignorance of those who generally
engage in the business, most American mining companies proving but mere phantoms on
which to build airy castles, and most American mines but ugly holes in which to bury money,
which, like Kidd's treasure is never found again. None but those used fr^m youth to tha
business of mining, and for the very metals mined for, are fit to conduct the business. Noth-
ing but the mechanical education to open a mine, and the skill to work the machinery,
united with a knowledge of geology and chemistry, and more especially that intricate and
delicate branch, metallurgy, joined to extraordinary executive skill in the business manage-
ment, will conduct an enterprise of the kind to any but a disastrous issue*
Aside from this, such has been the selfishness, ignorance and neglect of those persons in
this country who have had the control of these enterprises, that let any mine promise ever
BO fairly, an investment in its stock is now regarded as silly as a purchase in a lottery.
It is said that six millions of dollars were lost during " the copper fever" on Lake Su-
perior, much of it indirectly stolen by smooth talking gentlemen, regarded as reputable
among their neighbors.
£98 MICHIGAN.
engaged the past season in its trade, and the number of these is destined largely to
increase year by year, an indication of the growth of business and the opening up
of the country. For the growth in the copper interest we have only to refer to the
shipments from that region year by year. These, in gross, are as follows: in 1853.
2,535 tuns; 1854,3,500; 1855,4,544; 1856, 5,357; 1857, 6,094; 1858, 6,025: 1859,
6,245; and in 1860, estimated, 9,000.
The same facts of development would hold generally true, with regard to the
other industrial interests of that vast country.
It remains yet almost wholly " a waste, howling wilderness." At Marquette,
Portage Lake, Copper Harbor, Eagle River, Eagle Harbor, and Ontonagon, and
the mines adjacent, are the only places where the primeval forests had given place
to the enterprise of man, and these, in comparison with the whole extent of terri-
tory embraced in this region, are but mere insignificant patches. What this coun-
try may become years hence, it would defy all speculations now to predict, but
there seems no reason to doubt that it will exceed the most sanguine expecta-
tions.
The copper region is divided into three districts, viz : the Ontonagon, the Ke-
weenaw Point, and the Portage Lake. Each district has some peculiarities of
product, the first developing more masses, while the latter are more prolific in
vein-rock, the copper being scattered throughout the rock.
There have been since 1845 no less than 116 copper mining companies organized
under the general law of Michigan. The amount of capital invested and now in
use, or which has been paid out in explorations and improvements, and lost, is es-
timated by good judges at $6,000,000. The nominal amount of capital stock in-
vested in all the companies which have charters would reach an indefinite number
of millions. • As an offset to this, it may be stated that the Cliff and Minnesota
mines have returned over $2,000,000 in dividends from the beginning of their ope-
rations, and the value of these two mines will more than cover the whole amount
spent in mining, and for all the extravagant undertakings which have been entered
upon and abandoned. While success has been the exception and failure the rule
in copper speculations, yet it must be admitted that these exceptions are remarka-
bly tempting ones. Doubtless there is immense wealth still to be developed in
these enterprises, and this element of wealth in the Lake Superior region is yet
to assume a magnitude now unthought of.
The copper is smelted mainly in Detroit, Cleveland and Boston, the works in
Detroit being the largest There is one establishment at Pittsburg which does
most of the smelting for the Cliff Mine; one at Bergen, N. Y., and one at New
Haven, Ct. There are two at Baltimore, but they are engaged on South American
mineral. The Bruce Mines, on the Canada side of Lake Huron, have recently put
smelting works in operation on their location. Prior. to this the mineral was bar-
reled up and shipped to London, being taken over as ballast in packet ships at low
rates.
The amount of copper smelted in Detroit we can only judge by the amount
landed here, but this will afford a pretty accurate estimate. The number of tuns
landed here, in 1859, was 3,088. The copper yield of Lake Superior will produce
between 60 and 70 per cent, of ingot copper, which is remarkably pure. Th^ net
product of the mines for 1859 is worth in the markets of the world nearly or quite
$2,000,000. This large total shows the capabilities of this region and affords us
some basis of calculation as to the value and probable extent of its future devel-
opments. Beside this amount, already noticed, as landed at Detroit, there were
1,268 tuns brought there from the Bruce Mines, and sent to London.
There are indications that Michigan is slowly but surely taking the rank to which she
is entitled, in the manufacture as well as production of IRON. The first shipment of pig
iron of any consequence was made by the Pioneer Company in the fall of 1858.
The Lake Superior iron has been proclaimed the best in the world, a proposition that
none can successfully refute. Its qualities are becoming known in quarters where it would
naturally be expected its superiority would be admitted reluctantly, if at all. It is now sent
to New York and Ohio, and even to Pennsylvania — an agency for its sale having been
established in Pittsburg. For gearing, shafting, cranks, flanges, and, we ought by all
means to add, car wheels, no other should be used, provided it can be obtained.
MICHIGAN. 299
A large amount of capital is invested in the iron interest in Michigan — over two millions
of dollars.
Murquette is the only point on Lake Superior where the iron ore deposits have been
worked. There are deposits of iron in the mountains back of L'Anse, but this wonderful
region leaves nothing more to be desired for the present. At a distance of eighteen miloa I
from the lake, are to be found iron mountains, named the Sharon, Burt, Lake Superior,
Cleveland, Collins, and Barlow, while eight miles further back lie the Ely and St. Glair
mountains. Three of these mountains are at present worked, tho Sharon, the Cleaveland,
and the Lake Superior, and contain enough ore to supply the world for generations to come.
The mountains further back embrace tracts of hundreds of acres rising to a hight of from
four to six hundred feet, which there is every reason to believe, from the explorations made,
are solid iron ore. The extent of the contents of these mountains is perfectly fabulous, in
fact, so enormous as almost to baffle computation. The ore, too, is remarkably rich, yield-
ing about seventy per cent, of pure metal. There are now in operation at Marquette three
iron mining companies and two blast furnaces for making charcoal pig iron, the Pioneer
and Meigs. The Pioneer has two stacks and a capacity of twenty tuns pig iron per day;
the Meigs one stack, capable of turning out about eleven tuns. The Northern Iron Com-
«ny is building a large bituminous coal furnace at the mouth of the Chocolate River, three
les south of Marquette, which will be in operation early in the summer.
Each of the mining companies, the Jackson, Cleveland and Lake Superior, have docks
at the harbor for shipment, extending out into the spacious and beautiful bay which lies
in front of Marquette, to a sufficient length to enable vessels of the largest dimensions to
lie by their side and be loaded directly from the cars, which are run over the vessels and
" dumped " into shutes, which are made to empty directly into the holds. The process of
loading is therefore very expeditious and easy.
The amount of shipments of ore for 1859, from Marquette to the ports below, reaches
75,000 gross tuns in round numbers, and the shipments of pig iron, 6,000 gross tuns more.
To this must be added the amount at Marquette when navigation closed, the amount at
the mines ready to be brought down, and the amount used on the spot. This will give a
total product of the iron mines of Michigan, for the past year, of between ninety and one
hundred thousand tuns. These mining companies simply mine and ship the ore and sell it.
Their profit ranges between seventy-five cents and one dollar per tun.
The quality of the iron of Lake Superior is conceded by all to be the best in the world,
as the analysis of Prof. Johnston, which we reproduce, shows. The table shows the rela-
tive strength per square inch in pounds: Salisbury, Ct., iron, 58,009; Swedish (best), 58,-
184; English cable, 59,105; Centre county, Pa., 59,400; Essex county, N. Y., 59,962;
Lancaster county, Pa., 58,661 ; Russia (best), 76,069; Common English and American,
30,000; Lake Superior, 89,562.
The manufacture of pig iron at Marquette will probably be carried on even more exten-
sively, as the attention of capitalists is directed to it. The business may be extended in-
definitely, as the material is without limit, and the demand, thus far, leaving nothing on
hand.
These facts exhibit the untold wealth of Michigan in iron alone, and point with certain-
ty to an extent of business that will add millions to our invested capital, dot our state with
iron manufactories of all kinds, and furnish regular employment to tens of thousands of
our citizens, while our raw material and our wares shall be found in all the principal mar-
kets of the world.
In the mining regions are the following towns, the largest of which has
1,200 souls. Ontonagon is at the mouth of Ontonagon River, and is the
largest mining depot. It is in the vicinity of the Minnesota Mine, and will in
time have a railroad connection with Milwaukie and Chicago, and eventually
with Cincinnati, heavy grants of land having been made through Michigan
to aid in the enterprise : also with the Canadian railroads. Eagle River is in
the vicinity of the Cliff and several other mines. Eagle Harbor, Copper Harbor,
and Fort Wilkins, the latter a delightful summer resort, all are in the same
neighborhood. Marquette is the iron city of Lake Superior: a railroad is
constructing and partly finished, to connect it with Little Noquet Bay, 117
miles distant, on Lake Michigan.
We conclude this notice of this district by a description of LIFE AT THE
MINES, as given by a visitor to the Cliff.
The situation of the Cliff Mine is one of great picturesqueness. Tho valley which is
about five hundred feet above the level of the lake, is surrounded on three sides by a rango
300 MICHIGAN".
of mountains, which sweeps round in a crescent form, trending in a south-westerly direc-
tion, and forming the west boundary of the Eagle River. Toward the valley these moun-
tains present a front of massive grandeur, being mostly perpeudicular, and having an ele-
vation of from three to four hundred feet above the valley.
i The population of the mine location is set down at about twelve hundred persons. E;ich
family has a separate cottage, and is required to take four boarders. This system of di-
viding the population into small families has been found to work better for the mine, and
to be more satisfactory to the miners themselves, than the congregation in large boarding
houses. The population consists principally of Cornishmen, the miners being exclusively
of that class. The mine " captains" are also old and experienced " captains " from the
copper mines of Cornwall, and are a jolly, good tempered set of men. The miners them-
selves appear to be good humored, sociable, and intelligent in everything relating to their
business
The ordinary labor " at grass" is mostly dene by Dutch, Irish, and Canadian French.
Tho breaking of the rock sent up from below is principally done by the Dutch, the Irish
are the teamsters, and the French are employed in a variety of ways on the surface. From
the intense national antipathy between the Cornish and the Irish, the number of the latter
employed is very small. From the fact of the Cliff being so old and extensive a min^
most of the newly arrived Cornish make directly for it, thus giving the managers oppo^
tunity to select the best. The Cornish miners at this place are therefore good specimens
of their class. Their dialect varies greatly, according to the section of Cornwall from
which they come, some speaking with but a slight variation from the usual manner, and
others having a vocabulary and intonation of voice that render their conversation bewil-
dering to the uninitiated.
The location comprises three churches, Episcopal, Wesleyan Methodist and Catholic.
In addition to the churches there is a well built school house, store, provision warehouse,
and other buildings. No tavern or beer shop stands within the location, the sale of alco-
holic or spiritous liquors being forbidden within the limits. One or two whisky and beer
shops stand beyond the location. Drunkenness is rigidly interdicted anywhere on the
company's property. All persons living on the location are treated as belonging to the
general family, and are subjected to a code of rules. The miners have a monthly contri-
bution reserved from their wages for the support of the doctor, who attends the miners and
their families without additional charge.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, ETC.
Pontiac, a chief of the Ottawa tribe, was one of the most remarkable and dis-
tinguished men of his race who have figured in history. Maj. Rogers, who knew
him and the tribes over whom he held sway, thus speaks of them in 1765 : "The
Indians on the lakes are generally at peace with each other. They are formed
into a sort of empire, and the emperor is selected from the eldest tribe, which i?
the Ottawas, some of whom inhabit near our fort at Detroit, but are mostly
further westward toward the Mississippi. Ponteack is their present king or em-
peror, who certainly has the largest empire and greatest authority of any Indian
chief that has appeared on the continent since our acquaintance with it He puts
on an air of majesty and princely grandeur, and is greatly honored and revered
by his subjects."
"About eight miles above Detroit, at the head of the Detroit River, is Pechee
Island, a green spot, set amid the clearest waters, surrounded by dense forests,
at all times cool from the breezes of the northern lakes, and removed from the rest
of the world. Pontiac made this island his summer residence, and in winter lodged
at the Ottawa village opposite, on the Canadian bank, and which has been described
as having been situated above the town of Detroit. Poetry may imagine him here,
musing upon the inroads of the English and the declining fortunes of his race,
and looking upon the gorgeous domain which was spread around him, and which
now constitutes the most beautiful part of Michigan — as a territory which was
soon to pass from his hands. To this land he held a right of pre-emption, the time
whereof the memory of man ran not to the contrary ; and superadded to this, a
patent from the Great Spirit, which established his title on t solid ground." — Lan-
maris Michigan.
Pontiac displayed more system in his undertakings than any other of his race
of whom we have knowledge. In his war of 1763, which is justly; .tailed uPon-
MICHIGAN. 301
tiac's War" he appointed a commissary, issued bills of credit, all of which he
afterward carefully redeemed. He made his bills or notes of bark, on which was
a drawing or figure of what he wanted for it. The shape of an otter, the insignia
or arms of his nation was drawn under the required article. After the conquest
of Canada by the English, Pontiac sued for peace, which was granted. When the
American Revolution commenced, the Americans sent messages to him to meet
them in council. He was inclined to do so, but was prevented, from time to time,
by Gov. Hamilton, of Detroit. He now appeared to have become the friend of the
English, and to reward his attachment, the British government granted him a lib-
eral pension. It is related that hia fidelity being suspected, a spy was sent to ob-
serve his conduct As he was acting professedly as a British agent among the
Indians in Illinois, the spy discovered that Pontiac, in his speech, was betraying
the British interests, and thereupon plunged a knife into his heart
James Marquette, the celebrated explorer of the Mississippi, and one of the most
zealous of that extraordinary class of men, the Jesuit missionaries, was born in
1637, of a most ancient and honorable family of the city of Laon, France, and en-
tered, at the early age of 17, the Society of Jesus; after studying and teaching for
many years, he was invested with the priesthood, upon which he at once sought a
mission in some land that knew not God, that he might labor there to his latest breath,
and die unaided and alone. His desire was gratified. He founded the missions of
St. Marys, St Ignace and Mackinaw. For nine years he labored among the In-
dians, and was enabled to preach to them in ten different languages. " In his va-
rious excursions," says Bancroft, "he was exposed to the inclemencies of nature
and the savage. He took his life in his hands, and bade them defiance ; waded
through water and through snows, without the comfort of a fire ; subsisted on
pounded maize; was freqently without any other food than the unwholesome moss
gathered from the rocks ; traveled far and wide, but never without peril. Still,
said he, life in the wilderness had its charms — his heart swelled with rapture, as he
moved over the waters, transparent as the most limpid fountain."
In May, 1685, as he was returning up Lake Michigan to his little flock at Point
Ignace, from one of his missions of love to the Indians of the Illinois, he felt that
his final hour was approaching. Leaving his men with the canoe, he landed at the
mouth of a stream running from the peninsula, and went a little apart to pray,
As much time passed and he did not return, they called to mind that he said some-
thing of his death being at hand, and on anxiously going to seek him found him
dead where he had been praying. They dug a grave, and there buried the holy
man in the sand.
" The Indians of Mackinaw and vicinity, and also those of Kaskaskia, were in
great sorrow when the tidings of Marquette's death reached them. Not long after
this melancholy event, a large company of Ojibwas, Ottawas, and Hurons, who had
been out on a hunting expedition, landed their canoes at the mouth of Marquette
River, with the intention of removing his remains to Mackinaw. They had heard
of his desire to have his body interred in the consecrated ground of St Ignatius,
and they had resolved that the dying wish of the missionary should be fulfilled.
As they stood around in silence and gazed upon the cross that marked the place
of his burial, the hearts of the stern warriors were moved. The bones of the mis-
sionary were dug up and placed in a neat box of bark made for the occasion, and
the numerous canoes which formed a large fleet started from the mouth of the
river, with nothing but the sighs of the Indians and the dip of the paddles to break
the silence of the scene. As they advanced toward Mackinaw, the funeral cortege
was met by a large number of canoes bearing Ottawas, Hurons, and Iroquois, and
still others shot out ever and anon to join the fleet.
When they arrived in sight of the Point, and beheld the cross of St Ignatius as
if painted against the northern sky, the missionaries in charge came out to the
beach clad in vestments adapted to the occasion. How was the scene hightened
when the priests commenced, as the canoe bearing the remains of Marquette neared
the shore, to chant the requiem for the dead. Ihe whole population was out, en-
tirely covering the beach, and as the procession marched up to the chapel, with
cross and prayer, and tapers burning, and laid the bark box beneath a pall made
in the form of a coffin, the sons and daughters of the forest wept. After the funo
302 MICHIGAN.
ral service was ended, the coffin was placed in a vault in the middle of the church,
where, the Catholic historian says, 'Marquette reposes as the guardian angel of
the Ottawa missions.'
1 He was the first and last white man who ever had such an assembly of the wild
sons of the forest to attend him to his grave.
' So many stirring events succeeded each other after this period — first, the Avar
between the English Colonists and the French; then the Colonists with the Indi-
ans, the Revolutionary war, the Indian wars, and finally the war of 1812, with the
death of all those who witnessed his burial, including the Fathers who officiated
at the time, whose papers were lost, together with the total destruction and evacu-
ation of this mission station for many years, naturally obliterated all recollections
of the transaction, which accounts for the total ignorance of the present inhabit-
ants of Point St Ignatius respecting it The locality of his grave is lost, but only
until the archangel's trump, at the last, shall summon him from his narrow grave,
with those plumed and painted warriors who now lie around him.' "
Gen. Wm. Hull was born in Derby, Conn., in 1753, and was educated at Yale
College. Entering the army of the Revolution, he performed most valuable ser-
vices and behaved bravely on many a battle field. Washington regarded him as
one of his most useful officers. In 1805, when Michigan was erected into a terri-
tory, he was appointed by congress its governor. On the outbreak of the war, he
was commissioned brigadier general. " In the comparatively weak fort at Detroit,"
says Lossing, "he was invested by a strong force of British and Indians; and, to
save his command from almost certain destruction, he surrendered the fort, hia
army of two thousand men, and the territory, to the enemy. For this he was tried
for treason and cowardice, and being unable to produce certain official testimony
which subsequently vindicated his character, he was found guilty of the latter, and
sentenced to be shot. The president of the United States, ' in consideration of his
age and revolutionary services,' pardoned him, but a cloud was upon his fame and
honor. He published a vindicatory memoir, in 1824, which changed public opin-
ion in his favor. Yet he did not live long to enjoy the effects of that change. He
died at Newton, on the 29th of November, 1825, at the age of seventy-two years.
A Memoir of General Hull, by his daughter and grandson, was published in 1848.
It fully vindicates the character of the injured patriot, by documentary evi-
dence."
Stevens Thompson Mason, the first governor of the state of Michigan, was the
only son of Gen. John Mason, of Kentucky, but was born in Virginia in 1812. At
the early age of 19, he was appointed secretary of the territory of Michigan, and
at the age of 22 was acting governor. In 1 836. at 24 years of age, he was chosen
governor of the new state. He was again elected in 1838, and died in 1843, when
only 31 years of age.
Gen. Alexander Macomb, was the son of an English gentleman, born in the
British garrison at Detroit, on the 3d of April, 1782, just at the close of the Revo-
lution. His father subsequently settled at New York He entered the army an
a cornet at an early age, and continued in the service until his death, at Washing
ton in 1841, being at the time general-in-chief. He was succeeded by Winfield
Scott He was an excellent officer, and for his services at the battle of Plattsburg,
congress presented him with a vote of thanks and a gold medal.
Dr. Douglas Houghlon was born in Troy, in 1809, and educated for the medical
profession. In 1831, he was appointed surgeon and botanist to the expedition sent
out by government to explore the sources of the Mississippi, and made an able re-
port upon the botany of the region through which he passed. Settling in Detroit,
to practice medicine, he was appointed, in 1837, state geologist. In 1842, he was
elected mayor of the city of Detroit, and from its foundation was professor in the
State University. His life was one of incessant labor, and he accomplished more
than any man living in developing the resources of Michigan, especially its min-
eral wealth. His reports upon the mineral region of Lake Superior, first aroused
the minds of this generation to the vast riches that lie buried beneath its soil. He
was drowned in October, 1845, on Lake Superior. While coming down from a
portage to Copper Harbor, with his four Indian voyageurs, the boat was swamped
MICHIGAN. 303
in a storm, near the mouth of Eagle River. Two of the men were saved by being
thrown by the waves upon the rocks ten feet above the usual level of the waters.
He perished, and so greatly was his loss felt to be a public calamity, that he is often
alluded to as "the lamented Houghton" even to this day.
Gov. Leivis Cass was born in Exeter, New Hampshire, Oct. 9, 1782. " Having re-
ceived a limited education at his native place, at the early age of seventeen, he
crossed the Alleghany Mountains on foot, to seek a home in the "great west," then
an almost unexplored wilderness. Settled at Marietta, Ohio, he studied law, and
was successful. Elected at twenty-five to the legislature of Ohio, he originated the
bill which arrested the proceedings of Aaron Burr, and, as stated by Mr. Jefferson,
was the first blow given to what is known as Burr's conspiracy. In 1807, he was
appointed, by Mr. Jefferson, marshal of the state, and held the office till the latter
part of 1811, when he volunteered to repel Indian aggressions on the frontier. He
was elected colonel of the 3d regiment of Ohio volunteers, and entered the military
service of the United States, at the commencement of the war of 1812. Having
by a difficult march reached Detroit, he urged the immediate invasion of Canada,
and was the author of the proclamation of that event. He was the first to land in
arms on the enemy's shore, and, with a small detachment of troops, fought and
won the first battle, that of the Tarontoe. At the subsequent capitulation of De-
troit, he was absent, on important service, and regretted that his command and
himself had been included in that capitulation. Liberated on parol, he repaired
to the seat of government to report the causes of the disaster, and the failure of
the campaign. He was immediately appointed a colonel in the regular army, and,
soon after, promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, having, in the mean time,
been elected major-general of the Ohio volunteers. On being exchanged and re-
leased from parol, he again repaired to the frontier, and joined the army for the
recovery of Michigan. Being at that time without a command, he served and dis-
tinguished himself, as a volunteer aid-de-camp to Gen. Harrison, at the battle of the
Thames. He was appointed by President Madison, in October, 1813, governor of
Michigan. His position combined, with the ordinary duties of chief magistrate
of a civilized community, the immediate management and control, as superintend-
ent, of the relations with the numerous and powerful Indian tribes in that region
of country. He conducted with success the affairs of the territory under embar-
rassing circumstances. Under his sway peace was preserved between the whites
and the treacherous and disaffected Indians, law and order established, and the
territory rapidly advanced in population, resources, and prosperity. He held this
position till July, 1831, when he was, by President Jackson, made secretary of
war. In the latter part of 1836, President Jackson appointed him minister to
France, where he remained until 1842, when he requested his recall, and returned
to this country. In January, 1845, he was elected, by the legislature of Michigan,
to the senate of the United States; which place he resigned on his nomination, in
May, 1848, as a candidate for the presidency, by the political party to which he
belongs. After the election of his opponent (General Taylor) to that office, the
legislature of his state, in 1849, re-elected him to the senate for the unexpired por-
tion of his original term of six years. When Mr. Buchanan became president, he
invited Gen. Cass to the head of the department of state, in which position he has
acquitted himself with characteristic ability. He has devoted some attention to
literary pursuits, and his writings, speeches, and state papers would make several
volumes. — Lanman's Dictionary of U. S. Congrcst.
W ISC 0 NSIN.
WISCONSIN derives its name from its principal river, which the Chippewas,
resided on its head-waters, called the Wees-kon-san, which signifies
"gathering of the waters." The
French voyageurs called it Ouisconsin,
the first syllable of which is nearer
the Indian sound than Wis. The
first white men on the soil of Wis-
consin were two French fur traders,
who passed the winter of 1659 among
the Indians of Lake Superior. Ar-
riving at Quebec the next summer,
with sixty canoes, loaded with furs,
and manned with 300 Algonquins,
they aroused a spirit of religious
zeal among the Jesuits to bear the
cross in the cabins of those distant
tribes. In 1661, Father Mesnard
went on a mission to the south side
of Lake Superior, where he resided,
ABMS or WISCONSIN. more than eight months, surrounded.
MoTTo-Forwnrd. bJ savages and a few French voy-
ageurs: he finally perished, in some
unknown way, in the rocky pine clad wilderness. Undismayed by his sad
fate a successor was appointed, Father Claude Allouez, who arrived at the
Sault Ste. Marie on the 1st of September, 1668. "He employed the whole
month of September in coasting the southern portion of Lake Superior,
where he met many Christians baptized by Father Mesnard. ' I had the
pleasure,' says this venerable man, 'of assuring, by baptism, the eternal sal-
vation of many a dying infant.' His success with the adults seems to have
been less. At Chagouamigon, or St. Michael, on the south-western side of
Lake Superior, there were gathered eight hundred warriors of different
nations; a chapel was built; among them were several tribes who under-
stood the Algonquin language. So fine an occasion for exercising his
zeal could not be overlooked. 'I spoke in the Algonquin language,' says he?
'for a long time, on the subject of the Christian religion, in an earnest and
powerful manner, but in language suited to the capacity of my audience. I>
20 305
306 WISCONSIN.
was greatly applauded, but this was the only fruit of my labors.' Among the
number assembled, were three hundred Pottawatomies, two hundred Sauks,
eighty Illinoians. In the year 1668, peace having been established between
the French and the Six Nations, many discoveries were made, and many new
missions established. In this year Fathers Dablon and Marquette went to
the mission of Sault Ste. Marie. In the same year, Father Nicholas, who was
on the mission with Allouez, conducted a deputation of 'Nez Perces,' an Al-
gonquin tribe, to Quebec, and Father Allouez went to the mission at Green
Bay. Sault Ste. Marie was made the center of their missionary labors among
the Algonquin tribes."
Father Marquette had been residing at the Straits of Mackinaw and the
Sault Ste. Marie about five years, when, accompanied by M. Joliet, a French
gentleman of Quebec, and five French voyageurs and two Indian guides, he
started from the straits on an exploring expedition. He "had heard of the
great river of the west, and fancied that upon its fertile banks — not mighty
cities, mines of gold, or fountains of youth, but whole tribes of God's chil-
dren, to whom the sound of the Gospel had never come. Filled with the
wish to go and preach to them, he obeyed with joy the orders of Talon, the
wise intendent of Canada, to lead a party into the unknown distance."
Marquette passed down Green Bay to Fox River, which they entered, and
dragged their canoes through its strong rapids to a village of Indians where
Father Allouez had visited, and where " they found a cross, on which hung
skins and belts, bows and arrows, which they had offered to the great Mani-
tou (God), to thank him because he had taken pity on them during the win-
ter, and had given them abundant chase." Beyond this point no Frenchman
had gone, and here was the bound of discovery.
" Being guided by the friendly Indians, Marquette and his companions came
to the Wisconsin River, about three leagues distant, whose waters flowed
westward. They floated down the river till the 17th of June, 1673, when
they reached the Mississippi, the great 'Ibther of Waters,' which they en-
tered with 'a joy that could not be expressed,' and raising their sails to new
skies, and to unknown breezes, floated down this mighty river, between broad
plains, garlanded with majestic forests and chequered with illimitable prairies
and island groves. They descended about one hundred and eighty miles,
when Marquette and Joliet landed, and followed an Indian trail about six
miles, to a village. They were met by four old men, bearing the pipe of
peace and 'brilliant with many colored plumes.' An aged chief received
them at his cabin, and, with uplifted hands, exclaimed: lHow beautiful is the
sun, frenchmen, when thou earnest to visit us! — our whole village awaits thee —
in peace thou shall enter all our dwellings.' Previous to their departure, an
Indian chief selected a peace pipe from among his warriors, embellished with
gorgeous plumage, which he hung around the neck of Marquette, 'the mys-
terious arbiter of peace and war — the sacred calumet — the white man's pro-
tection among savages.' On reaching their boats, the little group proceeded
onward. 'I did not,' says Marquette, ' fear death ; I should have esteemed
it the greatest happiness to have died for the glory of God.' They passed
the mouth of the Missouri, and the humble missionary resolved in his mind,
one day, to ascend its mighty current, and ascertain its source; and descend-
ing from thence toward the west, publish the gospel to a people of whom he
had never heard. Passing onward, they floated by the Ohio, then, and for
a brief time after, called the Wabash, and continued their explorations as
far south as the mouth of the Arkansas, where they were escorted to the
WISCONSIN.
307
Indian village of Arkansea. Being now satisfied that the Mississippi en-
tered the Gulf of Mexico, west of Florida, and east of California; and hav-
ing spoken to the Indians of God and the mysteries of the Catholic faith,
Marquette and Joliet prepared to ascend the stream. They returned by the
/oute of the Illinois River to Green Bay, where they arrived in August.
Marquette remained to preach the gospel to the Miamis, near Chicago.
Joliet, in person, conveyed the glad tidings of their discoveries to Quebec.
They were received with enthusiastic delight. The bells were rung during
the whole day, and all the clergy and dignitaries of the place went, in pro-
cession, to the cathedral, where Te Deum was sung and high mass cele-
brated."
Wisconsin was next visited by La Salle and Father Hennepin, a Fancis-
can friar, a man of ambition and energy. These adventurers having passed
down the Illinois, Hennepin paddled up the Mississippi as far as the Wiscon-
sin, where he was taken prisoner by the Indians, who treated him and his
companions kindly. They then took them up to the Falls, which Hennepin
named St. Anthony, in honor of his patron saint. From this point he re-
turned to Canada, by way of Lake Superior, and thence to France. The
first permanent settlement by the whites in Wisconsin, appears to have been
made at Green Bay, about the year 1745. by Augustin De Langlade, a na-
tive of France, of noble family, who emigrated to Canada at an early age.
The territory remained under the government of France till 1763, when,
at the treaty of Paris, it was ceded to Great Britain, who retained it until
the independence of the United States was acknowledged by that country, in
1783, when it was claimed by Virginia as part of the Illinois country, con-
quered by Col. George Rodgers Clark. It remained, however, in the posses-
sion of Great. Britain till 1796, when it was surrendered in accordance with
Jay's treaty, ratified the previous year. In 1784, it was ceded by Virginia
to the United States. In 1787, a government was provided for the territory
north-west of the Ohio. In 1800, it was divided into two separate govern-
ments, the western being called Indiana. In 1809, Indiana was divided and
Illinois organized. When Illinois was formed into a state, in 1818, the ter-
ritory north of the parallel of Lat. 42° 30', west of the middle of Lake
Michigan, was attached to the territory of Michigan, which had been set off
from Indiana in 1805.
In 1832, commenced the " Black HawJe War," the most important actions
of which took place within the " Huron District " of Michigan, as Wiscon-
sin was then called: they will be found detailed on page 1106 of this work.
When Michigan was formed into a state, in 1836, Wisconsin was erected into
a separate territorial government. Wisconsin Territory comprised within its
limits and jurisdiction the whole region from Lake Michigan to Lake Supe-
rior, extending westward to the Missouri River, including all the sources of
the Upper Mississippi. Its southern limits were the northern boundaries of
the states of Illinois and Missouri, and its extent from north to south was
580 miles, and from east to west 650 miles. The first " governor and super-
intendent of Indian affairs " was Henry Dodge, and John S. Homer vyas
territorial secretary. Gov. Dodge convened the first territorial legislature at
Belmont. now in Lafayette county. The second session was convened in
Burlington, now in Iowa, and the next, in 1838, in Madison, the present
capital.
" The settled portions of the territory were chiefly near the western ehoro
cf Lake Michigan, and the organized counties extended westward and south-
308 WISCONSIN.
westwardly to the banks of the Fox River of Green Bay, as far as Fort
Winnebago, and thence down the Wisconsin River, on the south-eastern side;
for thirty miles below the "portage." At the same time, immigrants, by way
of Milwaukie and Racine, were advancing upon the upper tributaries of Rock
River, as far west as the "Four Lakes" and Fort Madison. A few settle-
ments had extended, likewise, westward to the banks of the Mississippi, north
of Galena and the Illinois state line. Others had been slowly, for more than
three years, extending west of the Mississippi, upon the waters of the Des
Moines, Skunk River, Lower Iowa, and Waubesapinacon, as well as upon
the immediate banks of the Mississippi itself. These settlements, for tem-
porary government, were annexed to the jurisdiction of the Wisconsin Ter-
ritory as the " District of Iowa."
. The remainder of the Territory of Wisconsin, north and west of the Wis-.
consin River and of Fox River, as well as the northern and western portions
of the present state of Iowa, was a savage waste, still in the partial occu-
pancy of the remaining tribes of Indians, and in a great degree unknown to
civilization. Such were the extent and population of the Wisconsin Terri-
tory upon its first independent organization.
During the years 1841, 1842, and 1843, emigration from the north-eastern
states began to send its floods into the Wisconsin Territory, both by way of
the lakes and by way of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, to the banks of the
Wisconsin River. Thousands, especially in the latter years, crowded into
the beautifully undulating lands along the western shore of Lake Michigan,
south of Green Bay, to the Illinois line; and population extended rapidly
from the lake shore westward to the banks of Fox River, and along the re-
gion south of the Wisconsin River as far as the banks of the Mississippi.
Settlements soon spread over this delightful country, diversified by lakes and
prairies, in which all the crystal tributaries of Rock River take their rise.
A few years before, this had been called the "Far West," beyond the ad-
vance of white settlements and civilized life, in the sole occupancy of the
most degraded and improvident of the savages, the Winnebagoes, Sauks, and
Foxes. Now towns and commerce occupy the seats and haunts of the de-
graded Indian, upon which the rays of civilization had never beamed. A
large mercantile town, with an active and enterprising community, had sprung
up at Milwaukie Bay; a town which, three years afterward, in 1845, became
an incorporated city, with extensive powers and privileges, designed to render
it the commercial emporium of the future state of Wisconsin. Other trad-
ing towns lined the beautiful shore of the lake for many miles north and
south of this central depot.
During the year 1843, the aggregate number of persons who arrived in
the Wisconsin Territory has been estimated at more than sixty thousand,
embracing all ages and sexes. Of these, about fifty thousand arrived by way
of the lake route. The remainder advanced by way of the Mississippi and
Wisconsin Rivers, and comprised a great proportion of foreign emigrants
from the German states. These emigrants spread over the country south and
east of the Wisconsin River, and opened new settlements upon its northern
and western tributaries. In 1845, Wisconsin Territory contained more in-
habitants than any other new state possessed upon her admission into the
Union; yet the people, satisfied with the territorial form of government de-
sired not, in the recent state of the principal settlements, to incur the addi-
tipnal expense of an independent state government. Hence, with a popula-
tion of more than one hundred and forty thousand souls, the Wisconsin Ter-
WISCONSIN.
309
ritory had not, in 1845, made application to congress for authority to estab-
lish a state government. In May, 1848, however, Wisconsin was admitted
into the Union."
Wisconsin is bounded N. by Lake Superior, the upper peninsula of Mich-
igan, and Minnesota, W. by Minnesota and Iowa, E. by Lake Michigan, and
S. by Illinois. It lies between 42° 30' and 46° 55' N. Lat., and between 87°
and 92° 50' W. Long. Its greatest extent north and south is 285 miles, and
255 east and west, having a land area of 53,924 square miles, or 34,511,360
acres, of which 1,045,499 only were improved in 1850.
Wisconsin is one of the healthiest of countries, with a dry, transparent,
and bracing atmosphere, and remarkably free from fevers and ague. Writers
familiar with it, say:
"It is, indeed, delightful in speculation to talk of constant spring, of perpetual
verdure, of flowers in bloom at all seasons, of purling brooks never obstructed by
ice, of a inild climate, where Jack Frost never spreads his white drapery over the
surface of the earth ; but it is a problem, not yet fully solved, whether a tropical
climate contributes more to one's happiness than the varying seasons of a north-
ern clime. Nay, whatever doubt there is on the subject predominates in favor of
a northern latitude. Industry, intelligence, morality, and virtue, are exhibited
more generally among the inhabitants of northern latitudes than. those of southern.
If one's physical enjoyment is equally promoted by the bracing air of a cold cli-
mate, then, indeed, the argument is in favor of the latter, for vigor of body and
purity of mind are the most essential ingredients in the cup of happiness. The
air of our winters is dry and bracing. When snow falls it usually remains on the
ground several months, forming an excellent road either for traveling, business, or
pleasure. The rivers are securely wedged with ice, rendering many portions of the
country more accessible at that season than at any other. An excellent opportu-
nity is afforded to the younger portion of the community for innocent amusements
— sleighing, sliding downhill, and skating — amusements highly exhilarating, and
promotive alike of health and happiness. These observations have been made be-
cause a greater value is often set on a mild southern climate, in reference to its
capacity in affording the means of happiness or of health, than it really possesses."
"We have always made it a point to inquire of new settlers in Wisconsin how
they liked the climate, and the answer invariably was, that it was far superior to
that of the states they had left — whether Eastern, Middle or Southern, One emi-
grant says: 'As the result of my observations, I would state briefly — and in this
1 do but repeat a common sentiment — that 1 would much rather spend a winter in
Wisconsin than in New York or Pennsylvania. True, the weather is cold ; but it
is of that settled, steady, clear character, which we here call 'bracing weather.'
No damp winds, no sloppy thaw, no uncomfortable rains, but day after day the
same unbroken field of snow, the same clear, bright sunshine, the same untroubled
air. Winter here holds undisputed sway ; it is not a muddled mixture of all sea-
sons, in which the breezy spring, the clear autumn, the sunny summer and the
rigorous winter mingle and mix, and come and go together. You will understand
the force of this distinction when I tell you that the first fall of snow in Wiscon-
sin remains on the ground during the whole winter without a crust; so free is the
air from that dampness, which, in other countries produce it. Who among you
has not noticed the penetrating character of dampness in cold — its chilling, search-
ing qualities; or who, on the other hand, has not gone abroad on days of intense
coldness, but when the air was dry and pure, and felt elastic, buoyant, and com-
fortable. Such is a Wisconsin winter. I suffered less from the cold while here,
than I have many times in Pennsylvania when the thermometer stood much
higher."
Wisconsin may be described generally as an elevated rolling prairie, the
highest portion being on the north, and forms the dividing ridge between the
waters flowing S.W. into the Mississippi, and those flowing northward and
eastward into the lakes. Limestone underlies most of the southern part of
310 WISCONSIN.
the state; the northern part is composed of primitive rocks, mostly granite,
slate and sand stone. The country south of the middle is a fine agricultural
region, producing from 30 to 50 bushels of wheat to the acre. The prairies
of Wisconsin are generally small, and being skirted and belted with timber,
are adapted to immediate and profitable occupation, the soil being a dark,
rich vegetable mold. One peculiarity in southern Wisconsin strikes the
traveler — the high degree of culture, thrift, and cleanliness of the farms,
which is attributed principally to the fact, that almost every quarter section,
in its natural state, is ready for plowing and fencing, and also to the charac-
ter of the settlers, off- shoots from the hardy and industrious people of the
Eastern states and northern Ohio. A large number of Norwegians and other
emigrants from northern Europe, have emigrated to this young and thriving
State.
Vast quantities of pine lumber are obtained from the northern sections of
the state, ranging from five to eight millions annually in value, though the
business is in its infancy. The agricultural staples are wheat, Indian corn,
oats, potatoes, butter, live stock, etc. The wheat crop of 1860 was about 26
millions of bushels. Beside the great lakes, Superior and Michigan, on its
northern and eastern shores, Wisconsin has vast numbers of small lakes
within its borders, generally characterized by clear water, bold, picturesque
shores, with excellent fish.
The mineral resources of Wisconsin are important, but as yet imperfectly
known. The great lead region, mostly in the south-western part of the
state, contain mines supposed to be inexhaustible, and decidedly the richest
in the known world. Valuable copper and zinc ores are found at Mineral
Point and in its vicinity, also iron ore in various places. The bulk of the
population of the state is in its southern part, most of the country in the
north being an unexplored wilderness. If as densely settled as Massachu-
setts, Wisconsin would contain more than seven millions of inhabitants.
Population in 1820, 1,444; in 1830, 3,245; in 1840, 30,945; in 1850, 305,-
566; in 1855, 552,109; and in 1860, 768,585*
* Ritchie, ic his work on Wisconsin, pays : " The number of inhabitants in Wisconsin
does not exhibit their relative strength and power. Our population are nearly all in the
prime of life. You rarely meet a woman past fifty years of age; still more rarely as old a
man ; and large numbers are too young to have had many children. The Milwaukie Amer-
ican says : ' It is a fact, noticed and remarked by nearly every eastern visitor to the west,
that no small amount of the business of the west and north-west is conducted by young men.
Go where you will, in every city, town and village, you Trill find more youthful countenances
elongated with the cares and anxieties of business pursuits, than those unacquainted with
the peculiar circumstances attaching to western life and enterprise could be made to believe.
Youth and energy are found conducting and managing our railroads and our banking in-
stitutions. Beardless youngsters are seen behind the desks — their desks — of our counting
houses, and in our manufactories, mixed up with our commerce, and, in short, taking active
parts in every field of business enterprise. A year's experience as a clerk, or an agent for
others, gives him an insight into the modu* operandi of ' making money,' and his wits are
get in motion, and his industrious ingenuity brought to bear in his own behalf, and he de-
sires to 'go into business for himself.' Frequently with a small capital, oftener with none,
he engages in some branch of traffic, and in a few years is ' well to do in the world.' Such
is the history of many of the young merchants and business men in our state, and we do
not believe that a more enterprising, intelligent, and thorough-going business community
can be found than that of Wisconsin. Youth, energy, and a laudable ambition to rise in
the world, are characteristic elements of the west: they have made her what she now is,
and give glorious promise of her future.'
In one of our village or town hotels, crowded with moneyed boarders — the merchants,
bankers, and chief mechanics of the place — two thirds of them will be found to be between
twenty-five and thirty years of age ; their wives, of course, still younger. Our population
of 1,000,000 are equal in industrial capacity to at least twice that number either in Europe
or in the Atlantic states."
WISCONSIN.
311
MILWAUKIE, a port of entry, and the largest city in Wisconsin, is built
on the west side of Lake Michigan, 75 miles east of Madison, and 85 north
of Chicago. Lat. 43° 04', Long. 87° 57'. The city is built on the flats of
the Milwaukie River, and on the bluffs near the lake. The largest lake boats
ascend the river two miles. The shore on Lake Michigan consists of a bank
South-eastern river view in Milwaukie.
The engraving shows a river or harbor view in Milwaukie, as seen from near the point of the entrance
of Menominee River. The swing bridges across the river appear in the central part. The terminus of
the Milwaukie and Mississippi Railroad is near the building on the extreme left.
of clay from 20 to 100 feet hi<rh, and as nearly perpendicular as the nature
of the material will admit. The city contains about 20 founderies and ma-
chine shops, employing about 1,000 men, and 26 breweries, employing about
500 men. Ship building is extensively carried on ; great quantities of lum-
ber are exported; and it has a large commerce on the lakes, and does an ex-
tensive business with the interior by its railroads, one of which crosses the
state to the Mississippi. It is noted for its splendid blocks of buildings, and
for its superior brick, which have become a valuable article of export, being
used even as far east as New York city. They are hard, smooth, and of a
beautiful straw color. It has also in its vicinity quarries of a beautiful light
colored stone. Population, in 1840, 1,751; in 1850, 20,035; and in 1860,
45,254.
A foreign traveler describes Milwaukie as one of the most picturesquely
situated towns he had seen in the west. Says he: "It is placed on both,
sides of a river which falls into a fine bay of Lake Michigan, the town rising
from the valley of the river on either side to high bluffs facing the lake.
The river is navigable from the lake, and vessels discharge and land their
cargoes direct into, and from, the granaries and warehouses which line its
banks. Tramways from the various lines of railroad run along the other
sides of these warehouses, so that the greatest facilities are afforded for the
312 WISCONSIN.
transport and handling of produce and merchandise. The extent to which
labor is economized in this way both here and at Chicago is really wonderful.
By the aid of steam power half a million bushels of grain can be daily re-
ceived and shipped through the granaries of Chicago, the whole of it being
weighed in draughts of 400 bushels at a time, as it passes from the railroad
to the vessel. This can be done at a cos^of a farthing a bushel, and so quiet
is the whole process that there is little external evidence of much business
going on. The finest church in Milwaukie is the Roman Catholic Cathedral,
with the palace of the bishop on one side of it, and an orphan asylum on
the other. There are many handsome private residences, some built of white
marble, and the principal hotel of the city, the Newhall House, is very little
inferior either in size, architecture, or interior fittings and arrangements, to
the Hotel de Louvre in Paris. This city, which only twenty-three years ago
was the site of a single log cabin, now, in the one month of October, ships
a million bushels of wheat! From the bluffs the lake looks exactly like the
sea, as no opposite shore can be seen, and the white-crested waves come roll-
ing into the harbor just as they do on the Atlantic. There are numerous
schools in the city, free to all, arid well endowed by the state."
Milwaukie derives its name from Me-ne-aw-kee, an Indian word, said to
signify rich or beautiful land. The first white person who located at Mil-
waukie appears to have been Alexander. Laframbaiae, from Mackinaw, who
established a trading house here about the year 1785. He soon returned to
Mackinaw, and gave his business to his brother to manage for him: the latter
remained here for several years, and raised a family. Laframboise failing
in business, his trading house was closed about the year 1800. At this period
another trader established himself here, employing as clerk S. Chappue, who
had previously been with Laframboise. J. B. Beaubien established a trading
post in Milwaukie at this time. Some four or five years later Laurent Fily
was sent with a supply of goods, by Jacob Franks, of Green Bay, to carry
on a summer trade at Milwaukie, buying deer skins in the red. Previous to
this JacquesVieau, of Green Bay, commenced trading here, and continued it
regularly every winter, excepting that of 1811-12, until 1818, when his son-
in-law, SOLOMON JUNEAU emigrated here from Canada, first as his clerk, and
then on his own account, and he may be considered as the first regular set-
tler and founded of Milwaukie.
In the publications of the State Historical Society, Mr. Alex. F. Pratt
gives this sketch of Mr. Juneau, and of the early history of the place :
"Solomon Juneau emigrated to Milwaukie in the fall of 1818, and built
him a log cabin among the natives. At that time his family consisted of a
wife and one child. His nearest white neighbors were at Chicago, Green
Bay and Prairie du Chien. He kept a few goods suitable for the Indian
trade, and for the first seventeen years he was not only the only merchant in
the place, but the only white man. During that period, a few Indian traders
were occasionally thei'e, but not permanently located. In the spring of 1835,
a land office having been previously established at Green Bay, this land was
brought into market, and Mr. Juneau purchased a small tract, consisting of
about 130 acres, lying on the east side of the river, directly north of Wis-
consin-street. Previous to this time, Geo. H. Walker, Esq., had come and
made a claim on what is now called "Walker's Point," which he subsequently
obtained a title to. Byron Kilbourn, Esq\, about that time purchased a tract
on the west side of the river, which has from that time been known by the
name of 'Kilbourn Town.' Daniel Wells, Jr., W. W. Gilman, George D.
WISCONSIN. 313
Dousman, E. W. Edgerton, T. C. Dousman, Geo. 0. Tiffany, D. H. Kichards,
William Brown, Jr., Milo Jones, Enoch Darling, and others, immigrated
about the same time, and made large purchases of lands. In the course of
the summer of 1835, a number of good buildings were erected, and a great
many eastern speculators came and bought lands at high prices. Mr. Juneau,
about this time, sold an undivided interest in his lands to Morgan L. Martin.
He built a fine dwelling house on the lot where Mitchell's banking house now
stands; also a large store and warehouse on what is now known as 'Luding-
ton's corner.' In 1836, when we came, he was doing a large business both
in selling goods and lots. During that season, some two or three hundred
thousand dollars' worth of goods had been brought there to sell. Ground
rent was nearly as high as it is now. A merchant with a stock of goods
would arrive one day, and by the next day noon he would have a store com-
pleted to open in. Things were done on the California principle. They
were usually built of rough boards with a 'grass floor,' and in several in-
stances a blanket was hung up for a partition, and one half of the tenement
rented to another for a dollar a day. The town was flooded with speculators,
and all made money until the non-residents left and navigation closed, when
a sudden change 'came o'er the spirit of their dreams.'
The town was left with a large stock of goods, and but few inhabitants.
Merchants and other business men enjoyed the winter in the best possible
manner. During the fall quite a large number of actual settlers had arrived,
of the right stamp, among whom were H. N. Wells, J. E. Arnold, Henry
Williams, Hans Crocker, J. H. Tweedy, L. Blossom, J. W. Pixley, S. H.
Martin, Geo. P. Delaplaine, Geo. Reed, Cyrus Hawley, Fred. Wardner, A. 0.
T. Breed, Eliphalet Cramer, Rufus Parks, Curtis Reed, Orson Reed, Wm.
M. Dennis, Truman L. Smith, Edmond D. Clinton, A. A. Bird, and many
others, whom time will not allow us to mention. All had been doing a 'land
office business,' and had plenty of money left to winter on. At this time our
old friend Juneau was supposed to be worth at least $100,000, with a fair
prospect of its being doubled by the rise of land in the spring. We have
often seen him in those days go into his store, after business hours were over,
and take from the drawers the money that his clerks had received during the
day for goods and lots, amounting often to 8 or 10,000 dollars, and put it
loose in his hat; and upon one occasion we recollect of his hat being knocked
off in a playful Crowd, when some $10,000 flew in various directions. In
short, money seemed to be of no earthly use to him. If a man called upon him
to subscribe for either a public improvement or a charitable object, whatever
was required he subscribed, without asking why or wherefore. In the mean
time he had looked on and seen others get rich on the rise of property that
he had sold, and he commenced buying back lots and paying thousands for
those he had previously sold for hundreds. We recollect very well one cir-
cumstance: his re-purchasing the corner lot. near Youngs' Hall, for $3,700,
which he had sold the year previous for $475. He was truly, in the lan-
guage of the poet, ' The noblest work of God, an honest man.' He had
implicit confidence in every body.
The spring of 1837 disappointed all our anticipations. A general stagna-
tion in business prevailed in all directions. Immigration had almost entirely
fallen off. Our currency, which was mostly of the Michigan 'Wild Cat'
stamp, was no longer a legal tender. There was no sale for real estate. The
second payments were becoming due on purchases of real estate, and all who
supposed themselves rich in lands, were not only destitute of money, but the
WISCONSIN.
means to raise it. Some who were able to hold on, kept their property until
tbsy could get a handsome advance; while the majority were compelled to
sell for what they could get, and bankruptcy was the inevitable result.
At this time, there were but few settlements in the interior; but the hard
times which continued through the years 1837 and 1838, induced many to
leave Milwaukie and locate a 'claim.' The lands between Milwaukie and
Rock River were then surveyed, but were not brought into market until the
fall of 1839. During this time they had become thickly settled, and many
of them quite valuable. The hard times at the east had led many* to seek
a home in the west; and in the fall of 1839, when these lands came into
market, many of them had been so improved that they were worth from $10
to $100 an acre, while the occupants had not the first 'red cent' to buy them
with. Consequently, a .large proportion of the settlers were compelled to
either sell their improvements for what they could get, or pay from 25 to 50
per cent, for money to enter their lands with.
About this time, Alex. Mitchell, Harvey Birchard, the Messrs. Luding-
tons, E. Eldred, and other capitalists, came to Milwaukie, and purchased lots
at §100 each, that had previously been sold from $1,000 to $1,500, and are
now selling from $5,000 to $15,000 each. From that day to this, ' the rise
and progress' of Milwaukie has been steady and onward. The price of land
has continued to advance with the increase of business, and nearly all who
commenced in business there at that time, and continued to the present, have
be'come wealthy and independent. In 1846, the legislature passed an act
to divide Milwaukie county, and establish the county of Waukesha; also
another to incorporate the city of Milwaukie. At the first charter election
in the new city, Solomon Juneau was elected mayor, which was a well mer-
ited compliment to the ' old pioneer.' ".
Mr. Juneau subsequently removed to Dodge county, where by hard labor
he earned a comfortable living, until a few years since, when he was " gath-
ered to bis fathers."
Mr. Pratt also gives these amusing reminiscences of the judiciary of the
Territory of Wisconsin :
u The Territory of Wisconsin was organized in July, 1836. It was divided
into three judicial districts. Judge Dunn was appointed for the western
district, Judge Irwin for the middle, and Judge Frazier, of Pennsylvania,
for the eastern. Judge Frazier arrived in Milwaukie on a Sunday evening,
in June, 1837. He put up at the small hotel which stood where ' Dicker-
man's Block ' now stands, which was called the ******* Tavern, kept
by Mr. Vail. On his arrival, he fell in with some old Kentucky friends, who
invited him to a private room, for the purpose of participating in an inno-
cent game of 'po/cer.' The party consisted of the judge, Col. Morton, regis-
ter of the land office, and two or three others — friends of the judge. They
commenced playing for small sums at first, but increased them as the hours
passed, until the dawn of day, the next morning — when small sums seemed
beneath their notice. The first approach of day was heralded to them by
the ringing of the bell for breakfast. The judge made a great many apolo-
gies, saying, among other things, that as that was his first appearance in the
territory, and as his court opened at 10 o'clock that morning, he must have
a little time to prepare a charge to the grand jury. He therefore hoped that
they (would excuse him, which they accordingly did, and he withdrew from
the party. The court met at the appointed hour — Owen Aldrich acting as
sheriff, and Cyrus Hawley as clerk. The grand jury was called and sworn.
WISCONSIN. . 315
The judge, with much dignity, commenced his charge ; and never before did
we hear such a charge poured forth from the bench ! After charging them
upon ths laws generally, he alluded to the statute against gambling. The
English language is too barren to describe his abhorrence of that crime.
Among other extravagances, he said, that 'a gambler was unfit for earth,
heaven, or hell,' and that 'God Almighty would even shudder at the sight
of one.'
At that time, we had but one session of the legislature, which had adopted
mostly the statutes of Michigan, which allowed the court to exercise its dis-
cretion in granting stays of executions, etc. A suit came up against a man
in the second ward, who had no counsel. The judge ordered the crier to call
the defendant. He did so, and the defendant appeared. The judge asked
him if he had anything to say against judgment being rendered against him.
He replied, that he did not know that he had, as it was an honest debt, but
that he was unable to pay it. The judge inquired what his occupation was.
He replied that he was a fisherman. Says the judge, ' Can you pay in fish?'
The defendant answered, that 'he did not know but he could, if he had time
to catch them.' The judge turned to the clerk, and ordered him to 'enter up
a judgment, payable in fish, and grant a stay of execution for twelve
months ; ' at the same time remarking to the defendant, that he must surely
pay it at the time, and in good fish; for he would not be willing to wait so
long for 'stinking fish.' The next suit worthy of note, was against Wm. M.
Dennis, our present bank comptroller. He, like his predecessor, had no
counsel. His name was called, and he soon made his appearance. He en-
tered the court-room, wearing his usual smile, whittling, with his knife in
the left hand. The court addressed him in a loud voice, ;What are you
grinning about, Mr. Dennis?' Mr. D. replied, that he was not aware that he
was laughing. The court inquired if he proposed to offer any defense? He
replied, that he did, but was not ready for trial. 'No matter,' said the judge,
'there's enough that are ready; the clerk will enter it 'continued." The
next case, about which we recollect, was the trial of two Indians, who were
indicted for murdering a man on Rock River. They were also indicted for
an assault, with intent to kill, upon another man, at the same time. The
trial for murder came off first. They were found guilty, and sentenced to
be hanged. On the day following, they were tried for the assault, etc., found
guilty, and sentenced to five years' imprisonment, and to pay a fine of five
hundred dollars each. Governor Dodge, however, deeming it too severe to
fine and imprison a man after he was hanged, commuted it to imprisonment
for life. The Indians were confined in jail a year or two, but were finally
pardoned by the governor.
Judge Frazier soon afterward went to Green Bay, and held a court, from
whence, for want of a jail in which to confine prisoners, he sentenced a man,
for some trifling offense, ' to be banished to Turkey River.' After the court
adjourned, he returned to Milwaukie on the steamboat Pennsylvania. She
anchored in the bay, and the judge, who was dead drunk at the time, was
lowered by means of a tackle into a boat, and rowed to the landing at
Walker's Point. From the effect of this bacchanalian revel he never recov-
ered. His friend, Col. Morton, took him to his own house, called to his aid
our best physicians, and all was done that human skill could devise, for the
restoration of his health ; but it was too late ; the seeds of death had been
sown; he lingered in great distress for four or five days, and breathed
his last. The members of the bar, generally, neglected to attend the
316 , WISCONSIN.
funeral ; and having no relatives in the state, he hardly received a decent
burial."
Green Say, the county seat of Brown county, is situated at the mouth of
Fox River, at the head of Green Bay,* 120 miles N.E. from Madison, and
114 N. of Milwaukie. It is the oldest town in Wisconsin, and occupies an
important location. It has a good harbor, and is an important place of de-
posit and transit for the imports and exports of northern Wisconsin. It is a
great lumber mart, immense quantities being annually exported. The town
has a beautiful situation, and contains several spacious warehouses, fine
churches, and elegant residences. By the canal between Fox and Wisconsin
Rivers, there is steam navigation between Green Bay and the Mississippi
River. Fort Howard, named from Gqv. Benj. Howard, of Missouri, is on
!•'.-' west side of Fox River, on a commanding eminence. Population about
<: JO.
About 1745, the Sieur ATJGUSTIN DE LANGLADE, his son CHARLES, and
probably some others, left Mackinaw and migrated to Green Bay, where they
became the principal proprietors of the soil. They settled on the east side
of Fox River, near its mouth, somewhat above and opposite the old French
post, and on or near the site of the residence of Judge Arndt, at the upper
end of Green Bay. At this time there appears to have been a small French
garrison here, of whom Capt. De Velie was commander. Such was the in-
fluence of Charles De Langlade, that he was appointed, by Vaudreuil, the
governor of Canada, to command the border forces of the French and In-
dians in the north-west, and it was by his management that the British were
defeated and Gen. Braddock slain at Du Quesne, or Pittsburg, in 1755.
Langlade was also at the capture of Fort William Henry, and also at the
battle of Quebec, where Montcalm was killed. He received a pension from
the British government, for his services in the American Revolution. He
died at Green Bay, in Jan., 1800, at the age of 75, and was buried by the
Bide of his father, in the cemetery at this place.
The Green Bay settlement, from its inception in 1745 to 1785, a period of
forty years, made but little progress. Mr. Grignon, in his "Recollections,"
published by the State Historical Society, says, "in 1785, there were but
seven families, who, with their engages and others, did not exceed fifty-six
souls." In 1792, Charles Rcaume arrived and took up his residence at the
Bay. About this period others began to arrive, almost invariably from Can-
ada. About the year 1812, the population amounted to nearly 250 persons.
Previous to the advent of the Americans, in 1816, there were no schools.
The earliest mill erected in the country was by Jacob Franks, about the year
1809. He first built a saw mill, then a grist mill, on Devil River, three
miles east of Depere. Previous to this, grinding was done by hand mills.
In the summer of 1816, a body of American troops were sent to Green Bay,
in three schooners, where they arrived about the 16th of July. Grignon, in
his Recollections, says:
" Col. Miller, the commander, the very day of his arrival, accompanied by Col
* Green Bay, which gives name to the town, is an arm of Lake Michigan, of about 100
miles in length, and from 10 to 15 in breadth. The name, Green, was given by the early
explorers, and it is supposed, from this fact, that they must have visited it in the spring,
and have found the vegetation of the shores of the bay far in advance of other parts of tho
country, as is now sometimes the case, the trees being clothed with young leaves, rich in
the velvet green of spring, while far to the south, even as low as the latitude of the south
end of Lake Huron, all nature is in the cold sombre hues of winter.
WISCONSIN. 317
Chambers, Maj. Gratiot, Capt. Ben. O'Fallon, and other officers, visited Tomah at
his village, less than half a mile distant. Col. Miller asked the consent of the
Menomonees for the erection of a fort Tomah said :
'My Brother! How can we oppose your locating a council-fire among us? You are
too strong for us. Even if we wanted to oppose you, we have scarcely got powder and
pliot to make the attempt. One favor we ask is, that our French brothers shall not be dis-
turbed or in any way molested. You can choose any place you please for your fort, and
we shall not object.'
Col. Miller thanked him and his people for their friendly consent to his request,
and added that he had some spare provisions, and supposed a little pork and flour
would not hurt him, as they seemed to be scarce articles with the Indians, and in-
vited him to call and get a supply. Some of the Indians prompted Tomah to ask
their new father for a little broth also. Tomah expressed his thanks for Col. Mil-
ler's kind offers, and added that he and his people would be very glad to have, if
possible, a little broth to use with the pork and flour. Col. Miller said, that although
it was contrary to orders, he would take it upon himself to give them a little —
enough for a dram apiece, and hoped they would be moderate in its use.
The people of Green Bay were generally well pleased with the advent of the
Americans, a home market was furnished for their surplus provisions, and a new
impetus was given to the settlement. Vessels now began to arrive with supplies
for the garrison, and AVC began to experience the benefits and convenience of lake
commerce and navigation."
We continue the history of Green Bay from the Recollections of Hon.
Henry S. Baird. The article is valuable as a vivid description of the man-
ners and customs of these early French settlers of Wisconsin :
In the month of July, 1824, 1 first landed upon the shores of the Fox River. In
September following, I came with my wife from Mackinaw, having resided at the
latter place for t\vo years previously. My knowledge of the early history of the
state commenced at that period, and has continued uninterrupted until the present
time.
In 1824, Green Bay, as well as the entire country, presented a far different view
from its present appearance. Old Fort Howard then occupied its present site.
The grounds around it were used mostly for fields of grain and gardens. A portion
of the present town of Fort Howard was used by the troops as a parade and drill
ground. The garrison consisted of four companies of the third regiment of United
States Infantry, and commanded by the late Gen. John McNiel, the brother-in-law
of ex-President Pierce. The " settlement," so-ealled, extended from Fort Howard
on the east, and from the premises now occupied by our venerable fellow-citizen,
Judge Arndt, on the east side of Fox River, to the present village of Depere, then
known as Rapide des Peres. The lands on either side of the river were divided
into small farms, or more particularly known to the old settlers as " claims."
These claims are limited in width, generally from two to seven arpents, or French
acres, but what they lacked in width they made up in depth, being on the average
eighty arpents, or about two and three quarter miles long, and contained from one
hundred to six hundred and forty acres each. Like those at St. Louis, Kaskaskia,
Detroit, Prairie du Chien and other early settlements, these claims were generally
" squatted " upon by traders and early pioneers, but were subsequently, by a series
of acts of congress, "confirmed" and granted to the occupants on certain condi-
tions. Their peculiar shape of " all long and no wide," has often been a matter of
wonder to the shrewd Yankees, who love to have their farms in a square form, and
take it all in at one view. Many laugh at what they deem the folly and short-
sightedness of the old settlers in thus limiting their locations. But when apprised
of the reasons which induced this manner of location, they may cease to marvel.
In my opinion, the reasons were two-fold : first, security against the hostile attacks
to be.apprehended from the native Indians, who were the sole occupants and pro-
prietors of the country in the early years of its settlement by the traders, and
whose passions were often inflamed by jealousy and hatred of the whites in their
encroachments upon the soil and freedom of the original owners. It is evident
that it would be much easier to repel attack by a speedy union of the whites thus
318 WISCONSIN.
living in close proximity to each other, and concentrating their whole force and
means of defense, at some eligible point of security, than it would have been if
living in spots remote and scattered over a large extent of country. Another rea-
son was, that in those days the traders or whites who settled in the country were
not influenced by the same motive of cupidity that governs the " squatters " or
" claimants " of the present day, in the desire to acquire large landed possessions,
But few of those who came into the country at that early period, say about ono
hundred years ago, designed to make it their permanent abode. Their principal
object was to traffic with the Indians, and to obtain the rich furs and peltries, with
which this whole region then abounded. Agriculture and the cultivation of the
soil were, with them, secondary considerations. But very small portions of the
small tracts of land thus occupied by the adventurers were cultivated by them.
Small patches of Indian corn, a few acres of potatoes or other vegetables, scattered
here and there through the settlement, comprised the farming interest of the coun-
try ; arid it was not until the arrival of more enterprising and grasping settlers, the
keen and speculating Americans (a class feared and hated by the former class),
that these claims were considered of any value, or worth the trouble and expense
of obtaining titles to them.
As before stated, the ''settlement" at this place extended on both sides of the
river from Fort Howard to Depere, a distance of about six miles, here and there
interspersed with patches of timber, the cultivated land extending back from the
river but a few acres. Beyond Depere, south or west, there was no white settle-
ments for many years, except two or three families at the Grand Kaukauna, until
we reached Prairie du Chien, on the Mississippi River, and distant about 250 miles ;
where was a garrison of United States troops, and a few hundred inhabitants. All
north, east or west of Green Bay was a dense forest, an unbroken wilderness, peo-
pled only by the red man, and roamed by wild beasts. Depere, or rather " Rapide
des Peres," is supposed to be the spot first located by the Jesuits or early mission-
aries, in or about the year 1671.* An old building, formerly occupied by 'these
Reverend Fathers, was situated very near the spot on which now stands the new
grist mill of Messrs. Wilcox & Wager. I frequently visited the spot, and the old
foundation of the venerable edifice was visible for some time after 1 came here,
and until, in cultivating the ground, the stones were removed or covered over.
The trade and business of the settlement was principally carried on at what was
then called by the unpretending and not very pleasing name of "Shanty Town."
Three or four stores were located at this point, and together with the sutler store
at Fort Howard, and two or three at other places in the settlement, supplied the wants
of the community. In addition to the "regular merchants" were several fur
traders, who carried on a regular traffic with the Indians ; but these had no per-
manent places of trade here. In the autumn of each year, they received, either
from Mackinaw (then the great depot and head-quarters of the American Fur Conir>
pany), or from Canada, their "outfit" of goods and merchandise, consisting of ar-
ticles adapted to the wants of the natives, and departed for their distant " winter-
ing grounds," situated in the wilderness. The principal trading posts, at that
period, in northern Wisconsin, were the following: Milwaukie, Sheboygan, and
Manitowoc, on Lake Michigan; Menomonee River, Peshtigo and Oconto, on Green
Bay ; Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Oshkosh, on Winnebago Lake ; Wolf River, Lake
Shawano, and the Portage of the Fox and Wisconsin. At all of these points In-
dian villages were located, and it is a remarkable feature in the settlement of Wis-
consin, that all or nearly all of the principal cities, towns and villages which now
in all directions meet our view, were originally sites of Indian villages; showing that
to the sagacity and foresight of the aborigines, rather than to the judgment and dis-
crimination of the whites, are we indebted for the beautiful and eligible locations
of the towns throughout the state.
These traders conveyed the goods, which, however, were not all dry goods, in
boats called batteattx, being of light draught of water, and constructed so as to
meet with the least opposition from the current in rapids or swift streams, or in
*The Mission of St. Francis Xavier, at DePere, was established in 1669: See Jesuit Re-
lations, 1669-70; Shea'* Hist. Catholic Mission*; Smith'* Hist. Wisconsin.
WISCONSIN". 319
birch bark canoes, which latter were constructed by the Indians. The boat or
canoe was manned, according to size and capacity, by a crew consistini;; of from
four to ten Canadian voyageurs, or by half-bloods, their descendants. This class,
which once occupied so prominent a position in the early recollections of the
times, but which has now nearly disappeared from the country they were the first
to visit, deserves a passing notice. The Canadian voyageurs, as the name indicates,
came originally from Canada, principally from Quebec and Montreal. They were
employed by the principal traders, under written contracts, executed in Ciinada,
for a term of from three to five years — their wages from two hundred and fifty
livres (fifty dollars) to seven hundred and fifty livres (one hundred and fifty dol-
lars) per year, to which was added what was termed an "outfit," consisting of a
Mackinaw blanket, two cotton shirts, a capote or loose sack coat, two pairs of coarse*
pants, shoes and socks, and some other small articles, including soap. Their food,
when in the "wintering ground," consisted, for the greater portion of the time, of
corn and tallow, occasionally enriched by a piece of fat pork — or venison and bear
meat, when they happened to be plenty ; yet with this spare and simple diet, they
were healthy and always cheerful and happy. Their powers of endurance were
astonishing. They would row or paddle all day, and when necessary would carry
on their hacks, suspended by a strap or band crossing their breast or forehead,
large packs of furs or merchandise, weighing from one hundred to one hundred
and thirty pounds, for whole days, and when night came, enjoyed their frugal meal
and joined in merry jokes, recounted stories of their many hair-breadth escapes
by " flood and forest,' or perhaps joined in the dance to the music of the violin,
if among their companions any were capable of "sawing sweet sounds." In the
spring of the year, they returned to the settlements or principal trading-posts, to
spend the summer months in comparative ease, and in the enjoyment of the pas-
times and frolics they so highly prized. Always improvident, open-hearted and
convivial, they saved nothing, nor thought of the wants of the future, but spent
freely the whole of their hard-earned and scanty wages in a few weeks of their
stay among their friends, and again returned in the fall to pass through the same
routine of toil, hardship, and privation. Intermarriages frequently took place be-
tween them and the native women. These marriages were encouraged by the
traders, as it not only increased the influence of the traders and their engayees over
the Indians, but was the means of securing their trade, bound the men more closely
to the country, and insured their continuance in the fur trade, with which they
had then become familiar. The half-bloods were the descendants of the early
vcyac/eurs, and in character and manners closely resembled their sires.
The commerce of the country was carried on through the medium of a few sail
vessels plying between this place and the ports on Lake Erie. These vessels were
generally of from twenty-five to seventy tuns burden. Occasionally, perhaps once
or twice in the season of navigation, a steamer from Buffalo would look in upon
us; but these were far different in structure and capacity from the splendid " float-
ing palaces" which have visited our waters in later years. All kinds of provisions
and supplies were brought here from Ohio and Michigan, and the inhabitants were
solely dependent upon those states for everything like provisions, except a limited
quantity of grain and vegetables raised by the miserable farmers of the country.
The buildings and improvements in the country were then few, and circumscribed
within a narrow compass, and in a great degree partook of the unpretending and
simple character of their occupants. Some constructed of rough or unhewn logs,
covered with cedar bark, here and there a sprinkling of lodges or wigwams, formed
by long poles stuck in the ground in a circular form, and brought together and
united at the top by a cord, thus forming an inclosure perhaps twelve or fifteen
feet in diameter at the base, and covered with large mats composed of a kind of
reed or grass, called by the Indians "Puckaway." The mode of ingress and egress
was by raising a smaller mat,%overing an aperture left in the side for that purpose.
Light was admitted from the top of the structure, through an opening which served
as well to emit the smoke from the fire, which was made directly in the center of
the habitation. 1'hese wigwams were sometimes occupied by families of the half-
blood Canadians and Indians, sometimes by the natives.
The inhabitants of the settlement, exclusive of the native Indians, were mostly
320 WISCONSIN.
Canadian French, and those of mixed blood. There were, in 1824, at Green Bay,
but six or eight resident American families, and the families of the officers sta-
tioned at Fort Howard, in number about the same. The "character of the people
was a compound of civilization and primitive simplicity — exhibiting the polite and
lively characteristics of the French and the thoughtlessness and improvidence of
the aborigines. Possessing the virtues of hospitality and the warmth of heart
unknown to residents of cities, untrammeled by the etiquette and conventional
rules of modern "high life," /they were ever ready to receive and entertain their
friends, and more intent upon the enjoyment of the present than to lay up store
or make provision for the future. Wiih few wants, and contented and happy hearts,
they found enjoyment in the merry dance, the sleigh-ride, and the exciting horse
/race, and doubtless experienced more true happiness and contentment than the
plodding, calculating and money-seeking people of the present day. This was the
character of the settlers who occupied this country before the arrival of the Yan-
kees— a class now entirely extinct or lost sight of by the present population ; but
it is one which unites the present with the past, and for whom the "old settlers"
entertain feelings of veneration and respect They deserve to be remembered and
placed on the pages of history as the first real pioneers of Wisconsin. Several of
these persons have left descendants who still survive them; and the names of Lawe,
Grignon, Juneau, Porlier, and others of that class, will survive and serve as me-
morials of the old race of settlers, long after the last of the present generation shall
have been "gathered to their fathers."
During the early years of my residence here, the social circle, although limited,
was by no means insignificant. It was composed of the families of the garrison
and the Americans, and several of the " old settlers." If it was small, it was also
united by the ties of friendship and good feeling. Free from the formalities and
customs which are observed by the ton of the 'present day, we met to enjoy our-
selves, more like members of one family than as strangers. The young people of that
period (and all felt young then) would assemble on a few hours' notice at the house
of a neighbor, without form or ceremony. Young ladies were then expected to
appear at an early hour in the evening, and not at the usual hour of retiring to
rest, nor were they required to appear in either court or fancy dresses. The merry
dance succeeded, and all enjoyed themselves until an early hour in the morning.
One custom prevailed universally, among all classes, even extending to the Indians :
that of devoting the holidays to festivity and amusement, but especially that of
"calling" on New Year's day. This custom was confined to no class in particu-
lar; all observed it; and many met on New Year who perhaps did not again meet
till the next All then shook hands and exchanged mutual good wishes — all old
animosities were forgotten — all differences settled, and universal peace established.
May this good old custom be long observed, and handed down to future genera-
tions as a memento of the good olden time. During the winter season, Green Bay
suras entirely insulated. Cut off from communication with all other parts of the
civilized world, her inhabitants were left to their own resources for nearly half the
year. Our mails were " few and far between," sometimes but once a month — never
more than twice, did we receive them, so that the news when received here was no
longer new. The mails were carried on a man's shoulders from Chicago to Green
Bay, through the wilderness, a distance of about two hundred and fifty miles, and
could not contain a very great quantity of interesting reading matter. Under such
circumstances it became necessary that we should devise some means to enliven
our time, and we did so accordingly; and I look back upon those years as among
the most agreeable in my life.
The country, at that early day, was destitute of roads or places of public enter-
tainment— nothing but the path, or " Indian trail," traversed the wide expanse of
forest and prairie from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, and the travel by land
was performed on foot or horseback; but there was men another mode of locomo-
tion, very generally adopted by those who took long journeys — now become obso'
lete, and which would doubtless be laughed at by the present " fast going" genera-
tion— that of the Indian or bark canoe. I will not take time to describe the vessel,
as most of you have doubtless seen such, and perhaps many, now present, have
taken voyages in these frail barks. The canoe was used in all cases where com-
WISCONSIN.
321
fort and expedition were desired. You may smile at the use of the terms " com-
fort and expedition," where the traveler sat cooped up all day in a space about four
feet square, and at night encamped on the bank of the stream, cooked his own
supper, and slept on the ground, with no covering but a tent and blanket, or, often
times, nothing but the wide canopy of heaven — having, after a day of toil and la-
bor by his crew, accomplished a journey of thirty to forty miles ! But these jour-
neys were not destitute of interest. The voyageur was enlivened by the merry
song of his light-hearted and ever happy Canadian crew — his eye delighted by the
constant varying scenery of the country through which he passed — at liberty to
Belect a spot for his encampment, and to stop when fatigued with the day's travel
— and, above all, free from care and from the fearful apprehensions of all modern
travelers on railroads and steamboats, that of being blown up, burned, or drowned.
J can better illustrate this early mode of travel, by giving an account of a " party
of pleasure," undertaken and
accomplished by myself. In
May, 1830, being obliged to
go on the annual circuit to
Prairie du Chien, to attend
court, I concluded to make it
a matter of pleasure as well
as business. I accordingly
obtained a good sized and sub-
stantial north-west bark canoe
— about five fathoms, or thirty
feet, in length, and five feet
wide in the center — a good
tent, or "markee," together
with mattresses, blankets,
bedding, mess basket, and all
other things required as an
"outfit" on such expeditions.
The party consisted of my
wife, self, two small children,
two young ladies as compan-
ions, and a servant girl ; my crew, of four Canadians — experienced men and good
singers — and two Menomonee Indians, as bow and steersmen. The canoe was
propelled both by oars and paddles.
We ascended the Fox River to Fort Winnebago, and descended the Wisconsin to
the Mississippi, and thence up the latter four miles to Prairie du Chien. The voyage
occupied eight or nine days m going, and about the same length of time in return-
ing— during which the ladies "camped out" every night save two. They did all
the cooking and household work; the former was no small item — for, with appetites,
sharpened by pure air and exercise, and with abundance of fresh venison, with
fowl and fish, to satisfy them, the quantity of viands consumed by the party would;
have astonished modern epicures, and perhaps shock the delicate tastes of city
belles. We frequently encamped early in the afternoon — at some spot which at-
tracted our attention from its natural beauty, or romantic appearance — and strolled;
along the bank of the stream, plucking beautiful wild flowers, which abounded,, or
clambering up some high bluff or commanding headland, obtained a view of the
surrounding country, and traced the meandering stream through its high banks,
far in the distance. It was in the merry month of May, when the forest was-
clothed in its deepest verdure — the hills and prairies redolent with flowers,, and
the woods tenanted by melodious songsters. It was truly a " trip of pleasure " and
enjoyment. Many trips for pleasure have been undertaken, where the parties may
have experienced the refinements and accommodations, and enjoyed the luxuries
to be found, in the present day, in old and long settled countries — but 1. believe
fuw, if any, realized more true delight and satisfaction, than did this "Party of
Pleasure in a 15ark Canoe."
The present "State of Wisconsin," although formerly a part of the Territory of
Michigan, was for many years rather an appendage than a component pari;of that
21
THE PORTAGE.
The engraving represents a party of voyageurs carrying their
l>ark canoe and packing their " plunder " over a portage. The
term "portage" is applied to those points where the canoes
are carried by land around rapids or other ob.structions in a
river, or from the head-waters of one stream to those of another,
as between those of the Fox and Wisconsin Kiyers.
322
WISCONSIN.
territory. In 1824, things had assumed a more orderly and regular character ; jus-
tice was administered according to the established rules and practice of other
states, and of the common law. But in the subordinate, or justices' courts, many
singular incidents transpired.
I happened to be present at a trial which took place in a justice's court in Iowa
county. The court was held in a small log school-house. The suit was brought
to recover the amount of a note of hand. The defendant plead either payment or
want of consideration — each party had employed counsel, and a jury of six were
impanneled to try the issue. A witness was called and sworn. In the course of the
examination, one of the counsel objected to some leading question put by the opposite
side, or to some part of the witness' answer as improper testimony. The justice
overruled the objection, and the witness proceeded; but ere long another objection
similar to the first was made from the same side. On this second objection being
made, the foreman of the jury, a large and portly individual, who bore the title of
colonel, and, probably owing to his exalted military rank, was permitted to wear
his hat during the trial, manifested a good deal of impatience, shown by fidgeting
in his seat and whispering to his fellow jurors; but the justice again overruled the
objection and told the witness to proceed. This he did for a short time, when he
made a statement which was clearly irrelevant and contrary to every rule of evi-
dence an'd common sense. The attorney who had so often and so unsuccessfully
attempted to exclude this sort of evidence, could no longer silently submit — he
again rose from his seat and most respectfully appealed to the court, protesting
against such statements going to the jury as testimony. Thereupon the worthy
foreman rose from his seat, and swore he would no longer sit there to hear the ob-
jections of that fellow. That he had taken an oath as a juror, to decide the case
Voyageurs Camp.
The day's toil ended, they rest from labor.
according to the evidence, and if he could not hear the whole story from the wit
ness, he should leave. Accordingly he made several strides toward the door, when
the justice rose from the bench, and approaching the juror, placed his hand upon
the colonel's shoulder, and begged that he should return to his seat, promising that
the troublesome attorney should not again interfere. After some persuasion, ho
consented to do so — at the same time, while pressing his hat more firmly upon his
WISCONSIN.
303
head, he exclaimed, "Well, I'll try ifc once more, but - if I will stand any mon
of that fellow s nonsense." The attorney gave up in despair, and the opposite
f txmsel had it all his own way.
South-western view of Madison.
Shows the appearance of the city, as seen from Washineton-avenue, near the railroad station ; the City
Hall appears on the left ; the Court House on the right ; the Episcopal Church, State Capitol, the Baptist
and Catholic Churches in the central part.
MADISON, the county seat of Dane county, and capital of Wisconsin, is 80
miles W. of Milwaukie, about 100 E. from Prairie du Chien, and 154 N.W.
of Chicago. It is generally pronounced to possess the finest natural site of
any' inland town in the Union. It is situated on rising ground, an isthmus
between Third and Fourth Lakes of the chain called Four Lakes. U0n the
northwest is Lake Mendota, nine miles long and six wide; on the east Lake
Monona, five miles long and three wide. The city is celebrated for the beauty,
health and pleasantness of its location; commanding, as it does, a view of
nearly every characteristic of country peculiar to the west — the prairie, oak
opening, mound, lake, and woodland. The surface of the ground is some-
what uneven, but in no place too abrupt for building purposes. The space
between these lakes is a mile in width, rising gently as it leaves their banks
to an altitude of about seventy feet, and is then alternately depressed and
elevated, making the site of the city a series of gently undulating swells.
On the most elevated ground is the state house, a fine structure of limestone,
in the center of one of Nature's Parks of fifteen acres, overlooking the
"Four Lakes" and the surrounding city. From this the streets diverge in
every direction, with a gradual descent on all sides. To the west, about a
mile distant, is the State University, in the midst of a park of 40 acres,
crowning a beautiful eminence, 125 feet above the lake. This institution was
founded in 1848, and has an annual income of $30,000. On the south side
of Lake Monona is a spacious Water-Cure establishment, surrounded by an
extensive grove, and presenting a very striking appearance on approaching
324 WISCONSIN.
the city. Around Madison, in every direction, is a well-cultivated, and beau-
tiful undulating country, which is fast being occupied by pleasant homes."
Madison possesses many handsome buildings and several churches of a
superior order. Beside the State University, it has other literary institutions,
male and female, of the first order, about 20,000 volumes in its public libra-
ries, and is generally regarded as the literary emporium of the state, being
the point for the assemblage of conventions of all kinds, and a favorite re-
sort for the literary and scientific men of ^Wisconsin. The town is a thriv-
ing business place, and has ample railroad connections with all parts of the
country. Population, in 1860, 6,800.
The "STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN," organized in Madi-
son in 1849, is the most valuable and flourishing institution of the kind west
of the Alleghanies. By an act, most honorable to this growing state, the
sum of one thousand dollars annually has been granted to promote its ob-
jects. This society, although in its infancy, has already secured a most val-
uable collection of books and papers ; also an interesting collection of orig-
inal paintings of distinguished men, ancient relics, etc. The following article
upon the history of Madison, is from the pen of Lyman C. Draper, Esq.,
Cor. Sec. Wisconsin Historical Society, a gentleman who has probably col-
lected more original unpublished materials for western history, than any per-
son living in this state or in any other:
"The site of Madison attracted the attention of Hon. James D. Doty, as
early as 1832. In the spring of 1836, in company with Hon. S. T. Mason,
of Detroit, he purchased the tract of land occupied by the present city. The
first cost of this tract was about $1,500. The territorial legislature which
met at Belmont, Lafayette county, the next winter, passed an act locating the
capital here, and John Catlin and Moses M. Strong staked out the center of
the village in February of the same winter. In the mean time commission-
ers were appointed by the general government, to construct the capitol edi-
fice : Messrs. James D. Doty, A. A. Bird, and John F. O'Neil, were the com-
missioners. Eben Peck was sent on with his family to erect a house, where
the men employed in building the capitol might board and lodge, and was
the first settler at Madison. He arrived on the 14th of April, in 1837, and
put up a log house, which remains standing to this day, upon its original
site, on block 107, Butler-street. This was, for about a year, the only public
house in Madison.
On the 10th of June succeeding, A. A. Bird, the acting commissioner for
constructing the capitol, accompanied by a party of thirty-six workmen, ar-
rived. There was no road, at that time, from Milwaukie to the capital, and
the party were compelled to make one for their teams and wagons as they
came along. They left Milwaukie on the 1st of June, with four teams. It
rained incessantly, the ground, drenched with water, was so soft that even
with an ordinary road, their progress would have been slow, but when to this
are added the obstructions of fallen trees, unbridged streams, hills whose
steepness labor had not yet mitigated, and the devious course which they ne-
cessarily pursued, it is not surprising that ten days were spent in accomplish-
ing a journey, which, since the advent of the iron horse into the Four Lake
country, we are able to perform in a little more than three hours. They
forded Rock River near the site of the present city of Watertown, and the
Crawfish at Milfbrd. The first glimpse they had of the sun during their
journey was on the prairie, in this county, now known as the Sun Prairie —
a name given it at the time, as a compliment to the luminary which beamed
WISCONSIN. 325
forth so auspiciously and cheerfully on that occasion, and possibly to encour-
age Old Sol to persevere in well doing.
Among the party that came with Bird was Darwin Clark, Charles Bird,
David Hyer, and John Pierce ; the latter accompanied by his family, being
the second settler with a family. On the same day that this party reached
here, Simeon Mills, now a resident of Madison, and well known through the
county, arrived from Chicago. John Catlin had been appointed postmaster,
but was not here, and Mr. M. acted as his deputy. He erected a block build-
ing, fifteen feet square, and in this opened the postoffice and the first store
in Madison. The building is yet extant, and at present stands in the rear
of a blacksmith shop, and is used as a coal house. During the following
month John Catlin arrived, and was the first member of the legal profession
that settled in Madison. William N. Seymour, another old settler and well
known citizen, came here the same season, and was the second lawyer in the
place. The workmen upon the capitol proceeded at once to getting out stone
and timber for that edifice, and, on the Fourth of July, the corner stone was
laid, with due ceremony. Speeches were made on the occasion and toasts
drunk, whether in cold water, or some stronger beverage, tradition does not
mention.
The first framed building erected was a small office for the acting commis-
sioner; the first framed dwelling was built by A. A. Bird. This still stands
upon its original site, on the bank of Lake Monona, back of the Capital
House. The boards used in these buildings were sawed by hand. A steam
saw mill, to saw lumber for the capitol, was built during the latter part of the
same season, on the shore of Lake Mendota, just below the termination of
Pinkney-street. In the month of September, of the same year, John Stoner
arrived, being the third settler with a family. A Methodist clergyman, the
Rev. Mr. Stebbins, the presiding elder of the territory, preached the first ser-
mon delivered in 'Madison, during the same month. Four families, with
their inmates and guests, constituted the entire population of Madison, and
with two or three families at Blue Mounds, the whole population of Dane
county during the winter of 1837—8. In the spring of 1838, Messrs. A. A.
Bird, Simeon Mills, William A. Wheeler, and others, who spent the winter
here, brought on their families and became permanent residents. During the
summer the Madison Hotel was built, and the first session of the supreme
court of the territory was held in July, in the sitting room. Judge Dunn,
of Lafayette county, was then chief justice, with Judges Frazier and Irwin
as associates. The work on the capitol went on somewhat slowly. On the
8th of November, the Wisconsin Enquirer, by J. A. Noonan, made its appear-
ance, being the pioneer paper at the capital.
The resident population of Madison, the second winter, was about one
hundred souls. The first female child born in Madison was Wisconsinia
Peck, born in the fall of 1837; the first male child was Madison Stoner,
born in 1838. Dr. Almon Lull, the first physician, settled here during the
same, year.
The Wisconsin Enquirer of May 25, 1839, contains an article respecting
Dane county, in which the population of the county is estimated at over
three hundred, more than half of whom resided in Madison. This was,
doubtless, too high an estimate, as the population by the census of 1840 was
but 314. The village then contained two stores, three public houses, three
groceries, and one steam mill — in all, thirty-five buildings. The same article
states that prices had ranged during the year then past as follows: corn, $1 25
326 WISCONSIN.
per bushel; oats, 75 cents; potatoes, $1 00; butter, 37^ to 62^ cents; eggs,
37^ to 75 cents per dozen; pork and beef, from 7 to 12 cents per pound. The
anniversary of our national independence was celebrated in due style, for the
first time in Madison, this season. John Catlin, Esq., was president of the
day; A. A. Bird and Simeon Mills, vice presidents. The Declaration was
read by Geo. P. Delaplaine, and the oration pronounced by William T. Ster-
ling. Hon. E. Brigham acted as marshal.
For a number of years the growth of the village was slow. Immediately
after the location of the capital, all the lands in the vicinity were entered
by speculators, and lots and land were held at a prospective value. The lo-
cation being at a central point between the Mississippi and Lake Michigan,
the advancing army of immigrants, on either hand, found a wide, fertile and
beautiful extent of country, at that time nearer market, and therefore holding
out superior attractions to the agriculturist. They did not consequently care
to indulge the speculator's appetite for fancy prices. This condition of affairs
continued until 1848. In the meantime the fertile valley of Rock River had
been filled with settlers, and immigration began to turn into Dane county,
which possesses a soil as bountiful and a surface of country as attractive as
any county in the state, but which, before it was tapped by railroads, was too
far from market to render agriculture remunerative.
The beginning of the real prosperity and growth of Madison commenced
with'the admission of the state into the Union, in 1848. ' The constitutional
convention then permanently located the capital here; until that time there
had been fears of its removal, and capitalists had hesitated to invest their
money in the vicinity. Since that period its progress in wealth and popula-
tion has been rapid and constant.
In 1847, L. J. Farwell, of Milwaukie, attracted by the beauty of the lo-
cation, and foreseeing its advantages as the natural business center of the in-
terior, the point of convergence of the principal lines of travel, and the cap-
ital of the state, made an extensive purchase of real estate, comprising a
portion of the village plat and of lands lying adjacent, which included the
unimproved water power between Lakes Monona and Mendota. To the
active enterprise, the liberal policy, and the public spirit of this gentle-
man, Madison is largely indebted for her present prosperity and growing
greatness."
We conclude this sketch of Madison with Child's account of the first ses-
sion of the territorial legislature in the place, which met Nov. 26, 1838:
The new capitol edifice was not yet in a suitable condition to receive the legis-
lature ; so we had to assemble in the basement of the old American House, where
Gov. Dodge delivered hia first message at the new seat of government. We ad-
journed from day to day, until we could get into the new capitol building. At
length we took possession of the new Assembly Hall. The floors were laid with
green oak boards, full of ice ; the walls of the room were iced over ; green oak
beats, and desks made of rough boards; one fire-place and one small stove. In a
few days the flooring near the stove and fire-place so shrunk on account of the
heat, that a person could run his hands between the boards. The basement story
was all open, and James Morrison's large drove of hogs had taken possession -r they
were awfully poor, and it would have taken two of them, standing side by side, to
have made a decent shadow on a bright day. We had a great many smart mem-
bers in the house, and sometimes they spoke for Buncombe. When members of
this ilk would become too tedious, I would take a long pole, go at the hogs, and stir
them up; when they would raise a young pandemonium for noise and confusion.
The speaker's voice would become completely drowned, and he would be compelled
to atop, not, however, without giving his squealing disturbers a sample of his swear-
ing ability.
WISCONSIN.
327
The weather was cold; the halls were cold, our ink would freeze, everything
froze — go when we could stand it no longer, we passed a joint resolution to adjourn
for twenty days. I was appointed bj the two houses to procure carpeting for both
halls during the recess; I bought all I could find in the territory, and brought it to
Madison, and put it down after covering the floor with a thick coating of hay.
After this, we were more comfortable. The American Hotel was the only public
house in Madison, except that Mr. Peck kept a few boarders in his old log house,
which was still standing not long since. We used to have tall times in those
days — times long to be remembered. The Forty Thieves were then in their in-
fancy; stealing was carried on in a small way. Occasionally a bill would be fairly
stolen through the legislature; and the territory would get gouged a little now and
then.
Tlic Four Lakes.
The " FOUR LAKES," in the midst of which Madison is so beautifully
placed, is a striking feature of the country, which is called the "garden spot"
of Wisconsin. The land around them is undulating, and consists mostly of
prairies and "oak openings," bearing in some respects a resemblance to En-
glish park scenery. Fourth Lake, or Lake Meudota, is the largest of the
chain, and from 50 to 70 feet deep. It is navigable for small steamers.
" The land around this lake rises gradually from its margin, and forms, in the
distance, the most beautiful elevations, the slopes of which are studded with
clumps of woods, and groves of trees, forming the most charming natural
scenery. The water of all these lakes, coming from springs, is cold and clear
to a remarkable degree. For the most part, their shores are made of a fine
gravel shingle ; and their bottoms, which are visible at a great depth, are
composed of white sand, interspersed with granite bowlders. Their banks,
•with few exceptions, are bold. A jaunt around them affords almost every
variety of scenery — bold escarpments and overhanging bluffs, elevated peaks,
and gently sloping shores, with graceful swells or intervals, affording mag-
nificent views of the distant prairies and openings; they abound in fish of a
great .variety, and innumerable water-fowl sport upon the surface. Persons
desiring to settle in pleasant locations, with magnificent water views and wood-
328 WISCONSIN.
land scenery, may find hundreds of unoccupied places of unsurpassed beauty
upon and near their margins."
The term " Four Lake Country," is applied to Dane county, in which these
lakes are situated. This county contains about 1,250 square miles, nearly
equal to the entire state of Rhode Island, which has 1,300 square miles.
Only one sixth of the land is yet settled, and all is susceptible of culture.
il Were Dane county as thickly settled as the French departments of Rhone,
Nord, and Lower Rhine, it would sustain a population of 700,000 souls."
The first permanent American settler, within the limits of Dane county, was
Ebenezer Brigham, of Blue Mounds. " He journeyed from Massachusetts to St.
Louis in 1818; thence, in the spring of 1828, he removed to Blue Mounds, the
most advanced outpost in the mines, and has resided there ever since, being, by
four years at least, the oldest white settler in the county. The isolated position he
thus settled upon will be apparent from the statement of a few facts. The nearest
settler was at what is now Dodgeville, about twenty miles distant. Mineral Point,
and most of the other diggings, where villages have since grown up, had not then
been discovered. On the south-east, the nearest house was on the O'Plaine River,
twelve miles west of Chicago. On the east, Solomon Juneau was his nearest neighbor,
at the mouth of the Milwaukie River; and on the north-east, Green Bay was the
nearest settlement — Fort Winnebago not then being projected. The country at
this time was part of Michigan Territory.
For several years after his coming the savages were sole lords of the soil. A
large Indian village stood near the mouth of Token creek; another stood on the
ridge between the Second and Third Lakes, in plain view of Madison ; and their
wigwams were scattered all along the streams, the remnants of their gardens, etc.,
being still visible. Then there was not a civilized village in the state of any con-
siderable size. When the capital was located, he was the nearest settler to it —
twenty-four miles distant! He stood on the ground before its selection as the seat
of government was thought of, and from the enchanting beauty of the spot, pre-
dicted that a village would be built there."
Watertown, Jefferson county, is finely situated on both sides of Rock River,
on the Fond du Lac and Rock River Railroad, 40 miles easterly from Madi-
son, at the great bend of the river, at the foot of Johnson's Rapids, where a
dam across the river creates a great water power, which is extensively used
for manufacturing purposes. It was settled in 1836, and has had a rapid
growth.* Population, in 1860, 5,800.
PRAIRIE DU CHIEN, the county seat of Crawford county, stands upon
the left bank of the Mississippi, at the terminus of the Milwaukie and Mis-
sissippi Railroad, about three miles above the mouth of Wisconsin River, 96
miles W. of Madison, 192 from Milwaukie, 529 above St. Louis, and 296
below the Falls of St. Anthony. "It is beautifully situated on a dry allu-
vial prairie, about six miles in length along the river, by two miles wide.
The southern and widest portion of the prairie is gently undulating, and so
high above the river as never to be subject to inundation, and it is one of the
best sites for a town on the river. The water is deep, affording natural and
spacious harbors. On the opposite side of the river the bluffs rise directly
from the water, are covered with a thick growth of forest trees, and are only
broken by ravines, which afford roadways into the country west from the
river. There is no room for any considerable town to be built on the river
elsewhere, nearer than Dubuque, seventy miles south of this place, and for
a distance of nearly one hundred miles north, on account of the high bluffs
which rise, like the highlands of the Hudson, from the water's edge. Prairie
WISCONSIN.
329
du Chien can never have a competitor for the western trade between those
limits."
There are two landings here, one at the terminus of the Milwaukie and
Mississippi Railroad, on the slough around the eastern side of an island in
the Mississippi, the other, McGregor's landing, about 1^ miles northward of
South-western view of Fort Crawford, at Prairie du Chien.
The Hospital is situated on the right. The high grounds seen back from the fort, with the horizontal
ranges of stone cropping out from the surface, is characteristic of the appearance of the blufis on thia
Bide of the Mississippi.
the railroad depot. Fort Crawford, now occupied by several laborers and
their families, is delightfully situated on a gentle elevation of the prairie,
about half a mile from the shore. Water is obtained within the walls of the
fort from a well 65 feet deep. Population is about 5,000.
According to tradition, Prairie du Chien was named from an Indian chief
by the name of Chien, or Dog, who had a village on the prairie, near where
Fort Crawford now stands — Cliic,n, or Dog, is a favorite name among the In-
dians of the north-west. About the year 1737, the French established a
trading post at this place, and built a stockade around their dwellings to
protect them from the Indians, and from that day to modern times it con-
tinued to be a trading and military post, though occasionally a worn out voy-
ageur got married and settled down upon the spot. The land at this point
was not purchased from the Indians, and none surveyed except the private
claims on the prairie, for many years after the government took possession
of it as a military post. There were not, until 1835, any Americans that
emigrated to the prairie for settlement.
In 1819, Lewis Cass, the governor of Michigan Territory, sent blank com-
missions for the different officers of the counties, to be filled up by the in-
habitants. " These were taken by Lieut. Col. Leavenworth, then on his way,
•with the fifth regiment, to occupy Forts Crawford and Armstrong, and to
build a fort at the mouth of St. Peters. Two companies of this regiment,
under Maj. Muhlenberg, were detached to Prairie du Chien. Soon after re-
ceiving the blank commissions, the principal inhabitants assembled at the
house of Nicholas Boilvin, and appointed John W. Johnson, U. S. factor, as
chief justice of the county court; Wilfred Owens, judge of probate; N.
Boilvin, J. W. Johnson, and James H. Lockwood, justices of the peace; J,
S. Findley, clerk; J. P. Gates, register; and Thomas McNair, sheriff.
330 WISCONSIN.
The following extracts are copied from vol. 2 of the "Collections of the
State Historical Society of Wisconsin," from an article entitled "Early Times
and Events in, Wisconsin," by Hon. James H. Lockwood:
"In the year 1820-'21, the county authorities of Crawford erected a jail
in the old village of Prairie du Chien, in the rear of village lot No. 17 of
that village, made of hewn oak logs of about one foot square; the house
was 25 by 16 feet, and divided by the same kind of logs into a debtors' and
criminals' apartments.
There is a tract of land nearly opposite the old village of Prairie du Chien
in Iowa, which was granted by the Spanish lieut. governor of Louisiana to
one Bazil Girard, and running through it was a small stream or brook, usually
called Girard's creek; but, in 1823, the commandant of Fort Crawford had
a body of men detailed to cultivate a public garden on the old farm of Gi-
rard, on said creek, and Martin Scott, then a lieutenant of the fifth infantry,
and stationed at Fort Crawford, was directed to superintend the party. Fond
of shooting, aud a great shot generally, he took his dogs and gun every
morning, got into his little hunting canoe, and spent the day in shooting
woodcocks which were plenty in the marshes about there, and returning in
the evening would boust of the number that had bled that day. After a
while he gave the creek the name of Bloody Run, which name it still bears.
The name generally suggests to strangers the idea of some bloody battle
having been fought there, and I have been frequently questioned as to the
tradition relative to it. and a few years since the editor of our village paper
had somewhere picked up the same romantic idea, and published a long tra-
ditionary account of a bloody battle pretended to have been fought there
years ago. But the creek is indebted for its name to the hunting exploits of
Major Martin Scott, when a lieutenant, and stationed at Fort Crawford.
On the 16th of September, 1816, I arrived at Prairie du Chien. a traders'
village of between twenty-five and thirty houses, situated on the banks of
the Mississippi, on what, in high water, is an island. The houses were built
by planting posts upright in the ground with grooves in them, so that the
sides could be filled in with split timber or round poles, and then plastered
over with clay, and white-washed with a white earth found in the vicinity,
and then covered with bark, or clapboards riven from oak.
The village, now called the old village of Prairie du Chien, was designated
by Lyons as the main village, as it was so at the time he surveyed the private
land claims of Prairie du Chien.
There were on the prairie about forty farms cultivated along under the
bluffs, where the soil was first rate, and inclosed in one common field, and
the boundaries generally between them marked by a road that afforded them
ingress and egress to their fields ; the plantations running from the bluffs to
the Mississippi, or to the slough of St. Freole, and from three to five arpents
wide. The owners did not generally live immediately on their farms, but
clustered together in little villages near their front, and were much the same
description of inhabitants as those of Green Bay, except that there were a
number of families of French extraction, entirely unmixed with the natives,
who came from the French villages of Illinois. The fanners' wives instead
of being* of the Indian tribes about, were generally of the mixed blood.
They were living in Arcadian simplicity, spending a great part of their time
in fishing, hunting, horse racing or trotting, or in dancing and drinking.
They had little or no ambition for progress and improvement, or in any way
bettering their condition, provided their necessities were supplied, and they
WISCONSIN. 331
could often collect together and dance and frolic. With these wants grati-
fied, they were perfectly satisfied to continue he same routine and habits of
their forefathers before them. They had no aristocracy among them except
the traders, who were regarded as a privileged class.
It was said, that about 1809 or 1810, a trader, an Irishman by birth, of
the name of Campbell, was appointed by the U. S. government sub-Indian
agent at Prairie du Chien, and by the governor of the Territory of Illinois
a justice of the peace. The currency of Prairie du Chien was at that time
flour, and Campbell charged for celebrating the rites of matrimony 100
pounds of flour, and for dissolving it 200 pounds, alleging that when people
wanted to get unmarried, they would willingly give double what they would
originally to form the matrimonial connection.
In speaking of the courts of justice of the country, and of their county
seats, Mr. Brisbois related to me, that sometime previous to the war of 1812,
he and Mr. Campbell had a dispute about a heifer that was worth at the
time perhaps eight dollars ; and as each believed it to be his property, they
applied to the lawyer at Cahokia to assist them in finding out who was the
real owner. The mode of traveling in those days was in a canoe, manned
with six or eight men to paddle, and taking with them some flour, tea, and
sugar for the Burgeois; and some hulled corn and deer tallow, enough to
season the soup, for the men, depending upon shooting game by the way, or
buying wild fowl or venison from the Indians. The parties litigant were
obliged to take their witnesses with them, paying them for their time and ex-
penses, from their departure until their return home. The parties were also
obliged to take a bundle of beaver skins, and dispose of them at St. Louis to
pay the expenses of lawyers, etc.; and the lawyers, as usual, were disposed
to oblige the parties by putting over the case from time to time, and the
parties continued the suit in this manner, until it had cost them about fifteen
hundred dollars each, when they took it out of court and settled it. But
which retained the heifer, if I ever heard, •! do not now recollect.
The coutume de Paris so far prevailed iu this country generally, that a part
of the ceremony of marriage was the<|ptering into a contract in writing, gen-
erally giving, if no issue, the property to the survivor; and if they desired
to be divorced, they went together before the magistrate, and made known
their wishes, and he, in their presence, tore up the marriage contract, and
according to the custom of the country, they were then divorced. I was
once present at Judge Abbott's at Mackinaw, when a couple presented them-
selves before him, and were divorced In this manner. When the laws of
Michigan were first introduced at Prairie du Chien, it was with difficulty that
the justice of the peace could persuade them that a written contract was not
necessary, and some of them believed that because the contract of marriage
gave the property to the survivor, that they were not obliged to pay the debts
which the deceased owed at the time of his death.
There was an instance of this at Prairie du Chien. A man by the name
of Jean Marie Quen (de Lamouche), who had been married by contract, died
without issue, leaving a widow, some personal property, and a good farm, but
was indebted to Joseph liolette about $300. which his widow refused to pay,
alleging that the contract of marriage gave her all the property ; nor could
she be convinced to the contrary, until I had brought a suit against her and
obtained a judgment."
" In speaking of the early settlers, and their marriage connections, 1 should per-
haps explain a little. In the absence of religious instructions, and it becoming so
332 WISCONSIN
common to see the Indians use so little ceremony about mairiage, the idea of a
verbal matrimonial contract became familiar to the early French settlers, and they
fenerally believed that such a contract was valid without any other ceremony,
[any of the women, married in this way, believed, in their simplicity and igno-
rance, that they were as lawfully the wives of the men they lived with, as though
they had been married with all the ceremony and solemnity possible. A woman
of Prairie du Chien, respectable in her class, told me that she was attending a ball
in the place, and that a trader, who resided on the Lower Mississippi, had hia
canoe loaded to leave as soon as the ball was over, proposed to marry her; and as
he was a trader and ranked above her, she was pleased with the offer, and as his
janoe was waiting, he would not delay for further ceremony. She stepped from
the ball-room on board his canoe, and went with him down the Mississippi, and
they lived together three or four years, and she had two children by him. She
assured me that she then believed herself as much the wife of this man as if she
had been married with all the ceremony of the most civilized communities, and
was not convinced to the contrary, until he unfeelingly abandoned her and married
another; and from her manner of relating it, I believed her sincere."
The traders in the British interest, in the war of 1812, resorted to Mack-
inaw as their head-quarters. In order to obtain the whole control of the
Indian trade, they fitted out an expedition under Col. McKay, consisting of
three or four companies of Canadians, commanded by traders and officered
by their clerks, all in red coats, with a body of Indians. Having made a
secret march, they arrived on the prairie without being expected. Making
a formidable show, and the Americans being out of ammunition and provis-
ions, they surrendered, and the British kept possession during the war.
"In the spring of 1817, a Roman Catholic priest from. St. Louis, called Pero
Priere. visited Prairie du Chien. He was the first that had been there for many
years, and perhaps since the settlement, and organized a Roman Catholic Church,
and disturbed some of the domestic arrangements of the inhabitants. He found
several women who had left their husbands and were living with other men; these
lie made by the terror of his church to return and ask pardon of their husbands,
fu?d to be taken back by them, whic^they of course could not refuse.
Brevet General Smyth, the colonel of the rifle regiment, who came to Prairie du
Chien to erect Fort Crawford, in 1816, had arrived in June, and selected the mound
where tliQ stockade had been built, and tffe ground in front, to include the most
thickly inhabited part of the village. The ground thus selected encroached upon
the ancient burying ground of the prairie, so that the inhabitants were obliged to
remove their dead to another place.
During the winter of 1816, or early in the spring of 1817, Lieut. Col. Talbot
Chambers arrived at Fort Crawford, and assumed the command, and the houses in
the village being an obstruction to the garrison, in the spring of 1817, he ordered
those houses in front and about the fort to be taken down by their owners, and re-
moved to the lower end of the village, where he pretended to give them lots."
"When I first came to the country, it was the practice of the old traders and
interpreters to call any inferior article of goods American, and to speak to the In-
dians in a contemptuous manner of the Americans and their goods, and the goods
which they brought into the country but too generally warranted this reproach.
But after Mr. Astor had purchased out the South-west Company and established
the American Fur Company, he succeeded in getting suitable kinds of goods for
the Indians, except at first the North-west Indian gun. He attempted to introduce
an imitation of them, manufactured in Holland, but it did not succeed, as the In-
dians soon detected the difference.
At that time there were generally collected at Prairie du Chien, by the traders
and (J. S. factors, about three hundred packs of one hundred pounds each of furs
and peltries, mostly fine furs. Of the different Indian tribes that visited and traded
more or less at Prairie du Chien, there were the Menomonees, from Green Bay,
who frequently wintered on the Mississippi; the Chippewas, who resided on the
head waters of the Chippewa and Black Rivers ; the Foxes, who had a large village
WISCONSIN. 333
•where Cassville now stands, called Penah, i. e. Turkey; the Sauks, who resided
about Galena and Dubuque; the Winnebagoes, who resided on the Wisconsin
Eiver; the lowas, who then had a village on the Upper Iowa River; Wabashaw's
band of Sioux, who resided on a beautiful prairie on the Iowa side of the Missis-
sippi, about one hundred and twenty miles above Prairie du Chien, with occasion-
ally a Kickapoo and Pottawatomie.
The Sauks and Foxes brought from Galena a considerable quantity of lead,
molded in the earth, in bars about two feet long, and from six to eight inches wide,
and from two to four inches thick, being something of an oval form, and thickest
in the middle, and generally thinning to the edge, and weighing from thirty to forty
pounds. It was not an uncommon thing to see a Fox Indian arrive at Prairie du.
Chien, with a hand sled, loaded with twenty or thirty wild turkies for sale, as they
were very plenty about Cassville, and occasionally there were some killed opposite
Prairie du Chien."
"In the year 182S, Gen. Joseph M. Street was appointed Indian agent at Prairie
du Chien, and arrived alone in the fall of that year to assume the duties of his
office; and, in the winter, returned to Illinois, and brought his family to Prairie
du Chien in the spring of the following year, being the first family who settled in
Prairie du Chien that made a profession of the Protestant faith of any of the dif-
ferent sects."
"In 1830, the present Fort Crawford was commenced, and in 1831, it was occu-
pied with a part of the troops, leaving the sick in the old hospital, and the surgeon
in the old fort. The fort, 1 think, was finished in 1832. In 1833, the authorities
of Crawford county concluded to build a court house and jail, and commenced
raising funds by increasing the taxes; and, in 1836, constructed a stone building
of sufficient size to have on the ground floor a room each for criminals and debtors,
and two rooms for the jailer, with a court room and two jury rooms on the second
floor. The taxable inhabitants then in the county were confined to the prairie.
We were then attached to Michigan Territory, and so well were our county affairs
managed, that the taxes were not raised more than five mills on a dollar to pay for
this improvement; and this was the first court house erected in Wisconsin."
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in a small grave-
yard, in a grove of locust trees, a short distance north of Fort Crawford :
Sacred to the memory of CAPT. EDGAR M. LACY, 5th Reg. U. S. Inft., who died at Fort
Crawford, April 2, 1839, aged 33 years. He awaits the last REVIEW. Erected by the 5th
Infantry.
Sacred to the memory of WILLOUGJIBY MORGAN, Col. 1st Infy, U. S. Army, who died at
Fort Crawford, April 4, 1832. Erected by tho 5th Infantry.
RACINE is on the W. shore of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of Root River,
73 miles E.S.E. from Madison, 23 S.E. from Milwaukie. and 62 N. from Chi-
cago. The Chicago and Milwaukie Railroad, connecting with the Racine and
Mississippi Railroad, here opens a vast extent of prairie country to its trade.
The outlet of Root River at this place gives it great commercial advantages ;
the average width in the city being 230 feet, and for more than half a mile
it is 12 feet deep. Lake Michigan is 70 miles wide opposite Racine; the
harbor is one of the most commodious on the entire chain of lakes. The
city is finely located upon the high banks of the lake and river. Its broad,
straight, and beautifully shaded avenues extend along the lake for miles. It
contains several splendid buildings, 18 churches, among which are 4 German,
3 Welsh, and 1 Scandinavian; 4 newspapers are published here. Population,
in 1840, 300; in 1850, 5,111; in 1860, 7,600.
The Racine College buildings are located in a delightful grove, overlook-
ing a lake front of uncommon beauty. The college was founded by the citi
33i
WISCONSIN.
zens of Racine, under the patronage of the Protestant Episcopal Diocese of
Wisconsin, at the instance of the Rt. Rev. Jackson Kemper, D.D. The site
on which the college stands, comprising ten acres of valuable land, was given
by Charles S. and Truman (1. Wright. The college was incorporated in 1852.
The first Episcopal clergyman who preached in Racine was Rev. Lemuel B.
Hull, of Milwaukie, in the spring of 1840.
Northern view of Racine.
The abovp shows the appearance of the contra! part of Racine, as entered from the west. The swing
bridge over Root River is in the central part. The eastern terminus of the Racine and Mississippi Rail-
road appears on the left. The lake is a few rods beyond the buildings in the distance.
In 1834, Anloine Ouilmette came, with his Indian family, from Grosse
Point, and located hitnself one mile from Racine. In November, of the same
year, the east fractional half of section 9, was claimed by Capt. Knapp, of
Racine. Gr. S. Hubbard, of Chicago, and J. A. Barker, of Buffalo, surveyed
and laid out lots in 1836. The Root River postoffice was established in ihe
same year, but discontinued in May, and the Racine postoffice established,
Dr. B. B. Carey postmaster. The first regular inhabitants located themselves
near the mouth of the river. The first house of worship was erected by the
Presbyterians, on Wisconsin -street, and in a building lately used as a school
house. The Rev. Mr. Foot was the first minister. The first school is be-
lieved to have been at the foot of Main-street, near the river.
Kenosha, the county seat of Kenosha, the most southern lake port of
Wisconsin, is on the W. shore of Lake Michigan, 10 miles S. of Racine.
It has a good harbor and piers. It commands the trade of one of the finest
farming districts of the west. Two small creeks empty into the lake, one
above, the other below the port. Population is about 4,000.
Kenosha was known at first by the name of Pike River. In 1841, it was
incorporated a village by the name of Southport; when incorporated a city,
in 1850, it received the name of Keiiosha, the Indian word for Pike. In Feb.,
1835, a company was organized in Hannibal, Oswego county, N. Y., under the
name of the "Western Emigration Society," for the purpose of procuring a
town site and effecting a settlement on the new lands of the west. An ex-
WISCONSIN. 335
ploring committee being appointed, they proceeded to the west, and on the
6th of June arrived at Pike Creek, where they selected a site for settlement.
As soon as the news of the selection reached Oswego county, about fifteen
families, mostly from the town of Hannibal, came on during the summer and
fall of 1835. " Eight families, members of the company, settled at Pike
Creek, viz: David Doolittle, Waters Towslee, I. G. Wilson, Hudson Bacon,
David Crossit, Amos Grattan, Samuel Resique, and Michael Van De Bogart.
These, with the members of their households, thirty-two persons in all, com-
prised the population of Pike Creek during the first winter of its settlement.
Their habitations were rude shanties, built of logs and covered with bark.
N. R. Allen and John Bullen erected a frame building in the fall of 1835,
being the first frame building in the place ; this building, however, was not
completed until the following year; it was located on the lake shore, near
the south pier of the harbor."
JancsviUe, capital of Rock county, is on both sides of Rock Rivdr, 45
miles S.E. of Madison, at the intersection of the Milwaukie and Mississippi
with the Fond du Lac and Rock River Railroad. It is one of the most im-
portant cities in the state, and is built principally on a level plain between
the river and the bluffs, which are about 100 feet high. It has several large
mills, for which the falls of the river at this point afford excellent sites. It
is the center of an active and increasing trade. It was settled about the year
1836, and incorporated a city in 1853. It has 8 churches, the State Institu-
tion for the Blind, and, in 1860, 7,500 inhabitants. ,
Beloit, a few miles below Janesville, in Rock county, on the railroad from
Chicago to Madison, near the Illinois state line, is also on Rock River, which
affords power for manufactories and mills of every description. The town
was incorporated in 1845, and is adorned with fine churches and dwellings,
spacious streets, and is the seat of that well known and popular institution,
Beloit College. Population about 5,000.
Mineral Point, the capital of Iowa county, is 47 miles W. S.W. of Madi-
son, and 40 from Galena, Illinois. It stands on a point of land between two
small streams, and is in the heart of the rich lead region. Immense quan-
tities of lead are exported from this place, which is a point of active busi-
ness, and has about 3,000 inhabitants. The following places in this section,
are also connected with mining operations : Dodgeville, Platteville, Hazel
Green. Lancaster, Highland, Mifflin and Potosi. The last named, Potosi, is
on Grant River, near its mouth, 15 miles above Dubuque, and is the princi-
pal mineral depot of Wisconsin, large quantities of lead being shipped from-
here in steamboats. Cassville, 28 miles above Dubuque, on the Mississippi,
is another important shipping point for lead.
This whole region is rich in lead, and numerous smelting furnaces are in
operation. Many lodes of mineral have been worked that have produced
$100,000 clear of all expenses. The price of mineral in 1838 averaged
about $30 per 1,000 Ibs. It has been sold as high as $40, and as low as $6.
These fluctuations are not frequent, and a fair estimate may be made that
mineral will not, for any length of time, be less than $25.
The great lead region of the north-west lies principally in this state, in-
cluding, in Wisconsin, 62 townships of its south-western corner, about 10 in
the north-western corner of Illinois, and about 8 in Iowa. Dr. Owen, in
his Report of the Geology of Wisconsin, says:
" This lead region is, in general, well watered ; namely, by the Pekatonica, Apple,
Fever, Platto and Grand Rivers, the head-waters of the Blue River and Wij^ar
336 WISCONSIN.
Creek: all these streams being tributaries of the Mississippi. The northern boun-
dary of the Wisconsin lead region is nearly coincident with the southern boundary
line of the blue limestone, where it fairly emerges to the surface. No discoveries
of any importance have been made after reaching that formation ; and when a
mine is sunk through the cliff limestone to the blue limestone beneath, the lodes
of lead shrink into insignificance, and no longer return to the miner a profitable
reward for his labor.
All the valuable deposits of lead ore, which have as yet been discovered, occur
either in fissures or rents in the cliff rock, or else are found imbedded in the recent
deposits which overlie these rocks. These fissures vary in thickness from a wafer
to even fifty feet ; and many of them extend to a very great, and at present un-
known depth. Upon the whole, a review of the resources and Ccipabilities of this
lead region, taken in connection with its statistics (in so far as it was possible
to collect these), induces me to say, with confidence, that ten thousand miners
could find profitable employment within its confines. If we suppose each of these
to raise daily one hundred and fifty pounds of ore, during six months of each year
only4 they would produce annually upward of one hundred and fifty millions
pounds of lead — more than is now furnished by the entire mines of Europe, those
of Great Britain included. This estimate, founded upon reasonable data, presents
in a striking point of view, the intrinsic value and commercial importance of the
country upon which I am reporting — emphatically the lead region of northern
America. It is, so far as my reading or experience extends, decidedly the richest
in the known world."
In the Reports of the State Historical Society, M». Stephen Taylor has
given some interesting items upon the origin of lead mining by the first set-
tlerg of the country, with a sketch of the state of society among the early
miners. Says he :
"For some time prior to the settlement of the lead mines, the miners, under the
regulations of the war department, were licensed to explore and occupy the min-
eral lands in that region, though in consequence of the hostility of the Indians to
the explorations and encroachments of the whites, they seldom ventured far be-
yond that protection which numerical strength and the defensive organizations
near Galena secured.
It was in the autumn of 1827, upon the cessation of the Winnebago disturbances,
that the more daring and enterprising, prompted by the hope of discovering vast
mineral treasures, the existence of which over a wide extent of territory, the many
flattering accounts had so truthfully pictured, banded together in well armed
squads, overrun the country prospecting in all directions. They were usually, in
those times, governed by certain surface indications, the most infallible of which
were the old Indian diggings, which were found in almost every direction, and
their locations were marked by the many small aspen groves or patches indigenous
to the upturned clay of the prairies in the lead region. By the rude and super-
ficial mode of excavation by the red men, much mineral remained in the diggings,
as well as among the rubbish; mining in these old burrows, therefore, not only at
once justified the labor, but frequently led to the discovery of productive mines.
'Gravel mineral,' carbonized so as to be scarcely distinguished from water-worn
pebbles, and occasionally lumps weighing several pounds, were exciting evidences
of the existence of larger bodies upon the highlands in the vicinity. The amorpha
canescens, or 'masonic weed,' peculiar to the whole country, when found in a clus-
ter of rank growth, also attracted the attention of the Indian as well as the more
experienced miner, as it was supposed to indicate great depth of clay or the exist-
ence of crevices in the rock beneath. By such means were the mineral resources
of Wisconsin explored and developed, and thus was the manner of the discovery
of the productive mines at Mineral Point — a piece of land elevated about two
hundred feet, narrowing and descending to a point, situated in the midst of a val-
ley, as it were — a ravine bounding the same both eastward and westward, through
which tributaries of the Pokatonica River flow, uniting in a wider valley to the
southward. It was upon this point that the 'leads were struck,' the fame of which
spread, and so quickly became the center of attraction, the miners flocking to them
WISCONSIN. 337
from every quarter. Tt was customary, upon the discovery of new diggings, to dis-
tinguish them by some appellation, so this locality, on account of its peculiar posi-
tion and shape, was formerly called 'Mineral Point,' and hence the name of the
present village, the nucleus of which was formed by the erection of a few log
cabins, and huts built with square cut sods, covered in with poles, prairie grass
and earth. These very comfortable though temporary shelters were located in the
vicinity of the intersection of what are now called Commerce and High-streets, at
the margin of the westerly ravine, and in view from the diggings on the point.
Females, in consequence of the dangers and privations of those primitive times,
were as rare in the diggings as snakes upon the Emerald Isle, consequently the
bachelor miner, from necessity performed the domestic duties of cook and washer-
man, and the preparation of meals was indicated by appending a rag to an upright
pole, which, fluttering in the breeze, telegraphically conveyed the glad tidings to
his hungered brethren upon the hill. Hence, this circumstance, at a very early
date, gave the provincial sobriquet of 'Shake Rag,' or 'Shake Rag under the Hill'
which that part of the now flourishing village of Mineral Point, lying under the
hill, hns acquired, and which in all probability it will ever retain. So much for
the origin of Mineral Point. I will now venture a few remarks regarding the
manners and customs of its inhabitants in days of yore.
The continued prosperity of the mines, in a comparatively brief period, increased
the population of the village to several hundred, comprised,%as is usual in mineral
regions, of representatives from every clime and country, and in such conglomera-
tion, it is fair to presume, of every stripe of character. This increase of popula-
tion, including many of those expert in the 'profession,' warranted the establish-
ment of numerous gambling saloons, groceries — a refined name for groggeries —
and other like place* of dissipation and amusement, where the unwary, and those
flushed with success in digging, could be 'taken in and done for,' or avail them-
selves of opportunities voluntarily to dispose of their accumulated means, either
in drowning their sorrows in the bowl, or 'fighting the tiger' in his den.
Notwithstanding such were the practices almost universally, more or less, in-
dulged in by the denizens, yet the protracted winters in this then secluded, uncul-
tivated and sparsely populated country, and, for that reason, the absence of those
more reputable enjoyments which mellow and refine sociality in other regions, in
a measuro justified, a moderate participation in this mode of driving dull cares
away. These congenial customs, peculiarly western, were as firmly based as the
laws which governed the Medes and Persians, and wo to those, from lands of
steadier habits, who would endeavor to introduce innovations adverse to the estab-
lished policy of those days ! Hence the propriety and necessity of harmonizing
with, and following in the trail of the popular will. But such, T am happy in the
conviction, is not nov? the case — virtue, in 'the progress of events, has naturally
succeeded profligacy, and Mineral Point, freed from contamination, stands re-
deemed of her former errors."*
La Crosse, the capital of La Crosse county, is beautifully situated on the
Mississippi, at the mouth of La Crosse River, 200 miles N.W. of Milwaukie
by railroad, and 303 miles below St. Paul, by the river. It contains a large
* "Among the most distinguished of the earliest pioneers of Mineral Point, are Col. Robt.
C. Hoard, Col. Robert S. Black (now of Dodgeville), Col. Henry M. Billings, Col. Dnniel
M. Parkison, Col. Abner Nichols, Francis Vivian, Parley Eaton, Levi Sterling, Edward
Beouehnrd, Josinh Tynck, James James, Samuel Thomas, Mrs. Hood, Amzi W. Comfort,
0. P. Williams (now of Portage City), M. V. B. Burris, Milton Bevans, Peter Hartman.
John F. O'Neill, William Sublett, John Phillip.', John Milton, George Cubbage, James
Hitchins, John Caserly, Edward Coode, and William Tregay. And the following, who
have since paid the debt of nature, viz: Col. John D. Ansley, Col. John McNair, Robert
Dougherty, Capt. William Henry, Stephen Terrill, Mark Terri'll, Dr. Edward McSherry, Dr.
Richard G. Ridgley, Nicholas Uren, Richard Martin, James S. Bowden, John Hood, Lord
Blanoy. Joseph Sylvester, Matthew G. Fitch, Thomas McKnight, Stephen B. Thrasher,
Robert W. Gray, Joseph Morrison, James Hugo, Hugh R. Hunter, Edward Jaiies (late U.
S. Marshal). William Prideaux, Joseph James, Benjamin Salter, and " Cadwallader, the
keg-maker."
22
338 WISCONSIN.
number of saw mills, and considerable quantities of pine lumber are manu
factured. It is a place of rapid increase and prosperity, and its merchants
transact a heavy business with the adjacent country, which is rapidly filling
up. Population, in 1853, 300; and in 1860, about 4,000.
The place possesses peculiar advantages from being the terminus of the
Milwaukie and La Crosse Railroad. "It is probably the most northerly east
and west road that will be built in the state for many years, and has, conse-
quently, as tributaries, all northern Wisconsin, west of Lake Winnebago,
with the exception of a narrow strip on the borders of Lake Superior, and
the greater portion of Minnesota, extending far away to the Red River of
the North, the Sascatchawine, and, ultimately, the North Pacific Railroad."
About 60 miles above La Crosse is that beautiful expansion of the Mississippi,
known to all travelers as Lake Pepin. For about 25 miles the river is expanded
to a width of from two to three
miles, with majestic bluffs of lime-
stone on each shore. On the Wis-
consin shore, rising about two hun-
dred feet above the water, is the
noted Maiden's Rock, the scene
of the Indian legend of Winona,
the daughter of an Indian chief.
She was betrothed by her father
to a favorite warrior; but her af-
fections were fixed on one younger
though not less brave. On the
day appointed for her wedding, she
THK MAID»'. BOCK, wandered from the gay assemblage
under pretense ot searching tor
On Lake Pepin, an expansion of the Mississippi. some berries that grew in profu-
sion on this bluff, when her com-
panions, to their surprise, heard from her lips a low, plaintive sound : it was the
death song, and in a moment more, ere they could interfere, she cast herself head-
long from the rock, and was buried in the deep, cold waters below.
Prescott and Hudson are two flourishing towns in this part of the state.
The first is at the junction of the St. Croix River, with the Mississippi — the
last on that expansion of the St. Croix, called Lake St. Croix.
The St. Croix River which separates Wisconsin from Minnesota, is cele-
brated for its pineries, the value of its trade in lumber exceeding three mil-
lions of dollars per annum.
"The lumbermen of the St. Croix, during the sessions of the Wisconsin and
Minnesota legislatures of 1850-1, procured the incorporation of the 'St. Croix
Boom Company,' with a capital of $10,000. This work was considered absolutely
necessary, to facilitate the business of driving, assorting, and rafting logs. The
stock was speedily taken ; and by the following season the boom was built and
rendy for service. The work is substantial and permanent Piers of immense
size are sunk at proper distances, from the Minnesota shore to the foot of a large
island near the center of the stream, and again from the head of the island to the
Wisconsin shore. The boom timbers are hung from pier to pier, and the whole
river is entirely commanded, with no possibility of scarcely a single log escaping.
The charter of the company compels them, however, to give free passngp to all
boats, rafts, etc., ascending or descending the river. This duty is rather difficult
to perform at certain times, particularly when the logs are running into the boom
briskly, and hands are not to be had to raft and run them out: sometimes a barrier
of three or four miles intervene, and thus temporarily closes navigation. With a
full complement of men the boom can always be kept clear at the point where it
crosses the main channel of the river. The importance of the lumber business of
the St. Croix River would hardly be estimated by a stranger. Large quantities are
WISCONSIN. 339
floated down the Mississippi to St. Louis. The business of getting out the timber
is carried on in the winter, and affords employment to large numbers of young
men.
Fond du Lac, the capital of Fond du Lac county, is 72 miles N.N.W. of
Milwaukie, with which it has railroad connections. It stands at the southern
extremity of Lake Winnebago, the largest of the inland lakes of the state,
being about 30 miles long and 10 broad, forming a link in the chain of nav-
igable waters which connect the Great Lakes with the Mississippi. The
Portage Canal, on this water way, between the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, was
opened in 1856, and steamers pass from the lake to the Wisconsin River.
Anciently it was a French trading post, established here for the purpose of
traffic with the Winnebagoes, who had a village where Taychudah now is,
three miles east of the site of the place. The town has grown up within a
very few years. Population 1860, 5,450.
A traveler here in the fall of 1859, discourses thus agreeably upon the
town and country:
"I like the west, and especially Wisconsin. The country has captivated me —
the prairies, the pure air, clfar sky, fine farms, the perfectly rural air of the whole
and the hospitality of the people. What splendid farming land around Fond du
Lac — how easy to till to a £>ew England farmer; smooth fields without a rock,
scarce a stone, that when first cultivated yield 40 bushels of wheat to the acre, and
afterward 18 or '20; garden ground unequaled for vegetables, and a good market in
the city for all that is for sale. Corn planted in June ripens before the last of
August. Apples, pears, grapes and plums thrive well, and all the small fruits yield
abundantly. Here is a wild plum of fine flavor, and much used to make a sauce
for meat, with spices added. All the fruit trees 1 saw looked healthy and vigorous,
and free from the ravages of insects.
The winters are longer than ours, and the thermometer indicates greater cold,
but residents say the cold is not so severe as at the east, from the absence of wind.
Long storms are very uncommon, and a clear air and bright sun belong to their
winter, and the dry, pure atmosphere render this climate advantageous to those
afflicted with pulmonary complaints. It seemed to me especially good for nervous
people and those troubled with neuralgic pains. Fever and ague are not known
here; accounts' of its good effects in consumptive cases are authenticated.
Fond du Lac, the city of fountains, named from the Artesian wells which supply
it with water, bears the promise of a great city. The site is part prairie and part
woodland, a river dividing it. Twelve years ago it had but one chimney, and the
pockets of most of its early settlers, were as deficient in means as the houses of
this most necessary appurtenance; now it has a population of thousands, churches
of various kinds, some fine stores, and one especially fine block, containing a hall
which is said to be the handsomest in the west, and capable of accommodating
three thousand people. The hall has a center dome of stained glass, and the effect
is very pleasing. From the top of the building an incomparable view is to be had
of the city, lake, prairie, river and woods. The foreign element here is German,
and an intelligent class of people, obedient to law, and comprehending the oppor-
tunities a free country offers to them and their children. The people look healthy
and happy, and there is an appearance of comfort and thrift about them and their
dwellings. There are no showy houses, but neat, well-arranged buildings, with
yards, in which stand the forest trees found there, and enlivened by flowers and
shrubs. The settlers have shown a taste and respect for the forest trees leaving
them unmolested, and clumps of ouks and hickories in the cultivated fields sire
pleasant to look upon, and their shade must delight the cattle in summer. The
beauty of this country is indescribable, the whole having the appearance of a well
cared for park.
A ridge of limestone runs from Green Bay to the end of Lake Michigan, numer-
ous streams run from this, and vast quantities of limestone slabs ready for use can
be taken from the quarries and furnished to the city at two cents a square foot
340 WISCONSIN.
Gravel is abundant and accessible, and the city is removing the planks from the
road, laying on gravel, and will in time have fine sidewalks and good roads. On
this ridge are some fine farms, and the aspect of the country reminds me of
Dutchess county, New York. From the high peaks, views of the city, prairie and
lake are to be had, and in the clear air everything is so distinct that the eye seeks
in vain for the horizon."
Oshkosh, is named from an Indian chief of the Menomonee tribe, the word
signifying "brave." It is a thriving city, with great facilities for trade,
where but a few years since all was a dense wilderness. It stands on the
western bank of Lake Winnebago, at the mouth of the Fox River, and
has railroad connections with the east, west and south. The city con-
tains 6 churches, 4 newspapers, a large number of grist and other mills,
manufactures annually about 30 millions of feet of lumber, and has about
6,000 inhabitants.
When the Fox River Improvement is completed, this city will be on the
direct line of steamboat navigation between Lake Michigan and the Missis-
sippi. This enterprise is described as follows in Ritchie's work on the state:
" The Fox River, or, as it is called by the Indians, Neenah, is one of the most
important rivers in the state. It rises in Marquette c%unty, and flows nearly south-
west, toward the Wisconsin ; when within one and a half miles of that river, it
changes its direction to the north; after flowing a few miles, it passes through Lake
Winnebago, and falls into Green Bay. Its whole length is estimated at two hun-
dred miles.
The whole length of canal necessary to secure a steamboat communication from
Green Bay to Lake Winnebago, is about five miles. It is 100 feet wide on the bot-
tom, and 120 at the top (two feet wider than the famous Welland Canal). The
locks are 40 feet wide, by 160 long, and built in the most permanent manner, of
solid stone masonry, and in a style that will not suffer in comparison with any
similar work in the eastern states. It is calculated that with the improved manner of
working these locks, a steamer can pass each in the short space of three minutes.
This will afford a rapid transit for the vast amount of freight that must and will
geek an outlet through this thoroughfare to an eastern market The capacity of
the river for all purposes of navigation is undoubted ; at no season of the year can
there be any failure of water.
Twelve miles above Oshkosh, westward, is the mouth of the Wolf River, a trib-
utary of the Fox, and navigable for steamers for one hundred and fifty miles.
Forty miles above the mouth of Wolf River is the town of Berlin; sixty miles
further is Portage City and the town of Fort Winnebago ; above which places, for
sixty miles, and below for one hundred and thirty-five miles, the Wisconsin is now
navigable for steamers.
Through these, a ready communication will be secured with the Mississippi and
its tributaries; and it is confidently calculated that, at no distant day, steam tugs,
with between 200 and 500 tuns burden in tow, each, from St Peterrs River, from
St. Paul, and other places in that direction, will land their cargoes at Green Bay,
to be shipped to an eastern market. The objection to be urged to this route, from
so remote a locality, is, that it will take too long to make the transit To this we
have to reply, that it is estimated by those who know better than we, that this
great distance can and will be overcome by just these kinds of crafts in from four
to six days, and by passenger boats in much less time. This improvement will
open about 1,000 miles to steam navigation, between Lake Michigan and the Mis
sissippi River, including the navigable streams in the interior of northern Wiscon
sin, Iowa and Minnesota. This stupendous work, when completed, will do far
more for the prosperity and advancement of the vast regions, opened to the ad-
vantages of connection with the Atlantic market, than any other improvement con-
templated."
PORTAGE CITY is at the head of navigation on the Wisconsin River, about
200 miles from its mouth, and on the ship canal one and a half miles long,
WISCONSIN. 341
connecting it with the Fox or Neenah River. It is a flourishing town, and
is a great depot for pine lumber. By means of the Wisconsin and Missis-
sippi Rivers, there is now uninterrupted steamboat navigation between this
place and New Orleans. The Wisconsin is the largest river that intersects
the state. Its whole* length is
estimated at 600 miles, and in
its upper portion it is bordered
by immense forests of pine.
Fort Winnebago, which stood
on or near the site of Portage
City, was commenced in 1828.
under the superintendence of
Major Twiggs and Captain Har-
ney. This Twiggs was the
Gen. David Twiggs who reaped
FUJIT W..NKKBAGO IN 1831. eternal ^i'&my by his base sur-
render of the American army,
in Texas, at the beginning of the Rebellion. It was an important post at an
early day, affording protection to emigrants. Another officer, here at that
period, was a young lieutenant, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, who after-
ward became thafcpresident of the so-called Confederate States of America.
Mrs. John H. Kinzie, in " Wan-bun, the 'Early Day' in tlic North-west,"
gives a graphic narrative of her experiences at Fort AVinnebago, where she
passed the winter of 1830-31, the first months of her wedded life. This
winter was one of unusual severity, and in some parts of the country, par-
ticularly the lead mining district, the snow was of an unheard of depth —
five or six feet upon a level. Toward the beginning of March the weather
moderated, and Mrs. Kinzie prepared to make a journey on horseback to
Chicago with her husband. This was then through a wilderness country, and
the undertaking so perilous that the commandant, Major Twiggs, endeavored
to dissuade them from it: but the brave-hearted, high spirited young
woman remained resolute. The story of their experience by the way, we
abridge from Mrs. Kinzie's narrative. The route selected was south by
Dixon's, then called Ogie's Ferry, where was to be found the only means of
crossing the broad and rapid stream of Rock River ; and it was calculated
that the entire distance would be traveled over in six days :
The morning of the 8th of March, having taken a tender leave of their friends,
they mounted and were reudy for the journey. The party consisted of Mr. and
Mrs. Kinzie and two French Canadians, Pierre Roy and Plante, the latter to act
as a guide, on the assurance that he " knew every mile of the way, from the Portage
to Ogie's Ferry, and from Ogie's Ferry to Chicago.
Some of the young officers escorted them as far as Duck Creek, four miles dis-
tant. In attempting to cross this stream in a canoe, a couple of favorite grey-
hounds sprang in upon Mrs. Kinzie, and the canoe balanced a moment — then
yielded — and quick as thought, dogs and lady were in deepest of water. That even-
ing the party camped out on the edge of the timber, under the shelter of a tent;
but so intense was the cold that, although Mrs. Kinzae's riding habit was placed to
dry over against the log on which their fire was made, it was in a few minutes
frozen so stiff as to stand upright, giving " the appearance of a dress out of which
a lady had vanished in some unaccountable manner." Says Mrs. Kinzie:
"At break of day we are aroused by the shout of ' the bourgeois,'
'How! how! how!'
342 WISCONSIN.
All start from their slumbers. The fire which has been occasionally replenished
through the night, is soon kindled into a flame. The horses are caught and saddled
while a breakfast is preparing — the tent is struck — the pack-horse loaded — ' tout
demanche,' as the Canadian says.
Our journey this day led us past the first of the Four Lakes. Scattered along
its banks was an encampment of Winnebagoes. How beautiful the encampment
looked in the morning sun! The matted lodges, with the blue smoke curling from
their tops — the trees and bushes powdered with a light snow which had fallen
through the night — the lake, shining and sparkling, almost at our feet — even the
Indians, in their peculiar costume, adding to the picturesque !
Our road, after leaving the lake, lay over a ' rolling prairie,' now bare and deso-
late enough. The hollows were filled with snow, which, bqing partly thawed, fur-
nished an uncertain footing for the horses, and I could not but join in the ringing
laughter of our Frenchmen, as occasionally Brunet and Souris, the two ponies,
would flounder, almost imbedded, through the yielding mass. It was about the
middle of the afternoon when we reached the 'Blue Mound.1 I rejoiced much to
have got so far, for I was sadly fatigued, and every mile now seemed two to me.
It was my first journey on horseback, and I had not yet become inured to the ex-
ercise. When we reached Morrison's I was so much exhausted that, as my hus-
band attempted to lift me from the saddle, I fell into his arms. ' This will never
do,' said he. ' To-morrow we must turn our faces toward Fort Winnebago again.'
The door opened hospitably to receive us. We were welcomed by a lady with
a most sweet, benignant countenance, and by her companion, some years younger.
The first was Mra. Morrison — the other, Miss Elizabeth Dodg€j daughter of Gen.
Dodge.
My husband laid me upon a small bed, in the room where the ladies had been
sitting at work. They took off my bonnet and riding-dress, chafed my hands, and
prepared me some warm wine and water, by which 1 was soon revived. A half
hour's repose so refreshed me that I was able to converse with the ladies, and to
relieve my husband's mind of all anxiety on my account. Tea was announced soon
after, and we repaired to an adjoining building, for Morrison's, like the establish-
ment of all settlers of that period, consisted of a group of detached log-houses or
cabins, each containing one or at most two apartments.
The table groaned with good cheer, and brought to mind some that I had seen
among the old-fashioned Dutch residents on the banks of the Hudson.
I had recovered my spirits, and we were quite a cheerful party. Mrs. Morrison
told us that during the first eighteen months she passed in this country, she did
not speak with a white woman, the only society she had being that of her husband
and two black servant women.
Tho next morning, after a cheerful breakfast, at which we were joined by the
Rev. Mr. Kent, of Galena, we prepared for our journey. I had reconciled my hus-
band to continuing our route toward Chicago, by assuring him that I felt as fresh
and bright as when I first set out from home.
We had not proceeded many miles on our journey, however, before we discovered
that Monsieur Plante was profoundly ignorant of the country, so that Mr. Kinzie
was obliged to take the lead himself, and make his way as he was best .able, accord-
ing to the directions he had received. We traveled the live-long day, barely making
a halt at noon to bait our horses, and refresh ourselves with a luncheon. The ride
was as gloomy and desolate as could well bo imagined. A rolling prairie, unvaried
by forest or stream — hillock rising after hillock, at every ascent of which we vainly
hoped to see a distant fringe of ' timber.' But the same cheerless, unbounded pros-
pect everywhere met the eye, diversified only here and there by the oblong open-
ings, like gigantic graves, which marked an unsuccessful search for indications of
a lead mine.
Just before sunset we crossed, with considerable difficulty, a muddy stream,
which was bordered by a scanty belt of trees, making a tolerable encamping-ground ;
and of this we gladly availed ourselves, although we knew not whether it was near
or remote from the place we were in search of.
We had ridden at least fifty miles since leaving 'Morrison's,' yet I was sensible
of very little fatigue; but there was a vague feeling of discomfort at the idea of
WISCONSIN. 343
being lost in this wild, cold region, altogether different from anything I had ever
before experienced.
The exertions of the men soon made our 'camp' comfortable, notwithstanding,
the difficulty of driving the tent-pins into the frozen ground, and the want of trees
sufficiently large to make a rousing fire. The wind, which at bed time was suf-
ficiently high to be uncomfortable, increased during the night. It snowed heavily
and we were every moment in dread that the tent would be carried away; but the
matter was settled in the midst by the snapping of the poles, and the falling of the
whole, with its superincumbent weight of snow, in a mass upon us.
The next morning the horses were once more saddled for our journey. The
prospect was not an encouraging one. Around us was an unbroken sheet of snow.
We had no compass, and the air was so obscured by the driving sleet, that it was
often impossible to tell in what direction the sun was. 1 tied my husband's silk
pocket handkerchief over my veil, to protect my face from the wind and icy parti-
cles with which the air was filled, and which cut like a razor; but although shielded
in every way that circumstances rendered possible, I suffered intensely from the
cold. We pursued our way, mile after mile, entering every point of woods, in
hopes of meeting with, at least, some Indian wigwam, at which we could gain in-
telligence. Every ,spot was solitary and deserted, not even the trace of a recent
fire, to cheer us with the hope of human beings within miles of us. Suddenly, a
shout from the foremost of the party made each heart bound with joy.
' Une cloture! tine cloture!' — (a fence, a fence.)
It was almost like life to the dead. We spurred on. and indeed perceived a few
straggling rails crowning a rising ground at no great distance. Ivever did music
sound so sweet as the crowing of a cock which at this moment saluted our ears.
Following the course of the inclosure down the opposite slope, we came upon a
group of log-cabins, low, shabby, and unpromising in their appearance, but a most
welcome shelter from the pelting storm. 'Whose cabins are these?' asked Mr.
Kinzie of a man who was cutting wood at the door of one. 'Hamilton's,' was the
reply; and he stepped forward at once to assist us to alight, hospitality being a
matter of course in these wild regions.
We were shown into the most comfortable looking of the buildings. A large
fire was burning in the clay chimney, and the room was of a genial warmth, not-
withstanding the apertures, many inches in width, beside the doors and windows.
A woman in a tidy calico dress, and shabby black silk cap, trimmed with still
shabbier lace, rose from her seat beside a sort of bread-trough, which fulfilled the
office of cradle to a fine, fat baby. • .<
Before dinner Mr. Hamilton came in and was introduced to me, and was as
agreeable and polite as the son of Alexander Hamilton would naturally be. The
housekeeper, who was the wife of one of the miners, prepared us a plain comfort
able dinner. The blowing of a horn was the signal for the entrance of ten or
twelve miners, who took their places below us at the table. They were the rough-
est looking set of men 1 ever beheld, and their language was as uncouth as their
persons. They wore hunting shirts, trowsers, and moccasins of deerskin, the for-
mer being ornamented at the seams with a fringe of the same, while a colored belt
around the waist, in which was stuck a large hunting-knife, gave each the appear-
ance of a brigand.
Mr. Hamilton passed most of the afternoon with us, for the storm raged so with-
out that to proceed on our journey was out of the question. He gave us many
pleasant anecdotes and reminiscences of his early life in New York, and of his ad-
ventures since he had come to the western wilderness. When obliged to leave us
for a while, he furnished us with some books to entertain us, the most interesting
of which was the biography of his father.
The next day's sun rose clear and bright. Refreshed and invigorated, we looked
forward with pleasure to a recommencement of our journey, confident of meeting
no more mishaps by the way. Mr. Hamilton kindly offered to accompany us to
his next neighbor's, the trifling distance of twenty-five miles. The miner who owned
the wife and baby, and who, consequently, was somewhat more humanized than
his comrades, in taking leave of us ' wished us well out of the country, and that
we might never have occasion to return to it! .1 pity a body,' said he, 'when I
344 WISCONSIN.
see them making such an awful mistake as to come out this way, for comfort never
touched this western country.'
There was no halting upon the route, and as we kept the same pace until three
o'clock in the afternoon, it was beyond a question that when we reached 'Keilogg's,'
we had traveled at least thirty miles. 'Keilogg's ' was a comfortable mansion, just
within the verge of a pleasant 'grove of timber,' as a small forest is called by west-
ern travelers. We found Mrs. Kellogg a very respectable looking matron, who soon
informed us she was from the city of New York She appeared proud and de-
lighted to entertain Mr. Hamilton, for whose family, she took occasion to tell us,
she had, in former days, been in the habit of doing needle-work. We had intended
to go to Dixon's the same afternoon, but the snow beginning again to fall, obliged
us to content ourselves where we were. In the meantime, finding we were jour-
neying to Chicago, Mr. Kellogg came to the determination to accompany us, hav-
ing, as he said some business to accomplish at that place.
No great time was required for Mr. Keilogg's preparations. He would take, he
said, only two days' provisions, for at his brother-in-law Dixon's we should get our
supper and breakfast, and the route from there to Chicago could, he well knew, be
accomplished in a day and a half. Although, according to this calculation, we had
sufficient remaining of our stores to carry us to the end of our, journey, yet Mr.
Kinzie took the precaution of begging Mrs. Kellogg to bake us another bag of bis-
cuits, in case of accidents, and he likewise suggested to Mr. K. the prudence of
furnishing himself with something more than his limited allowance; but the good
man objected that he was unwilling to burden his horse more than was absolutely
necessary. It will be seen that we had reason to rejoice in our own foresight
It was late on the following day, when we took leave of our kind hostess. We
journeyed pleasantly along through a country, beautiful in spite of its wintry ap-
pearance. Just at sunset, we reached the dark, rapid waters of the Rock River.
All being safely got across, a short walk brought us to the house of Mr. Dixon.
We were ushered into Mrs. Dixon's sitting-room; and seated by a glowing fire,
while Mrs. Dixon busied herself in preparing us a nice supper, I felt that the coin-
fort overbalanced the inconvenience of such a journey.
A most savory supper of ducks and venison, with their accompaniments, soon
smoked upon the board, and we did ample justice to it Traveling is a great sharp-
ener of the appetite, and so is cheerfulness, and the latter was increased by the
encouraging account Mr. Dixon gave us of the remainder of the route yet before
us. 'There is no difficulty,' said he, 'if you keep a little to the north, and strike
the great Sank trail. If you get too far to the south, you will come upon the Win-
nebago Swamp, and once in that, there is no telling when you will ever get out
again. As for the distance, it is nothing at all to speak of
The following morning, which was a bright and lovely one for that season of the
year, we took leave of Mr. and Mrs. Dixon, in high spirits. We traveled for the
first few miles along the beautiful, undulating banks of Rock River, always in an
easterly direction, keeping the beaten path, or rather road, which led to Fort Clark
or Peoria. The Sauk trail, we had been told, would cross this road, at the distance
of about six miles. After having traveled, as we judged, fully that distance, we
came upon a trail, bearing north-east, which we followed till it brought us to the
great bend of the river with its bold rocky bluffs, when, convinced of our mistake,
we struck off from the trail, in a direction as nearly east as possible. The weather
had changed and become intensely cold, and we felt that the detention we had met
with, even should we now be in the right road, was no trifling matter. But we
were buoyed up by the hope that we were in the right path at last, and we jour-
neyed on until night, when we reached a comfortable 'encampment,' in the edge
of a grove near a small stream.
We were roused at peep of day to make preparations for starting. We must
find the Sauk trail this day at all hazards. What would become of us should we
fail to do so ? It was a question no one liked to ask, and certainly one that none
could have answered. On leaving our encampment, we found ourselves entering
a marshy tract of country. Myriads of wild geese, brant, and ducks rose up
screaming at our approach. The more distant lakes and ponds were black with
them, but the shallow water through which wo attempted to make our way was
WISCONSIN. 345
frozen by the severity of the night, to a thickness^not sufficient to bear the horses,
but just such as to cut their feet and ankles at every step as they broke through it.
Sometimes the difficulty of going forward was so great that we were obliged to re-
trace our steps and make our way round the head of the marsh.
This swampy region at length passed, we came upon more solid ground, chiefly
the open prairie. But now a new trouble assailed -us. The weather had moderated,
and a blinding snow storm came on. Without a trail that we could rely upon, and
destitute of a compass, our only dependence had been the sun to point out our di-
rection/ but the atmosphere was now so obscure that it was impossible to tell in
what quarter of the heavens he was. We pursued our way, however, and a devious
one it must have been. After traveling in this way many miles, we came upon an
Indian trail, deeply indented, running at right angles with the course we were
pursuing. The snow had ceased, and the clouds becoming thinner, we were able
to observe the direction of the sun, and to perceive that the trail ran north and
south. What should we do? Was it safest to pursue our easterly course, or was
it probable that by following this new path we should fall into the direct one we
had been so long seeking? If we decided to take the trail, should we go north or
south? Mr. Kinzie was for the latter. He was of opinion that we were still too
far north. Finding himself in the minority, my husband yielded, and we turned
our horses' heads north, much against his will. After proceeding a few miles,
however, he took a sudden determination. 'You may go north, if you please,' said
he, ' but I am convinced that the other course is right, and I shall face about — fol-
low who will.' So we wheeled round and rode south again, and many a long and
weary mile did we travel. The road, which had continued many miles through the
prairie, at length, in winding round a point of woods, brought us suddenly upon
an Indian village. A shout of joy broke from the whole party, but no answering
shout was returned — not even a bark of friendly welcome — as we galloped up to
the wigwams. All was silent as the grave. We rode round and round, then dis-
mounted and looked into several of the spacious huts. They had evidently been
long deserted.
Our disappointment may be better imagined than described. With heavy hearts
we mounted and once more pursued our way, the snow again falling and adding to
the discomforts of our position. At length we halted for the night. We had long
been aware that our stock of provisions was insufficient for another day, and here
we were — nobody knew where — in the midst of woods and prairies — certainly far
from any human habitation, with barely enough food for a slender evening's meal.
The poor dogs came whining around us to beg their usual portion, but they were
obliged to content themselves with a bare bone, and we retired to rest with the
feeling that if not actually hungry then, we should certainly be so to-morrow.
The morrow came. Plante and lioy had a bright fire and a nice pot of coffee
for us. It was our only breakfast, for on shaking the bag and turning it inside out.
we could make no more of our stock of bread than three crackers, which the rest
of the party insisted I should put in my pocket for my dinner. We still had the
trail to guide us, and we continued to follow it until about nine o'clock, when, in
emerging from a wood, we came upon a broad and rapid river. A collection of
Indian wigwams stood upon the opposite bank, and as the trail led directly to the
water, it was fair to infer that the stream was fordable. We had no opportunity
of testing it, however, for the banks were so lined with ice, which was piled up
tier upon tier by the breaking-up of the previous week, that we tried in vain to
find a path by which we could descend the bank to the water. The men shouted
again and again in hopes some straggling inhabitant of the village might be at
hand with his canoe. No answer was returned save by the echoes. What was to
be done ? I looked at my husband and saw that care was on his brow, although
he still continued to speak cheerfully. ' We will follow this cross-trail down the
bank of the river,' said he. 'There must be Indians wintering near in some of
these points of wood.' I must confess that I felt somewhat dismayed at our pros-
pects, but I kept up a show of courage, and did not allow my despondency to be
seen. All the party were dull and gloomy enough.
We kept along the bank, which was considerably elevated above the water, and
bordered at a little distance with a thick wood. All at once my horse, who was mor-
346 WISCONSIN.
tally afraid of Indians, began to^jump and prance, snorting and pricking up his
ears as if an enemy were at hand. 1 screamed with delight to my husband, who
•was at the head of the file, 'Oh John! John! there are Indians near — look at
Jerry ! ' At this instant a little Indian dog ran out from under the bushes by tho
roadside, and began barking at us. Never were sounds more welcome. We rodo
directly into the thicket, and descending into a little hollow, found two squaws
crouching behind the bushes, trying to conceal themselves from our sight.
They appeared greatly relieved when Mr. Kinzie addressed them in the Potto-
watomie language.
The squaw, in answer to Mr. K.'s inquiries, assured him that Chicago was ' close
by-'
'That means,' said he, 'that it is not so far off as Canada. We must not be too
sanguine.'
The men sat about unpacking the horses, and I in the meantime was paddled
across the river. The old woman immediately returned, leaving the younger one
with me for company. 1 seated myself on the fallen trunk of a tree, in the midst
of the snow, and looked across the dark waters. 1 am not ashamed to confess my
weakness — for the first time on my journey 1 shed tears. The poor little squaw
looked into my face with a wondering and sympathizing expression.
'What would my friends at the east think,' said 1 to myself, 'if they could see
me now ? What would poor old Mrs. Welsh say ? She who warned me that if I
came away so far to the west, I should break my heart? Would she not rejoice to
find how likely her prediction was to be fulfilled?'
These thoughts roused me. I dried up my tears, and by the time my husband
with his party, and all his horses and luggage, were across, I had recovered my
cheerfulness, and was ready for fresh adventures.
We followed the old squaw to her lodge, which was at no great distance in the
woods. The master pf the lodge, who had gone out to shoot ducks, soon returned.
He was a tall, finely formed man, with a cheerful, open countenance, and he lis-
tened to what his wife in a quiet tone related to him, while he divested himself of
his accoutrements in the most unembarrassed, well-bred manner imaginable. Soon
my husband joined us. He had been engaged in attending to the comfort of his
horses, and assisting his men in making their fire, and pitching their tent, which
the rising storm made a matter of some difficulty. From the Indian he learned
that we were in what was called ' the Big Woods,' or ' Piche's Grove,'* from a
Frenchman of that name living not far from the spot — that the river we had crossed
was the Fox River — that he could guide us to Piche's, from which the road was
perfectly plain, or even into Chicago if we preferred — but that we had better re-
main encamped for that day, as there was a storm coming on, and in the mean
time he would go and shoot some ducks for our dinner and supper. He was ac-
cordingly furnished with powder and shot, and set off again for game without de
lay.
The tent being all in order, my husband came for me, and we took leave of our
friends in the wigwam with grateful hearts. The storm was raging without The
trees were bending and cracking around us, and the air was completely filled with
the wild-fowl screaming and quacking as they made their way southward before
the blast Our tent was among the trees not far from the river. My husband took
me to the bant to look for a moment at what we had escaped. The wind waa
sweeping down from the north in a perfect hurricane. The water was filled with
masses of snow and ice, dancing along upon the torrent, over which were hurry
ing thousands of wild-fowl, making the woods resound to their deafening clamor.
Had we been one hour later, we could not possibly have crossed the stream, and
there seems to have been nothing for us but to have remained and starved in the
wilderness. Could we be sufficiently grateful to that kind Providence that had
brought us safely through such dangers ?
The storm raged with tenfold violence during the night. We were continually
* Probably at what is now Oswego. The name of a portion of the wood is since corrupted
into Specie' '« Grove.
WISCONSIN. 347
startled by the crashing of the falling trees around us, and who could tell but that
the next would be upon us ? Spite of our fatigue, we passed an almost sleepless
night. When we arose in the morning, we were made fully alive to the perils by
which we had been surrounded. At least fifty trees, the giants of the forest, lay
prostrate within view of the tent. When we had taken our scanty breakfast, and
were mounted and ready for departure, it was with difficulty we could thread our
way, so completely was it obstructed by the fallen trunks.
Our Indian guide had joined us at an early hour, and after conducting us care-
fully out of the wood, about nine o'clock brought us to Piche's, a log-cabin on a
rising ground, looking off over the broad prairie to the east. We had hoped to
get some refreshment here, Piche being an old acquaintance of some of the party;
but alas ! the master was from home. We found his cabin occupied by Indians
and travelers — the latter few, the former numerous.
There was no temptation to a halt, except that of warming ourselves at a bright
fire that was burning in the clay chimney. A man in Quaker costume stepped for-
ward to answer our inquiries, and offered to become our escort to Chicago, to which
place he was bound — so we dismissed our Indian friend, with a satisfactory remu-
neration for all the trouble he had so kindly taken for us.
The weather was intensely cold. The wind, sweeping over the wide prairie, with
nothing to break its force, chilled our very hearts. I beat my feet against the sad-
dle to restore the circulation, when they became benumbed with cold, until they
became so bruised I could beat them no longer. Not a house or wigwam, not even
a clump of trees as a shelter, offered itself for many a weary mile. At length we
reached the west fork of the Du Page. It was frozen, but not sufficiently so to
bear the horses. Our only resource was to cut a way for them through the ice.
It was a work of time, for the ice had frozen to several inches in thickness, during
the last bitter night. Plante went first with an axe, and cut as far as he could
reach, then mounted one of the hardy little ponies, and with some difficulty broke
the ice before him, until he had opened a passage to the opposite shore.
How the poor animals shivered as they were reined in among the floating ice !
And we, who sat waiting in the piercing wind, were not much better. We were
all across at last, and spurred on our horses, until we reached Hawley's* — a large,
commodious dwelling, near the east fork of the river.
The good woman welcomed us kindly, and soon made us warm and comfortable.
We felt as if we were in a civilized land once more. We found, upon inquiry,
that we could, by pushing on, reach Lawton's, on the Aux Plaines, that night — we
should then be within twelve miles of Chicago. Of course we made no unneces-
sary delay, but set off as soon after dinner as possible. The crossing of the east
fork of the Du Page was more perilous than the former one had been.
It was almost dark when we reached Lawton's. The Aux Plainest was frozen,
and the house was on the other side. By loud shouting, we brought out a man
from the building, and he succeeded in cutting the ice, and bringing a canoe over
to us; but not until it had become difficult to distinguish objects in the darkness.
A very comfortable house was Lawton's, after we did reach it — carpeted, and with
a warm stove — in fact, quite in civilized style. Mrs. Lawton was a young woman,
and not ill-looking. She complained bitterly of the loneliness of her condition, and
having been 'brought out there into the woods; which was a thing she had not
expected, when she came from the east.' We could hardly realize, on rising the
following morning, that only twelve miles of prairie intervened between us and
Chicago le Desire, as I could not but name it.
Soon the distance was traversed, and we were in the arms of our dear, kind
friends. A messenger was dispatched to ' the garrison ' for the remaining mem-
bers of the family, and for that day at least, I was the wonder and admiration of
the whole circle, ' for the dangers 1 had seen.' "
* It was near this spot that the brother of Mr. Hawley, a Methodist preacher, was killed
by the Sauks, in 1832, after having been tortured by them with the most wanton barbarity.
f Riviere Aux Plaines was the original French designation, now changed to Desplainct,
pronounced as in English.
348 WISCONSIN,
North of Milwaukee, on the shores of Lake Michigan, are several thriving
city-like towns, containing each several thousand inhabitants. They are
Ozankee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and Two Rivers.
City of Superior is at the head of Lake Superior, on the Bay of Superior
and Nemadji River. It was laid out in 1854, by a company of gentlemen
who judged from its site that it must eventually be a large city. It has a
splendid harbor, six miles long and one broad, admirably sheltered from storms,
and capable of containing the shipping of the entire chain of lakes. In
three years, its population had increased to 1,500 souls, and many buildings
had been constructed.
La Pointe, one of the oldest towns in the north-west, was first occupied
by the French Jesuits and traders, in 1680. It is on Madeline Island of
Lake Superior, which is separated from the mainland by a narrow channel.
It has an air of antiquity, in its ruined port, dilapidated pickets, that form-
erly inclosed the place, and the old Fur Company's buildings, some of which
are still standing. Here was the scene of the labors of Fathers Claude
Allouez and Jean Marquette, and of an Indian battle between the warlike
Dacotahs and Algonquins, in which the chapel of the Holy Spirit, erected
by these devoted missionaries, was destroyed. Near it, on the mainland, is
the newly laid out town of Bayfield.
MINNESOTA.
MINNESOTA derives its name from the Minnesota River. The water of this
river is clear, but has a blueish hue, owing to the peculiar colored clay of its
bed. The name, Minnesota, indicates
this peculiarity, and signifies "sky-
tinted water." In 1679, Father Hen-
nepin, a Dutch Franciscan friar, and
two others, of La Salle's expedition,
accompanied the Indians to their
villages, 180 miles above the Falls
of St. Anthony. "He was the first
European who ascended the Missis-
sippi above the mouth of the Wis-
consin; the first to name and describe
the Falls of St. Anthony; the first
to present an engraving of the Falls
of Niagara to the literary world.*
The first white man who visited
the soil of Minnesota was a French-
man, Daniel Greysolon du Luth, who
in 1678 left Quebec to explore the
country of the Assineboines. On the
2d of July, of the next year, he planted the king's arms in Kathio, the great
village of the Dakotahs, and, in the succeeding September, convened a coun-
cil of the Indian nations at the head of Lake Superior. He built a fort, a
trading post at the mouth of Pigeon River, and advanced as far as Mille Lac.
In June, 1680, leaving his post, he met Hennepin among the Dakotahs, and
descended the Mississippi with him. Before the termination of that century,
other Frenchmen also visited Minnesota.
In 1689, Perrot, accompanied by Le Sueur, Father Marest, and others, took
formal possession of Minnesota, in the name of the French king. They also
built a fort on the west shore of Lake Pepin, just above its entrance — the
ARMS or MINNESOTA.
MOTTO — Leloile dn Jford — The Star of the North.
*From " The History of Minnesota, from the Earliest French Exploration to the Present
Time; by Edward Duffield Neill, Secretary of the Minnesota Historical Society. Phila-
delphia, T. B. Lippincott & Co., 1858."
349
350 MINNESOTA.
first French establishment in Minnesota. Le Sueur, in 1695, built a second
post, on an island below the St. Croix.
At this period, Le Sueur discovered, as he supposed, a copper mine on
Blue Earth River, a tributary of the Minnesota. He returned in 1700, built
a fort on the Minnesota, remained during the winter, and in the spring de-
scended the Mississippi, with one hundred tuns of blue and green earth
destined for France: but it is not known that he ever returned.
Within the next 60 years, Minnesota was visited by the French fur traders.
In 1763, Capt. Jonathan Carver, a native of Connecticut, visited the country,
and subsequently published his travels in England, in which he first called
the attention of the civilized world to the existence of the ancient monu-
ments in the Mississippi valley, whi^h h^ dis<^ver?d '- the vicinity of Lake
Pepin, and described. He also described a cave nea~ St. Paul, which bears
his name to this day. He designed to have returned to the country, with
which he was greatly delighted: but the American Revolution intervening
prevented.
"After the French cartf the British fur traders. The British North-west Fur Company
occupied trading posts :it Sandy Lake, Leech Lake, and other central points within the
limits of Minnesota. That at Sandy Lake was built in 1794, the year of Wnyre'a v.cto-
ry. It was a large stockade, and contained two rows of buildings used as dwellings, pro-
vision store, and workshops. Fort William, ou the north side of Lake Superior, eventu-
ally became their principal depot. This fort was on so large a scale as to accommodate
forty partners, with their clerks and families. About these posts were many half-breeds,
whose members were constantly increasing by the intermarriages of the French traders
with the Indian women. Their goods, consisting principally of blankets, cutlery, printed
calicoes, ribbons, glass beads, and other trinket-, were forwarded to the posts from Mon-
treal, in packages of about 90 pounds each, and exchanged in winter for furs, which in
the summer were conveyed to Montreal in canoes, carrying each nbout 65 packages and 10
men. The Mackinaw Company, also English merchants, had their headquarters at Mack-
inaw, while their trading posts were over a thousand miles distant, on the head waters of
the Mississippi. Between the North-west and the Hudson's Bay Company a powerful ri-
valry existed. The boundaries of the latter not being established, desperate collisions
often took place, and the posts of each were frequently attacked. When Lieut. Pike
ascended the upper Mississippi in 18U5, he found the fur trade in the exclusive possession
of the North-west Company, which was composed wholly of foreigners. Although the
lake posts were surrendeTed to our government in 1796, American authority was not felt
in that quarter until after the war of 1812, owing to the influence the English exercised
over the Indians. It was from fear of American rivalry that the British fur traders insti-
gated the Indians to border wars against the early settlements. In 181 C, congress passed
a law excluding foreigners from the Indian trade."
In 18UU, when the Territory of Indiana was organized, that part of Minnesota east of
the Mississippi was included within it; and in Ib03, when Louisiana was purchased, that
part of Minnesota west of the Mississippi for the first time became United States territory.
The first American officer who visited Minnesota on public business, was Zcbulon Mont-
gomery Pike, a native of New Jersey, then a young lieutenant in the army. His errand
was to explore the country, form alliances with the Indians, and expel the British traders
found violating the laws of the United States. He was well treated by them; but as soon
as he had departed, they disregarded the regulations he had established. Pike purchased
the site of Fort Snelling, where, in 1819, barracks were erected, and a garrison stationed
by the United States, which was the first American establishment in the country. Further
explorations were made in 1820, by Gov. Cass; in 1823, by Major Long, and in Ib32, by
Henry R. Schoolcraft, the last -of whom discovered the source of the Mississippi.
From 1836 to 1839, M. Nicollet (under whom was John C. Fremont), was engaged in
making geographical surveys in this region, and ten years later, a scientific corps under
Dr. Dale Owen, by their explorations, revealed much additional information respecting the
topography and geology of this northern country: as also have the published journals of
Stansbury, Pope and Marcy, officers of the U. S. corps of topographical engineers. All
these surveys and explorations were by order of government.
The first settlers in Minnesota, aside from the missionaries, fur traders, and military,
were n few Swiss emigrants from Pembina, the colony of Lord Selkirk, in the valley of the
Red River, upward of 60(> miles north of Fort Snelling. In the years of 1837 and 1838,
MINNESOTA.
they opened farms on the site of St. Paul and vicinity. At this time the American emi
grants had made no settlements on the Mississippi above Prairie du Chieti. In October,
1633, Rev. W. T. Boutwell established, at Leech Lake, the first Protestant mission in
Minnesota west of the Mississippi. In May, 1835, the first church in Minnesota was organ-
ized in the garrison at Fort Snelling, by Rev. Thos. S. Williamson and Rev. J. D. Stevens,
missionaries of the American Board of Foreign Missions to the Dakotahs. In 1H43, a
settlement was begun on the site of Siillwater, a mill :md other improvements commenced.
The next year the first mill in Minnesota, above Fort Snelling, was built by B.'Gervais,
five miles north-cast of St. Paul, at a point later known as Little Canada. In the year
lfc'42. a store and some other trading shops were opened at St. Paul, which made it the
nucleus of a settlement.
Previous to the organization of Wisconsin as a state, that part of Minne-
sota east of the Mississippi was included within it, and that part west in the
Territory of Iowa.
"On the 3d of March, 1849, a bill was passed organizing the Territory of Minnesota,
whose boundary on the west extended to the Missouri River. At the time of the passage
of the bill, organizing the Territory of Minnesota, the region was little more than a wild-
erness. The west bank of the Mississippi, from the Iowa line to Lake Itasca, was unceded
by the Indians.
At Wapashaw was a trading post in charge of Alexis Bailly, and here also resided the
ancient voyageur, of fourscore years, A. Rocque. At the foot of Lake Pepin was a store-
house kept by Mr. F. S. Richards. On the west shore of the lake lived the eccentric
Wells, whose wife was a bois brule — a daughter of the deceased trader, Duncan Graham.
The two unfinished buildings of stone, on the beautiful bank opposite the renowned Maid-
en's Rock, and the surrounding skin lodges of his wife's relatives and friends, presented a
rude but picturesque scene. Above the lake was a cluster of bark wigwams, the Dakotah
village of Raymneecha, now Red Wing, at which was a Presbyterian mission house. The
next settlement was Kaposia, also an Indian village, and the residence of a Presbyterian
missionary, the Rev. T. S. Williamson, M.D.
On the east side of the Mississippi, the first settlement, at the mouth of the St. Croix,
was Point Douglas, then, as now, * small hamlet. At Red Rock, the site of a former
Methodist mission station, there were a few farmers. St. Paul was just emerging from a
colk-ction of Indian whisky shops, and birch-roofed cabins of half-breed voyageurs. Here
and there a frame tenement was erected; and, under the auspices of the Hun. H. M.Rice,
who had obtained an interest in the town, some warehouses were being constructed, and
the foundations of the American House were laid. In 1849, the population had increased
to two hundred and fifty or three hundred inhabitants, for rumors had, gone abroad that it
might be mentioned in the act, creating the territory, as the capital."
The officers appointed by President Taylor for the territory were, Alex. Ramsay, of Pa.,
governor; C. K. Smith, of Ohio, secretary ; A. Goodrich, of Tenu., chief justice; B. B.
Meeker, of Ky., and David Cooper, of Pa., associate judges; H. L. Moss, U. S. district
attorney; and A. M. Mitchell, of Ohio, marshal. The governor and other officers soon
after arrived at St. Paul, and on the 1st of June the territorial government was organized.
Henry H. Sibley, of Mich., was shortly after elected the first delegate to congress. The
territorial legislature met on the 3d of September, and elected David Olmsted president
of the council, and Joseph W. Furber as speaker of the house. The next day they assem-
bled in the dining room of the town hotel, and, after a prayer by Rev. E.D. Neil!, the gov-
ernor delivered his message. One of the first acts of the body was to incorporate " the
Historical Society of Minnesota." The total population of the territory, 011 the llth of
June, 1849, was 4,049.
On the 33d of Feb., 1856, the U. S. senate authorized the people of Minnesota to form
a state constitution, preparatory to admission into the Union. This was effected in the
succeeding October, and on the 7th of April, 1858, the senate passed the bill admitting
Minnesota into the Union. Henry M. Rice and James Shields were the first representa-
tives of the new state in the national senate. In a census taken in 1857, preliminary to
admission, the population was ascertained to be 150,037.
Like all new states, Minnesota has been injured by the spirit of speculation in land,
especially in town sites. Prior to the commercial revulsion of 1857, it was estimated that
868 town sites had been recorded, enough to accommodate a town population of over two
million.
Minnesota extends from latitude 43° 30' to 48°, and in longitude from
80° 29' to 91° 12': it is bounded on the E. by Lake Superior and Wiscon-
352 MINNESOTA.
sin; on the N. by the British Possessions; on the W. by Dakotah Terri-
tory, and on the S. by Iowa: its greatest length north and south is 380 miles,
and it has a breadth varying from 183 to 358 miles: total area 81,259 square
miles.
Minnesota occupies the elevated plateau of North America. At the "highth of
land," or Hauteurs des Tcrres, in the northern part of the state, lat. 47 deg. 7 niin.
and long. 95 deg., "are the sources of the three great river systems of the conti-
nent. The slopes of the adjacent valleys, meeting upon this central ridge, give to
the surface of Minnesota, with the general aspect of an undulating plain, the shape
of a pyramidal roof, down whose opposite sides the waters descend to their ocean
outlets." Two thirds of this surface feeds the Mississippi with its waters, which
thus find their way to the Gulf of Mexico, while the remainder of the surface con-
tributes in about equal proportions to the Red ^River of the North, flowing into
Hudson's Bay, and to Lake Superior, whose final outlet to the ocean ia through the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Highth of Land is about 1,500 feet above the Gulf
of Mexico, and is the only hilly region, excepting the trap summits north of Lake
Superior.
The majestic Mississippi takes its rise among the hills of Lake Itasca, and flows
^for 797 miles through the state. The Minnesota, 470 miles long, empties into the
Mississippi five miles above St. Paul, and is now navigable for steamers for 238
miles, to the mouth of the Yellow Medicine. The Red River has a length of 379
miles, to the British line. The St. Croix River, so valuable for its pineries, is nav-
igable for 52 miles. Lake Superior washes 167 miles of the border of the state,
and the St Louis River, at its extreme west end, is navigable 21 miles.
Hon. B. B. Meeker, a ten years' resident in Minnesota, writing in 1860, gives a
description of its climate, soil and general resources, which we copy in an abridged
form;
The climate of Minnesota is already proverbially good. Its complete exemption from
all those diseases and maladies local to most new countries, and so justly a terror to all new
coiners, is conceded by all who have tested it by actual residence. There is hardly a town,
or city, or neighborhood in the state, that is not able to bear testimony to more than one
complete restoration from chronic disease of the lungs or some of the varied types of con-
sumption assumed by that most subtile of all the agents of the fell destroyer.
Perhaps no locality on our continent has less of fever and ague. Indeed, if there be any
cases of this kind, their origin is readily traced to some other states or territories, and but
a short residence is necessary to eradicate it entirely. Hundreds and hundreds of families
are annually driven from other western states to take up their residence in Minnesota, to
escape this offensive and troublesome foe to the emigrant and his family. This is not only
true of one, but of every portion of the state ; and what is very remarkable, it is just as
healthy around the lake shores and along the valleys of our water courses, as upon the
prairies and table lands of the interior. In no part of America are the seasons better de-
fined or more emphatically marked.
We will commence with the spring. This season usually begins about the middle of
March, when the snow begins to melt and disappear suddenly. April is fickle and fluctu-
ating— May tranquil, warm, and genial. The latter part of April the farmers plant pota-
toes and sow their spring wheat. About the first of May they sow their oats, and about
the tenth plant their corn. After the first of May frosts rarely ever appear, certainly not
to the same extent they do in states further south and east. This is a very remarkable fnct,
and is demonstrated yearly. I was informed by an aged missionary, in the spring of 1849,
that he had lived in the country then sixteen years, and that he had observed the% appear-
ance of frost averaged two weeks earlier in northern Illinois than in Minnesota. Why this
difference in favor of a more northern state, is an interesting problem for philosophers and
geologists, with whom I leave the solution — the fact, however, is incontestable.
Summer in this state is indeed hot, sometimes even overpowering ; but always succeeded
by cool, breezy, delicious nights. Sleep here is repose indeed, and not exhaustion, as in
more southern states. In no part of the world do crops grow more rapidly than in Minne-
sota, owing chiefly to two causes, the intense heat of summer days and the warm nature of
the soil. This peculiarity of the soil and climate explains the hurried and swift maturity
of the various species of corn, that many who have not witnessed the fact, believe can not
ripen with any degree of certainty north of Ohio or Illinois. This quick action of the sun
and soil on vegetation and grain, is necessarily a spur to the farmer, who is hurried from
one department of his labor to another without much time for rest or relaxation. At first
he will be apt to conclude that the planting of corn is too close on the sowing of wheat,
oats, and barley ; and the weeding of the former too near the harvesting of the latter. But
MINNESOTA. 353
he will soon learn by observation and experience to keep them separate and apart by taking
time by the forelock.
The autumns of Minnesota are bright, clear, and dry — well adapted to the cutting and
curing of hay, and the in-gathering of the crops. It is also the best season for sport, as
hunting, fishing, and driving. No state in the Union has better natural road? and thorough-
fares, and at this season you can safely drive a carriage to the Red River — thence down
that rich valley of land to the British interior — or westward to the Rocky Mountains, or
southerly to Iowa or Missouri. A good team road you can find at this season in almost
any direction, and perfect health by the way.
. The winter here is cold, dry, and severe. Snow falls for sleighing generally about the
twentieth of November, and from that time to Christmas. After that but little snow falls,
and it is uniform winter till spring comes, when it makes its exit rather unceremoniously.
But let no one suppose that winter here is cheerless and void of social interest. In no part
of the country are there more social appliances and social pleasures than in Minnesota.
Lyceums, lecture-rooms, social and dancing parties, sleighing excursions by day and by
moonlight, are common sources of pleasure from tho capitol to the country hamlet. This,
too, is the season for harvesting the pine forest — an employment half business and half
pleasure — a crop gathered in the winter and manufactured and sold in the spring and
summer.
Minnesota, like all the other states, has more or less of poor or indifferent soil ; at the
same time few states in the Union have more productive or remunerating lands than Min-
nesota, and these are admirably distributed so as ultimately to equalize the population
through the several important districts marked by the physical geography of the country.
The great natural subdivisions of the state are :
I. The Lake Superior region or the region extending some sixty miles around the head
of the great lake that bears that name. This district is for the most part woodland. Most
of the soil is thin, low, and wet, with here and there a fertile locality of hard wood, as ash,
sugar maple, and elm, having a clay or hard-pan subsoil. But little of this region is at
present settled, and it is generally unknown to the emigrating public, as po road has yet
been completed — from Superior Ci'y to the Mississippi — a distance of eighty miles only.
It is to be regretted, and the government is to be blamed, that it has never constructed this
road either for military or postal purposes, as well as for calling into requisition and settle-
ment a large tract of the public domain, thus uniting, by a comparatively small expense,
the two great valleys of the continent, the Lake and Mississippi. It would be essentially
a national highway, nnd would speedily force into settlement all the cultivable lands be-
tween the two mighty waters. This, too, is the mineral, the copper and iron district of
Minnesota — the only region in America where copper is found in massive purity. When the
slumbering wealth of this region shall be appreciated, and capital and operatives shall have
found a lodgment in this portion of Minnesota, agriculture in this vicinity will find an in-
exhaustible market and a rich reward at the head of the lake.
II. In the north-west of the state, heads the great valley or basin of the Red River of
the North. This is almost a distinct region of country, and has many peculiarities in soil
and population. The valley proper, is about thirty miles in width, being timbered and
prairie and of the very richest soil, composed of a deep black loam, resting upon a clayey
foundation. This is a vast luxuriant grass region — the ancient paradise of the buffalo herds
— from which they have jnst been driven by the vanguard and outpost of our progressive
population. This great valley is admirably adapted to the cultivation of hemp, barley, i
maize, wheat, oats, and potatoes.
III. The Upper Mississippi. By this I mean so much of the valley of the Uppei Mis-
sissippi as lies north of the Falls of St. Anthony. On the east side or left hand ef this
river, from its source to the falls, the soil is generally inferior, and yet there are many por-
tions of it are good and yield well. On the west side, however, the soil is not only good
but generally excellent. The Sauk River valley, tho Crow River valley and its branches,
are not surpassed in fertility and productiveness in any western state. This region is not
only well settled but populous, and is very productive in wheat, rye, oats, corn, and pota-
toes, which are shipped in large quantities from the falls to St. Louis, the most accessible
and best market.
IV. The St. Peter's or Minnesota valley. This is an immense district of agricultural and
grazing lands, stretching south-westerly first, and then north-westerly, embracing a tract
of some five hundred miles, fertile in corn, wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes, all of which
are easily and cheaply floated to the Mississippi, thence south to the best market.
V. Lower Minnesota, or all that country lying west of the Mississippi and south of the
St. Peter's or Minnesota River, including the very rich -and fertile country drained by the
Blue Earth. This whole country is well settled, and very fertile in corn and wheat.
The crops that do best in Minnesota are wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, and corn—
the latter not always a certain crop. The average yield of wheat this year is supposed to
be twenty-five bushels to the acre, the largest average of any state of the Union.
There is no mineral coal in Minnesota, but the country is otherwise well supplied with
fuel and means for manufacturing. For a prairie state, it is by far the best wooded and
23
354
MINNESOTA.
timbered of their., all. All the region between the Upper Mississippi and the Great Lake it
a wilderness of wood, oxcept a nariow belt of prairie along the river. All the great val
leys above described have an abundance of wood for fuel, fencing, and building purposes.
I think it is the best watered country in the world. A settler can hardly select him a
farm in any part of the state that will not be near a spring, a creek, or lake. Cascades and
St. Paul
waterfalls, too, are to be found all over the state, and are valued for their beauty and util-
ity. Water-power, as it is called, is inexhaustible in Minnesota, and is rapidly being ap-
propriated to various branches of manufacturing. Flour and lumber have already become
important staples, and command high and cash prices, from the Falls of St. Anthony to
New Orleans. Other manufacturing will soon spring up, and make Minnesota, in this re-
spect, the New England of the north-west.
The more intense periods of cold in the winter of Minnesota, are shorn
of their severity, by the absence of winds and the peculiar dryness of the
atmosphere, which imparts an elasticity and buoyancy to the spirits. It has
been ascertained by theometrical observations, continued for many years at
Fort Snelfing, that its spring temperature is identical with that of Massa-
chusetts; its summer with that of northern Ohio; its autumn with that of
northern Vermont, and its winter is like that of Montreal. The population
of Minnesota, in 1850, was 6,075, and in 1860, 176,535: and farms under
cultivation, 19,075.
ST. PAUL, the capital of Minnesota, derives its name from the Catholic
church which had been organized there six years previous to the laying out
•ef the town. St. Paul stands on the left or east bank of the Mississippi;
but at this particular point the course of the river is from south-west to
north-east: the town is 8 miles below the Falls of St. Anthony, and 5 below
Fort Snelling and the mouth of the Minnesota: distance, by the Mississippi,
above New Orleans, 1,900 miles; above the mouth of the Ohio, 860; above
St. Louis, 688; above Galena, 280; above La Crosse, 114; and about 400
MINNESOTA. 355
from Chicago by the usual route of travel. The main part of St. Paul stands
upon a plain of land about 80 feet above the river, and 800 above the Gulf
of Mexico, on one of the most beautiful and commanding of sites. " Com-
mercially, it is the key to all the vast region north of it, and, by the Minne-
sota River, to the immense valley drained through that important tributary
to the Mississippi. The approach to it from below is grand and imposing.
The traveler, after leaving Dubuque nearly 300 miles below, sees nothing to
remind him of a city until lie rounds the bend in the river below St. Paul,
when her tall spires, substantial business houses, and neat dwellings burst
upon his view." St. Paul is near the geographical center of the continent,
and is the _ prominent business point of one of the most beautiful, fertile,
and healthy of countries. Population 1860, 10,401.
The first settlers at St. Paul were the Swiss, originally from Pembina, Lord Selkirk's
colony, on the Red River of the North. In the spring of 1825, the colonists there were driven
from their homes by a terrible freshet in the river, consequent upon the melting of the
Bnows. "After the flood, the}' could no longer remain in the land of their adversity, and
they became the pioneers in emigration and agriculture in the state of Minnesota. At one
time a party of 243 departed for the United States, who found homes at different points on
the banks of the Mississippi. Before the eastern wave of emigration had ascended be-
yond Prairie du Chien, the Swiss had opened farms on and near St. Paul, and should be
recognized as the first actual settlers in the country." They first located on the land on
the east side of the Mississippi, between St. Paul and Fort Snelling, and commenced im-
provements. In March, 1838, the commander at the fort selected this land as a part of
a military reservation. It was, therefore, withheld from sale. The settlers, who were
principally the Swiss, were ordered to be removed by the war department. On the 6th and
7th of May, 1840, the troops from the fort, with undue haste, removed these unfortunate
people, and destroyed their cabins: they then removed to the site of St. Paul: among
them were Messrs. Massey, Perry, Garvis and Pierrie.
" The year [1838] that the Dakotahs ceded the land east of the Mississippi," says Neill
in his History of Minnesota, "a Canadian Frenchman, by the name of Parant, the ideal
of an Indian whisky seller, erected a shanty at what is now the principal steamboat land-
ing in St. Paul. Ignorant and overbearing, he loved money more than his soul. Desti-
tute of one eye, and the other resembling that of a pig, he was a good representative of
Caliban.
In the year 1842, some one writing a letter in his groggery, for the want of a more
euphonious name, designated the place as ' Pig's Eye,' referring to the peculiar appearance
of the whisky seller. The reply to the letter was directed in good faith to ' Pig's Eye,'
and was received in due time.
In 1842, the late Henry Jackson, of Mahkato, settled at the same spot, and erected the
first store on the night just above the lower landing; and shortly after, Roberts and Simp-
son followed, and opened small Indian trading shops. In the year 1846, the site of St.
Paul was chiefly occupied by a few shanties, owned by ' certain lewd fellows of the baser
sort," who sold rum to the soldier and Indian. It was despised by all decent white men,
and known to the Dakotahs by an expression in their tongue, which means, the place
where they sell minne-wakan." *
St. Paul was laid off as a town into lots in July, 1847, by Ira B. Brunaon, of Prairie du
Chieh, in the employment of residents. "The n nines of those who were then sole pro-
prietors, barring Uncle Sam's prior lien, were Vetal Ouerin, Alex. R. M'Leod, Henry
Jackson, Hartshorn & Randall, Louis Robert.*, Benj. Gervais, David Farribault, A. L. Lar
penteur, J.W. Simpson, and J. Demarrais." Fora year or two the place showed no signs
of a promising future, until the Hon. Henry M. Rice bought in, and by his energv and
reputation for forecast, "infused new life into the place." When the territorial bill for
the organization of Minnesota was passed, St. Paul, through the exertions of Hon. Henry
H. Sibley, was named as the temporary capital. The act was signed on the 3d of March,
1849. Says Neill:
"More than a month after the adjournment of congress, just at eve, on the 9th of April,
amid terrific peals of thunder and torrents of rain, the weekly steam packet, the !i;.--t to
force its way through the icy barrier of Lake Pepin, rounded the rocky point, whittling
loud and long, as if the bearer of glad tidings. Before she was safely moored to the laud-
ing, the shouts of the excited villagers announced that there was a Territory of Minnesota,
* Supernatural Water.
356 MINNESOTA.
and tl,ui St. Paul was the seat of government. Every successive steamboat arrival poured
out on the lauding men big with hope, and anxious to do something to mold the future of
the new state.
Nine days after the news of the existence of the Territory of Minnesota was received,
there arrived James M. Goodhue with press, types, and printing apparatus. A graduate
of Amherst College, and a lawyer by profession, he wielded a sharp pen, and wrote edito-
rials, which, more than anything else, perhaps, induced emigration. Though a man of
some glaring faults, one of the counties properly bears his name. On the 28th of April, ho
issued the first number of the ' Pioneer.'
On the 27th of May, Alexander Ramsey, the governor5, and family arrived at St. Paul,
but, owing to the crowded state of the public houses, immediately proceeded in the steamer
to the establishment of the fur company known as Mendota, at the junction of the Minne-
sota and Mississippi, and became the guest of the Hon. H. H. Sibley.
For several weeks there resided, at the confluence of these rivers, four individuals who,
more than any other men, have been identified with the public interests of Minnesota, and
given the state its present character. Their names are attached to the thriving counties of
Ramsey, Rice, Sibley, and Steele.
' As unto the bow, the cord is,
So unto the man is the woman.
Though she bends him, she obeys him,
Though she draws him, yet she follows,
Useless each without the other.' "
Fort Smiling, originally called Fort St. Anthony, is a noted point in th<
history of Minnesota. It
stands on a lofty bluff, 5 milea
above St. Paul, on the west
bank of the Mississippi, at the
junction of the Minnesota, and
on the north bank of the lat-
ter. It is composed of large
barracks and numerous edifices,
surrounded by thick walla.
Previous to the organization
of Minnesota, in 1849, it was
the only important point north
FORT SNELLINO. of Prairie du Chien, and was
for years the rendezvous of missionaries, of scientific explorers, and of mer-
cantile adventurers, on their way to the Dakotahs. The scenery at this
point, up the valley of the Minnesota, is surpassingly beautiful. The fort
was named from Col. Snelling. He was a brave officer of the war of 1812,
and particularly distinguished himself at Tippecanoe and Brownstown. He
died in 1828.
In Feb., 1819, the war department ordered the 5th regiment of infantry to concentrate
at Detroit, for the purpose of transportation to the Mississippi, to garrison Prairie du Chien
and Rock Island, and to establish a post as the head-quarters of the corps at the mouth
of the Minnesota.
Col. Leavenworth ascended the Mississippi with his soldiers in keel boats, and erected
temporary barracks above the present village of Mendota, on the south side of the river,
where they wintered. Col. Snelling subsequently assumed command of the garrison. On
the 10th of September of the next year (1820), the cornerstone of Fort Snelling was
laid.
The wife of Colonel Snelling, " a few days after her arrival at the post, gave birth to
the first infant of white parents in Minnesota, which, after a brief existence of thirteen
months, departed to a better land. The dilapidated monument which marks the remains
of the ' little one,' is still visible in the graveyard of the fort. Beside Mrs. Snelling, the
wife of the commissary, and of Captain Gooding, were in the garrison, the first American
ladies that ever wintered in Minnesota."
The Minne-ha-ha Falh, the existence of which the genius of Longfellow
MINNESOTA.
357
has perpetuated in living lines, is within a few minutes drive from Fort Snel-
ling, or St. Anthony, being between these two points.
" Waterfalls, in the Dakotah tongue, are called ha-ha. The 'A, has a strong gut-
tural sound, and the word is ap-
plied because of the curling or
laughing of the waters. The
verb I-ha-ha primarily means to
curl; secondarily to laugh, be-
cause of the curling motion of
the mouth in laughter. The
noise of Ha-ha is called by the
Dakotahs 1-ha-ha, because of its
resemblance to laughter. A
small rivulet, the outlet of Lake
Harriet and Calhoun, gently
gliding over the bluff into an am-
phitheater, forms this graceful
waterfall. It lias but little of
' the cataract's thunder.' Niaga-
ra symbolizes the sublime ; St.
Anthony the picturesque; Ha-ha
the beautiful. The fall is about
sixty feet, presenting a parabolic
curve, which drops, without the
least deviation, until it' has reach-
ed its lower level, when the
stream goes on its way rejoicing,
curling along in laughing, child-
ish glee at the graceful feat it has
performed in bounding over the
precipice."
St. Anthony is beautifully
situated, on a gently rising prairie, on the left or east bank of the Missis-
sippi, at the Falls of St. Anthony, 8 miles by land above St. Paul, 2 miles
further north, and 12 by the windings of the river, and also 7 miles by the
latter above Fort Snelling. "The first dwelling was erected in this city in
the autumn of 1847, and Mrs. Ard Godfrey claims the honor of having given
birth to the first of the fair daughters of St. Anthony." Here is located the
University of the State. "Minnesota seems determined to be in advance of
other states in education, for two sections in every township have been appro-
priated for the support of common schools, no other state having previously
obtained more than one section in each of its townships for such a purpose."
The celebrated Falls of St. Anthony were named, in 1680, by their dis-
coverer, Louis Hennepin, in honor of his patron saint.
"They are only twenty feet in hight; but the scenery does not derive its inter-
est from their grandeur, but from the perfect grouping of rock and wood and water
on a magnificent scale. The Mississippi is upward of six hundred yards wide
above the falls. These are quite perpendicular, and the water drops in beautiful
single sheets on either side of a huge mass of white sandstone, of a pyramidal
form, which splits the stream. The rapids below extend for several hundred yards,
and are very broad, divided into various channels by precipitous islands of sand-
stone, gigantic blocks of whicfr are strewn in grotesque confusion at the base of
lofty walls of stratification of dazzling whiteness. These fantastically-shaped
islands are thickly wooded, and birch and maple cling with desperate tenacity to
nooks and crannies in the perpendicular cliffs. The banks of the river are of a
character similar to the islands in its stream. The snowy-white houses of St. An-
thony are almost hidden by the thick foliage of the left bank."
MiNNn-nx-HA FALLS.
' Here (he Falls of Minne-lia-lia
Fl;i-li and gleam among the oak trees,
Laugh and leap into the valley."
358 MINNESOTA.
Situated at the head of navigation on the Mississippi, with an unlimited
water power, St. Anthony has a fine prospect of becoming an important man-
ufacturing and commercial city. It has abundance of building stone, is in a
rich agricultural region, and with abundance of lumber in its vicinity.
Immediately opposite St. Anthony is the thriving town of Minneapolis.
An elegant suspension bridge connects the two places. "As a work of
beauty and art it can hardly be surpassed, while it has the appearance of
great solidity; its massive cables being firmly anchored on either side in the
solid rock. The work was undertaken in the spring of 1854, and finished
the next year, at an expense of over $50,000, being the first suspension
bridge ever built in a territory, and the first to span the Father of Waters."
The two places, St. Anthony and Minneapolis, have unitedly about 7,000
inhabitants.
Travelers visiting this region are apt to be eloquent in their descriptions. Part
of this is no doubt to be attributed to the pure, dry, bracing atmosphere, which not
only imparts a wondrous distinctness to the whole landscape, lending unwonted
charms to the skies above, and to the earth beneath, but so braces up the system
with the sensation of high health, that the stranger looks upon all things around
him with most pleasing emotions. The effect of this elastic, life-giving atmosphere
has, indeed, been described by some, as at times producing in them a buoyancy
of feeling, that they could compare to nothing but the exhilaration occasioned by a
slight indulgence in ardent spirits! Here the weak man feels a strong man, and
the strong man a giant! The enthusiastic Bond, in his work on Minnesota, says
that, owing to the strengthening nature of the climate, the labor of one man will
produce more, and yield a larger surplus above his necessities, than in any other
western state or territory. " We have," says he, " none of the languor, and debil-
ity, and agues, that turn men into feeble women in the harvest field, as they have
south of us. Labor here stands firmly on Us legs, the year round, and drives things
through !"
Among the travelers in this region,, who have spoken in its praise, is the
celebrated savant Maury, superintendent of the National Observatory, at
Washington. Says he:
At the small hours of the night, at dewy eve and early morn, I have looked out
with wonder, love, and admiration upon the steel-blue sky of Minnesota, set with
diamonds, and sparkling with brilliants of purest ray. The stillness of your small
hours is sublime. I feel constrained, as I gaze and admire, to hold my breath, lest
the eloquent silence of the night should be broken by the reverberations of the
sound, from the seemingly solid but airy vault above.
Herschell has said, that in Europe, the astronomer might consider himself highly
favored, if by patiently watching the skies for one year, he shall, during that period
find, all told, one hundred hours suitable for satisfactory observations. A teles-
cope, mounted here, in this atmosphere, under the skies of Minnesota, would have
its powers increased many times over what they would be under canopies of a
heaven less brilliant and lovely.
Col. F. A. Lumsden, of the New Orleans Picayune, writing from St. An-
thony, two weeks before his death and that of his family by shipwreck, on
the ill-fated steamer Lady Elgin, on Lake Michigan, thus gives vent to his
admiration:
I have missed much by not having visited this section of country before, and one can
have no correct idea of this region by anything they may hear or read about it. The
scenery — the country — the lakes and the rivers — the crops and the climate are the finest
in the world.
Such scenery as the Upper Mississippi presents I have never beheld: its beauties, its
romantic grandeur can never be justly described. On either shore of this vast river, for
miles on miles, stand the everlasting hills, their slopes covered with the emerald carpeting
of spring.
MINNESOTA.
359
As a place of summer resort, abounding in all the requisites of pleasure and health, St.
Anthony excels all the watering places of the fashionable and expensive east. As for
the Falls of St. Anthony, they are ruined by Yankee enterprise, and all their beauty has
departed. Mills, foundries, dams and lumber rafts have spoilt all of nature's romantic
loveliness by their innovations, and you would be astonished to see the hundreds of houses
recently erected here, some of which are beautiful and costly specimens of architecture,
that would prove ornaments to any city. The Winston House, at St. Anthony, is one of
the largest and most elegant hotels of the north-west, built of stone at a cost oi' $1 10,000,
and furnished in princely style. It is now filled with southern people.
This is my fourth day here, and I already begin to experience the Jine effects of the in-
vigorating climate and stimulating atmosphere. I have been hunting and fishing, and
found the sport excellent. There are plenty of deer in the neighborhood, but I have seen
none of them yet. The chief shooting is the prairie chicken, and they are in abundance
in the plains and stubble fields. For fishing one can hardly go amiss. Within a range of
from six to twenty miles from the town, are several magnificent lakes. In all of these,
the greatest quantity of fish is to be found, such as perch, of various kinds, pickerel, bass,
trout, etc., while in numerous small streams, hundreds of trout — the regular speckled trout
— are taken daily. A gay and joyous party of us yesterday visited Lake Minnetonka,
where we got up a very handsome picnic, and had a good time. A party of six gentle-
men, all from the south, are to start to-morrow for the buffalo grounds of the Red River
of the North, on a grand hunting expedition.
The Minnesota River and Fort Snelling, as well as the pretty little Falls of Minne-ha-
ha, lie between St. Paul and this place. From the hights of Fort Snelling a most en-
chanting View of the rich valley of the Minnesota is had; and the traveler looks out upon
the vast plain, stretching away beneath his vision, with emotions of surprise — almost of
bewilderment — at the stupendous •scene. What wealth, what riches have the United States
nut acquired in the possession of this great domain of the north?
Winona, is on the Mississippi River, 150 miles below Saint Paul,
and has 4,000 inhabitants. It was named from the Indian maiden
Winona, who, according to the legend, threw herself from a cliff into Lake
Pepin, and found a grave in its waters, rather than wed an uncongenial
brave. Red Wing and Hastings are smaller towns, on the Mississippi, the
first the seat of Hamlin University, a methodist institution, and on that
beautiful expansion of the Mississippi, Lake Pepin: Hastings is 25 miles be-
low St. Paul.
Mendota is on a beautiful island, at the junction of the Minnesota with
the Mississippi. It possesses great advantages in position, and was for a
long time a noted trading post of the American Fur Company. Immedi-
ately in the rear of Mendota rises the lofty Pilot Knob, which is much
visited.
Beside the above there are numerous other rising towns in Minnesota, of
which we have not descriptions at hand, as Wabashaw, Shakopee, Le Sueur,
Nicollct, Stillwatcr, Lake City, etc. Whatever descriptions may be given
of the rising towns in the west are of doubtful value, excepting as a matter
of history, for often is the rapidity of their increase so great, that the sta-
tistics of one season are of no reliability as a basis of knowledge a few seasons
later.
360
MINNESOTA.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, MISCELLANIES, ETC.
Nicholas Perrot was one of those master minds whose enterprises mark the his-
tory of their times. He was by birth a Canadian, bred to the excitements of a
frontier life. Educated by service to the Jesuits, he became familiar with the cus-
toms and languages of the savages of the kikes of the far west. Years before La
Salle launched the Griffin on Lake Erie, he was sent by government on an errand
to the tribes of the north-west, and penetrated even as far south as Chicago. He
was the first man known to have built a trading post on the Upper Mississippi,
which he did on the* shores of Lake Pepin. According to the Dakotah tradition,
he gave seed and corn to their people, through the influence of which the Dakotahs
began to be led away from the rice grounds of the Mille Lac region.
Louis Hennepin was born in Ath, Netherlands. He was bred a priest of the
Recollect branch of the Franciscans. From his youth he had a passion for travel
and adventure, and sought out the society of strangers, " who spent their time in
nothing else but either to tell or hear some new thing." In 1676, he welcomed
with joy the order from his superior to embark for Canada. He accompanied La
Salle in his celebrated expedition to explore the far west. In Feb., 1680, he was
dispatched by La Salle, with two voyageurs in a canoe, on a voyage of discovery
up the unknown regions of the Upper Mississippi. It was on this journey that
he discovered and named the Falls of St. Anthony. In 1683, he published, at
Paris, a tolerably correct account of his travels in Minnesota. In 1698, he issued
an enlarged edition, dedicated to King William, in which he falsely claimed to
have descended the Mississippi to its mouth. His descriptions were stolen from
the works of other travelers. Wishing to return to Canada, the minister of Louis
XIV wrote, "As his majesty is not satisfied with the conduct of the friar, it is his
pleasure that if he return thither, that they arrest and send him to the intendant
at Rochefort." "In the year 1701, he was still in Europe, attached to a convent
in Italy. He appears to have died in obscurity, unwept and unhonored."
Jean N. Nicollet was born in 1790, in Cluses, Savoy. So poor were his parents
that he was obliged, at the early age of nine years, to gain a subsistence by play-
ing upon the flute and violin. When ten years old, he was apprenticed to a watch-
maker, and turned his leisure hours to the study of mathematics. He eventually
moved to Paris and entered the normal school, later became a college professor,
and gained distinction as an astronomer, receiving the decoration of the Legion
of Honor. In 1832, he emigrated to the United States, poor and honest In the
pumrner of 1836, he came to Minnesota, and explored the sources of the Upper
Mississippi, with scientific exactness. Soon after he received a commission from
the United States to explore the sources of the Minnesota, and at this time was
assisted by John C. Fremont. "The map which he constructed, and the astro-
nomical observations which he made, were invaluable to the country." Hon. H.
II. Sibley, in his notice of Nicollet, says :
" His health was so seriously affected after his return to Washington in 1839, that from
that time forward he was incapacitated from devoting himself to the accomplishment of
his work as exclusively as he had previously done. Still he labored, but it was with de-
pressed spirits and blighted hopes. He had long aspired to a membership in the Academy
of Sciences of Paris. His long continued devotion and valuable contributions to the on use
of science, and his correct deportment as a gentleman, alike entitled him to such a distinc-
tion. But his enemies were numerous and influential, and when his name was presenieu
in accordance with a previous nomination, to fill a vacancy, he was black-balled and re-
jected. This last blow was mortal. True, he strove against the incurable melancholy
which had fastened itself upon him, but his struggles waxed more and more faint, until
death put a period to his sufferings on the 18th of September, 1844.
Even when he was aware that his dissolution was near at hand, his thoughts reverted
back to the days when he roamed along the valley of the Minnesota River. It was my
fortune to meet him for the last time, in the year 1842, in Washington City. A short time
before his death, I received a kind but mournful letter from him, in which he adverted to
the fact that his days were numbered, but at the same time he expressed a hope that he
would have strength sufficient to enable him to make his way to our country, that he might
yield up his breath and be interred on the banks of his beloved stream.
It would have been gratifying to his friends to know that the soil of the region which
hcvd employed so much of his time nnd scientific research, had received his mortal remains
MINNESOTA.
861
into his bosom, but they were denied this melancholy satisfaction. He sleeps beneath the
sod far away, in the vicinity of the capital of the nation, but his name will continue to be
cherished in Minnesota as one of its early explorers, and one of its best friends. The as-
tronomer, the geologist, and the Christian gentleman, Jean N. Nicollet, will long be re-
membered in connection with the history of the north-west.
' Time shall quench full many
A people's records, and a hero's acts,
Sweep empire after empire into nothing;
But even then shall spare this deed of thine.
And hold it up, a problem tew dare hnitate.
And none despise.' "
Lake Itasca is one of the multitude of those clear, beautiful sheets of water
which do so abound in Minnesota, that the aboriginal inhabitants were called, by
the early French voyageurs,
the "People of the Lakes."
It is estimated by Schoolcraft,
that within its borders are ten
thousand of these, and it ia
thought. It is measurably to
them that the husbandman of
Minnesota is so blessed with
abundance of summer rains.
The waters, pure, sweet, and
cold, abound with fish of de-
licious flavor. The Indians
often reared their habitations
on the margins of the most
beautiful and picturesque.
T h e greater number are
isolated and destitute of out-
lets ; usually of an oval form,
and from one to two and three
miles in diameter, '' with clear
white sandy shores, gentle,
grassy slopes, or rimmed with
walls of rock, their pebbly
beaches, sparkling with cor-
LAKE ITASCA.
The Source of the Mississippi.
nelians and agates, while the
oak grove or denser wood
which skirts its margin, completes the graceful outline."
Among all these sheets of water that by day and by night reflect the glories of
this northern sky, the lake named Itasca, from an Indian maiden, is especially
honored. For here, from the lap of encircling hills, in latitude 47 deg. 13 min.
35 sec., 1,575 feet above the ocean, and 2,527 miles from it, by its own meander-
ings, the Mississippi, the Father of Waters, finds his birth-place.
Lake Itasca was first brought to the notice of the civilized world as the source
of the Mississippi, by Mr. Henry K. Schoolcraft, Indian agent at Sault Ste. Marie.
In the summer of 1832, he was given charge of an expedition to visit the Indians
toward the source of the Mississippi. Attached to the expedition was a military
escort, under Lieut. James Allen, Dr. Houghton, geologist of Michigan, and Rev.
W. T. Boutwell, who was sent out by the American Board, preliminary to estab-
lishing missions among the Indians. They crossed over from the west end of Lake
Superior, and at two o'clock on the afternoon of the 13th of July, reached the
Elk Lake, named Itasca by Mr. Schoolcraft. " With the exception of traders, no
white men had ever traced the Mississippi so far. The lake is about eight miles
in length, and was called Elk by the Ojibways, because of its regularities, resem-
bling the horns of that animal. Lieut. Allen, the commander of the military de-
tachment, who made the first map of this lake, thus speaks :
'From these hills, which were seldom more than two or three hundred feet high
3(32 MINNESOTA
•we came suddenly down to the lake, and passed nearly through it to an island near
its west end, where we remained one or two hours. We were sure that we had
reached the true source of the great river, and a feeling of great satisfaction was
manifested by all the party. Mr. Schoolcraft hoisted a flag on a high stuff on the
island, and left it flying. The lake is about seven miles long, and from one to
three broad, but is of an irregular shape, conforming to the bases of pine hills,
which, for a great part of its circumference, rise 'abruptly from its shore. It is
deep, cold, and very clear, and seemed to be well stocked with fish. Its shores
show some bowlders of primitive rock, but no rock in place. The island, the only
one on the lake, is one hundred and fifty yards long, fifty yards broad in the high-
est part, elevated twenty or thirty feet, overgrown with elm, pine, spruce, and wild
cherry. There can be no doubt that this is the true source and fountain of the
longest and largest branch of the Mississippi.' "
THE INDIANS OF MINNESOTA.
"Minnesota, from its onrliest discovery, has been the residence of two powerful
tribes, the (Jhippewas or Ojibways, and the Sioux — pronounced Sooz — or Dah-
kotahs.'* The word Chippewa is a corruption of the term Ojibway, and that of
Dahkotah signifies the allied tribes. The Winuebago from Iowa, and the Menon-
omies from Wisconsin, have recently been removed to Minnesota. They are both
small tribes compared to the above.
The Dahkotahs claim a country equal in extent to some of the most powerful
empires of Europe, including the greater part of the country between the Upper
Mississippi and the Missouri. The country from Rum River to the River De Cor-
beau has been alike claimed by them and the Ojibways, and has been the source
of many bloody encounters within the last two hundred years. The Dahkotahs
have destroyed immense numbers of their race, and are one of the most warlike
tribes of North America They are divided into six bands, comprising in all,
28,000 souls. Besides these, a revolted band of the Sioux, 8,000 strong, called
Osinipoilles, reside just east of the Rocky Mountains, upon Saskatchawan River
of British America.
The Dahkotahs subsist upon buffalo meat and the wild fruits of their forests.
The former is called pemmican, and is prepared in winter for traveling use in the
following manner: The lean parts of the buffalo are cut into thin slices, dried over
a slow fire in the sun, or by exposing it to frost — pounded fine, and then with a
portion of berries, mixed with an equal quantity of fat from the hump and brisket,
or with marrow in a boiling state, and sowed up tightly in sacks of green hide, or
packed closely in baskets of wicker-work. This ' pemmican ' will keep for several
years.
They also use much of the wild rice, which grows in great abundance in the
lakes and head streams in the Upper Mississippi country. The rivers and lakes
of the Dahkotah and Ojibway country are said to produce annually several mil-
lions of bushels of it It is said to be equally as nutritious and palatable as the
Carolina rice. It grows in water from four to seven feet deep, which has a muddy
bottom. The plant rises from four to eight feet above the surface of the water,
about the size of the red cane of Tennessee, full of joints and of the color and
texture of bulrushes. The stalks above the water, and the branches which bear
the grain, resemble oats. To these strange grain fields, wild ducks and geese resort
for food in the summer; and to prevent it being devoured by them, the Indians tie
*" The Dahkotahs in the earliest documents, and even until the present day, are called
Sioux, Seioux, or Soos. The name originated with the early ' voyageurs.' For centuries
the Ojibways of Lake Superior waged war against the Dahkotahs; and, whenever they
spoke of them, called them Nadowaywcwx, which signifies enemies. The French traders,
to avoid exciting the attention of the Indians, while conversing in their presence, were
accustomed to designate them by names which would not be recognized. The Dahkotahs
were nicknamed Sioux, a word composed of the two last syllables of the Ojibway word for
foes." — Ncill'i Minnesota.
MINNESOTA.
363
it, when in the milky state, just below the head, into large bunches. This arrange-
ment prevents these birds from pressing the heads down when within their reach.
When ripe, the Indians pass among it with canoes lined with blankets, into which
they bend the stalks and whip off the grain with sticks ; and so abundant is it
DOG DANCE OP THE DAHKOTAHS.
Jr **'* Lr *~^ I
~ODOll«(" S. IK
ff/C\ if I
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lodff d«l- r^ III!
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HI ill. HI lit ill I'H mi
OJIBWAY SCALP DANCE.
"' I" "1 MI " ill in " in
-f M tJ
1 0 '• 00 a.H \
^J'**L [
r — ? r«-
f \J ^ °
^- <^ L— ^ — ^J — K :
(7 L
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(TEZEBl «
r\, NII i\ i i
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tc •
uj «•*« *-J J «'J IJ
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n d " ii o moo „ • cr o
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iv i i r i i
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viy •• i
c c 0 •
TA« notes marked with accents are performed with a tremulous voice,
sounded High-yi-yi, fie.
that an expert squaw will soon fill a canoe. After being gathered it is dried and
put into skins or baskets for use. They boil or parch it, and eat it in the winter
season with their pemmican. Beside the pemmican and wild rice, the country
abounds in sugar-maple, from which the Indians make immense quantities of sugar.
Their country abounds with fine groves, interspersed with open plains clothed with
rich wild grasses — their lakes and rivers of pure water are well stored with fish,
and their soil with the whortleberry, blackberry, wild plum, and crab apple ; so
that this talented and victorious race possess a very desirable and beautiful terri-
tory.
3(34 MINNESOTA.
The Ojibways inhabit the head-waters of the Mississippi, Ottertail and Leach,
De Corbeau and Red Rivers, and Winnipeg Lake. They arc a powerful tribe, al-
most equaling the Dahkotahs in numbers: they speak a copious language, and are
of low stature and coarse features. The women have an awkward side-at-a-time
gait; which proceeds from their being 'accustomed, nine months of the year, to
wear snow-shoes, and drag sledges of a weight from two hundred to four hundred
pounds. No people are more attentive to comfort in dress than the Ojibways. It
is composed of deer and fawn-skins, dressed with the hair on for winter, and with-
out the hair for summer wear.
They are superstitious in the extreme. Almost every action of their lives is in-
fluenced by some whimsical notion. They believe in the existence of a good and
an evil spirit, that rule, in their several departments, over the fortunes of men ;
and in a state of future rewards and punishments."
EFFECT OP THE CLIMATE OF MINNESOTA ON LT7NG DISEASES.
[From the Letters of the Kev. Dr. Horace Bushnell.]
I went to Minnesota early in July, and remained there until the latter part of
the May following. I had spent a winter in Cuba without benefit. I had spent
also nearly a year in California, making a gain in the dry season, and a partial
loss in the wet season, returning, however, sufficiency improved to resume my la-
bors. Breaking down again from this only partial recovery, I made the experi-
ment now of Minnesota; and submitting myself, on returning, to a very rigid ex-
amination, by a physician who did not know at all what verdict had been passed
by other physicians before, he said, in accordance with their opinion, "You have
had a difficulty in the right lung, but it is healed." I had suspected from my
symptoms that it might be so, and the fact appears to be confirmed by the further
fact that I have been slowly, though irregularly gaining all the summer.
This improvement, or partial recovery, 1 attribute to the climate of Minnesota.
But not to this alone — other things have concurred. First, I had a naturally firm,
enduring constitution, which had only given way under excessive burdens of labor,
and had no vestige of hereditary disease upon it. Secondly, I had all my burdens
thrown off, and a state of complete, uncaring rest. Thirdly, I was in such vigor
as to be out in the open air, on horseback and otherwise, a good part of the time.
It does not follow, by any means, that one who is dying under hereditary con-
sumption, or one who is too far gone to have any power of endurance, or spring
of recuperative energy left, will be recovered in the same manner.
A great many such go there to die, and some to be partially recovered and then
die : for I knew of two young men, so far recovered as to think themselves well, or
nearly so, who by overviolent exertion brought on a recurrence of bleeding, and
died, one of them almost instantly, and the other in about twenty- four hours ; both
in the same week. The general opinion seemed to be that the result was attributa-
ble, in part, to the overtonic property of the atmosphere. And I have known of
very remarkable cases of recovery there which had seemed to be hopeless. One
of a gentleman who was carried ashore on a litter, and became a robust, hearty
man. Another who told me that he had even coughed up bits of his lung, of the
size of a walnut, and was then, seven or eight months after, a perfectly sound-
looking, well-set man, with no cough at all 1 fell in with somebody every few
days who had come there and been restored ; and with multitudes of others whose
disease had been arrested, so as to allow the prosecution of business, and whose
lease of life, as they had no doubt, was much lengthened by their migration to
that region of the country. Of course it will be understood that a great many are
sadly disappointed in going thither, and that as the number of consumptives
making the trial increases, the funerals of the consumptive strangers are becoming
sadly frequent
The peculiar benefit of this climate appears to be from its dryness. There is as
much, or even a little more of rain there than elsewhere, in the summer months ;
but it comes more generally in the night, and the days that follow brighten out in
a fresh, tonic brilliancy, as dry almost as before. The winter climate is intensely
MINNESOTA.
365
cold, and yet so dry, and clear, and still, for the most part, as to create no very
great suffering. One who is properly dressed finds the climate much more enjoy-
able than the amphibious, half-fluid, half-solid, sloppy, grave-like chill of the east.
The snows are light ; a kind of snow-dew that makes an inch, or sometimes three,
in a night. Heal snow-storms are rare ; there were none the last winter. A little
more snow to make better sleighing would be an improvement. As to rain in the
winter, it is almost unknown. There was no drop of rain the last winter, from the
latter part of October to the middle, or about the middle of March, except a slight
drizzle on thanksgiving day. And there was not snow melting enough for more
than about eight or ten days to wet a deerskin moccasin (which many gentlemen
wear all the winter). The following statement will show the comparative rain-fall,
whether in the shape of rain or snow, for three different points, that may be taken
to represent the whole country; being on the two coasts, and St. Paul in the mid-
dle of the continent: San Francisco, spring, 8 inches; summer, 0; autumn, 3;
winter, 10; mean, 21. St. Paul, spring, 6 inches; summer, 12; autumn, 6; win-
ter, 2; mean, 26. Hartford, spring, 10 inches; summer, 11; autumn, 10; winter,
10; mean, 41.
The San Francisco climate stands first, here, in dryness, it will be observed; but
it requires to be noted, in the comparison, that while there is no rain-fall there for
a whole six months, there is yet a heavy sea fog rolling in every day, which makes
the St. Paul climate really the driest of the two. The beautiful inversion, too, of
the California water-season, at St. Paul, will be noticed ; the water falling here in
the summer, when it is wanted, and ceasing in the winter, when it is not.
IOWA.
IOWA derived its name from the Iowa Indians, who were located on the
Iowa River. They at last became incorported with other tribes, principally
among the Sauks, or Sacs and Foxes.
These tribes had the reputation of
being the best hunters of any on the
borders of the Mississippi or Missouri.
At the time the first white traders
went among them, their practice was
to leave their villages as soon as their
corn and beans were ripe and secured,
to go on to their wintering grounds, it
being previously determined in coun-
cil on what particular ground each
party should hunt. The old men,
women, and children embarked in
canoes ; the young men went by land
with their horses ; and on their arri-
val, they commenced their winter's
hunt, which lasted about three
months. In the month of April,
they returned to their villages to cul-
tivate their lands. Iowa was origin-
ally a part of the French province of Louisiana. The first white settlement
was made at Dubuquev As early as 1800, there were mines of lead worked
at this place by the natives, assisted by Julien Dubuque, an Indian trader,
who had adopted their habits, married into their tribe, and became a great chief
among them. In 1830, a war among the Indians themselves was carried on with
savage barbarity. Some 10 or 12 Sac and Fox chiefs, with their party, were
going to Prairie du Chien from Dubuque, to attend a treaty conference with
the U. S. commissioners, when they were attacked at Cassville Island by a
large war party of the Sioux, and literally cut to pieces, only two of all their
number escaping. The tribe, now in great confusion and alarm, left Du-
buque, mostly never to return, leaving the mines and this part of the coun-
try vacant, and open to settlement, as when occupied by them, they would
allow no one to intrude upon their lands. In June of this year, Mr. L. H.
Langworthy, accompanied by his elder brother, crossed the Mississippi in a
367
AUMS or IOWA.
MOTTO — Our liberties we prize, and onr rights we
will maintain.
368 IOWA.
canoe, swimming their horses by its side, and landed for the first time on the
west bank of the stream. Soon after this, a number of miners crossed over
the river, possessed themselves of these vacant lands, and commenced suc-
cessful mining operations. " This was the first flow or the first tide of civ-
ilization in Iowa." The miners, however, were soon driven off by Capt.
Zachary Taylor, then commanding at Prairie du Chien, and a military force
stationed at Dubuque till 1832, when the "Black Hawk War" commenced.
After the Indians were defeated the miners returned.
Until as late as the year 1832, the whole territory north of the state
of Missouri was in undisputed possession of the Indians. After the
Indians were defeated at the battle of the Bad Ax, in Wisconsin, Aug.,
1832, partly to indemnify the government for the expenses of the war, the
Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States a strip of country, west of the
Mississippi, extending nearly 300 miles N. of Missouri, and 50 miles wide,
commonly called the '• Black Hawk Purchase." Further purchases were
made in 1836 and 1837; and in 1842, by a treaty concluded by Gov. Cham-
bers, a tract of about fifteen million acres was purchased of the Sacs and
Foxes, for one million of dollars. This tract, comprising some of the finest
counties of the state, is known as the " New Purchase."
The Pottowatomies, who inhabited the south-western corner of the state,
and the Winnebagoes, who occupied the "Neutral Ground," a strip of coun-
try on the northern borders, have been recently peaceably removed, and the
Indian title has thus become extinct within the limits of Iowa. The terri-
tory now comprised within the limits of the state was a part of the Missouri
Territory from 1804 to 1821, but after that was placed successively under the
jurisdiction of Michigan and Wisconsin Territories. The following conclud-
ing details of its history are from Monette :
"The first white settlement in the Black Hawk Purchase was made near
the close of the year 1832, at Fort Madison, by a colony introduced by
Zachariah Hawkins, Benjamin Jennings, and others.
In the summer of 1835, the town-plat of 'Fort Madison ' was laid off by
Gen. John H. Knapp and Col. Nathaniel Knapp, the first lots in which were
exposed to sale early in the year 1836. The second settlement was made
in 1833, at Burlington, seventy-nine miles below Rock Island. About the
same time the city of Dubuque, four hundred and twenty-five miles above
St. Louis, received its first Anglo-American population. Before the close of
the year 1833, settlements of less note were commenced at many other points
near the western shore of the Mississippi, within two hundred miles of the
northern limits of the state of Missouri. It was in the autumn of 1834,
that Aaron Street, a member of the ' Society of Friends,' and son of the
Aaron Street who emigrated from Salem, in New Jersey, founded the first
Salem in Ohio, and subsequently the first Salem in Indiana, on a tour of ex-
ploration to the Iowa country, in search of 'a new home,' selected the 'beau-
tiful prairie eminence' south of Skunk Riveras the site of another Salem in
the 'Far West.' In his rambles thirty miles west of Burlington, over the
uninhabited regions, in all their native loveliness, he was impressed with the
great advantages presented by the 'beautiful and fertile prairie country,
which abounded in groves of tall forest trees, and was watered by crystal
streams flowing among the variagated drapery of the blooming prairies.'
Transported with the prospect, the venerable patriarch exclaimed, ' Now have
mine eyes beheld a country teeming with every good thing, and hither will
I come, with my children and my children's children, and my flocks and
IOWA. 369
herds ; and our dwelling-place shall be called ' Salem,' after the peaceful city
of our fathers.'
Next year witnessed the commencement of the town of Salem, on the
frontier region of the Black Hawk Purchase, the first Quaker settlement in
Iowa. Five years afterward this colony in the vicinity of Salem numbered
nearly one thousand souls, comprising many patriarchs bleached by the
snows of seventy winters, with their descendants to the third and fourth gen-
erations. Such was the first advance of the Anglo-American population
west of the Upper Mississippi, within the 'District of Iowa,1 which, before
the close of the year 1834, contained nearly five thousand white inhabitants.
Meantime, for the convenience of temporary government, the settlements
west of the Mississippi, extending more than one hundred miles north of the
Des Moines River, had been by congress erected into the 'District of Iowa,'
and attached to the District of Wisconsin, subject to the jurisdiction of the
Michigan Territory.
The District of Iowa remained, with the District of Wisconsin, attached
to the jurisdiction of Michigan Territory, until the latter had assumed an
independent state government in 1836, when the District of Wisconsin
was erected into a separate government, known as the Wisconsin Territory,
exercising jurisdiction over the District of Iowa, then comprised in two
large counties, designated as the counties of Des Moines and Dubuque. The
aggregate population of these counties in 1836 was 10,531 persons. It was
not long before the District of Iowa became noted throughout the west for
its extraordinary beauty and fertility, and the great advantages which it af-
forded to agricultural enterprize.
Already the pioneer emigrants had overrun the first Black Hawk Purchase,
and were advancing upon the Indian country west of the boundary line.
Settlements continued to extend, emigration augmented the population, and
land offices were established at Dubuque and Burlington for the sale of such
lands as were surveyed.
• Meantime, the District of Iowa, before the close of the year 1838, had
been subdivided into sixteen counties, with an aggregate population of 22,860
souls, distributed sparsely over the whole territory to which the Indian title
had been extinguished. The same year, on the 4th of July, agreeably to
the provisions of an act of congress, approved June 12, 1838, the District
of Iowa was erected into an independent territorial government, known as
the ' Territory of Iowa.' The first ' territorial governor and superintendent
of Indian affairs ' was Robert Lucas, formerly governor of Ohio, with James
Clark secretary of the territory. Charles Mason was chief justice of the
superior court, and judge of the first judicial district; Joseph Williams was
judge in the second district; and Thomas S. Wilson in the third. The first
delegate elected by the people to represent them in congress was Augustus
C. Dodge.
The Iowa Territory, as first organized, comprised 'all that region of coun-
try north of Missouri, which lies west of the Mississippi River,, and of a
line drawn due north from the source of the Mississippi, to the northern
limit of the United States.'
The first general assembly of the Iowa Territory made provision for the
permanent seat of government, On the first of May, 1839, the beautiful
spot which is now occupied by the 'City of Iowa' was selected.
During the year 1839, emigration from New England, and from New York
by way of the lake route from Buffalo to the ports on the western shore of
24
370 [OWA-
Lake Michigan, and from Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, began to set strongly
into the Iowa Territory, and numerous colonies advanced to settle the beau-
tiful and fertile lands on both sides of the Des Moines River and its numer-
ous tributaries, as well as those upon the small tributaries of the Mississippi
for two hundred miles above.
Population increased in a remarkable manner; aided by the unbounded
facilities of steam navigation, both on the great lakes and upon the large
tributaries of the Mississippi, the emigration to the Iowa and Wisconsin Ter-
ritories was unprecedented in the history of western colonization. The cen-
sus of 1840 exhibited the entire population of Iowa Territory at 43,017 per-
sons, and that of the Wisconsin Territory at 30,945 persons.
Such had been the increase of emigration previous to 1843, that the legis-
lature of Iowa made formal application for authority to adopt a state consti-
tution. At the following session of congress, an act was passed to ' enable
the people of the Iowa Territory to form a state government.' A conven-
tion assembled in September, and on the 7th of October, 1844, adopted a
constitution for the proposed 'state of Iowa;' it being the fourth state organ-
ized within the limits of the province of Louisiana.
By the year 1844, the population of Iowa had increased to 81,921 persons;
yet the people were subjected to disappointment in the contemplated change of
government. The constitution adopted by the convention evinced the pro-
gress of republican feeling, and the* strong democratic tendency so prominent
in all the new states. The constitution for Iowa extended the right of suf-
frage to every free white male citizen of the United States who had resided
six months in the state, and one month in the county, previous to his appli-
cation for the right of voting. The judiciary were all to be elected by the
people for a term of four years, and all other officers, both civil and milita-
ry, were to be elected by the people at stated periods. Chartered monopolies
were not tolerated, and no act of incorporation was permitted to remain in
force more than twenty years, unless it were designed for public improve-
ments or literary purposes ; and the personal as well as the real estate of the
members of all corporations was liable for the debts of the same. The leg-
islature was prohibited from creating any debt in the name of the state ex-
ceeding one hundred thousand dollars, unless it were for defense in case of
war, invasion, or insurrection ; and in such case, the bill creating the debt
should, at the same time, provide the ways and means for its redemption.
Such were some of the prominent features of the first constitution adopted
for the state of Iowa. Yet the state was not finally organized under this
constitution, and the people of Iowa remained under the territorial form of
government until the close of the year 1846.
The constitution of Iowa having been approved by congress, an act was
passed March 3, 1845, for the admission of the 'state of Iowa' into the Fed-
eral Union simultaneously with the 'state of Florida,' upon the condition that
the people of Iowa, at a subsequent general election, assent to the restricted
limits imposed by congress, in order to conform with the general area of
other western states; but the people of Iowa refused to ratify the restricted
limits prescribed for the new state, a majority of nearly two thousand in the
popular vote having rejected the terms of admission. Hence Iowa1 remained
under the territorial government until the beginning of 1846, when the peo-
ple, through their legislature, acquiesced in the prescribed limits, and con-
gress authorized the formation of another constitution, preparatory to the
admission of Iowa into the Union.
IOWA.
The people of Iowa, in 1846, assented to the restriction of limits, and the
formation of a territorial government over the remaining waste territory lying
north and west of the limits prescribed by congress. Petitions, with numer-
ous signatures, demanded the proposed restriction by the organization of a
separate territory, to be designated and known as the 'Dacotah Territory,'
comprising the Indian territory beyond the organized settlements of Iowa.
Congress accordingly authorized a second convention for the adoption of
another state constitution, and this convention assembled in May, 1846, and
adopted another constitution, which was submitted to congress in June fol •
lowing. In August, 1846, the state of Iowa was formally admitted into the
Union, and the first state election was, by the proclamation of Gov. Clarke,
to be held on the 26th day of October following. In the ensuing December,
the first state legislature met at Iowa City."
Iowa is bounded N. by Minnesota and Dacotah Territory, W. by Missouri
River, S. by the state of Missouri, and E. by Mississippi River. It is situ-
ated between 40° 30' and 43° 30' N. Lat., and between 90° 20' and *96° 50'
W. Long. Its greatest width, from E. to W., is 307 miles, and 186 from N".
to S.; included within its limits is an area of 50,914 square miles.
The face of Iowa is moderately uneven, without any mountains or very
high hills. There is a tract of elevated table land, which extends through
a considerable portion of the state, dividing the waters which fall into the Mis-
sissippi from those falling into the Missouri. The margins of the rivers and
creeks, extending back from one to ten miles, are usually covered with tim-
ber, while beyond this the country is an open prairie without trees. The
prairies generally have a rolling surface, not unlike the swelling of the ocean,
and comprise more than two thirds of the territory of the state: the tim-
bered lands»only one tenth. The soil, both on the prairie and bottom lands,
is generally excellent having a deep black mold intermingled with a sandy
loam, sometimes of red clay and gravel. It is watered by streams of the
clearest water, and its inland scenery is very beautiful. It is studded in parts
with numerous little lakes of clear water, with gravelly shores and bottoms.
In the north-eastern part of the state are very extensive lead mines, being
continuations of those of Illinois and Wisconsin. Vast coal beds exist, extend-
ing, it is stated, upward of two hundred miles, in the direction of1 the valley
of the Des Moines River alone, which centrally intersects the state. The
entire area of the coal fields in this state, is estimated to be not less than
35,000 square miles, nearly two thirds of the entire state. The beds of coal
are estimated by geologists to be of the average thickness of 100 feet. Iron
ore, zinc and copper are also found. Iowa is also rich in agricultural re-
sources, its fertile soil producing all kinds of fruit and grains raised in north-
ern climates. "As a general rule, the average quantity of snow and rain in
Iowa is much less than in New York and New England. There are much
fewer clouds. The cold weather in winter is about the same as in similar
latitudes in the east; winter commences about the same time*, but the spring
generally opens much earlier. The intense cold we;ither is comparatively
short. For a period of years the spring will average from two to four weeks
earlier than in central New York. This difference is due to several causes.
In the east the proximity of large bodies of water gives rise to an im-
mense number of very dense clouds, that prevent the spnrig sun from hav-
ing the same effect as is experienced in the west. Tho altitude of the coun-
try, and the warm quick nature of the Iowa soil, are circi. instances going far
toward accounting* for this difference. The heat of summer is much greater
372
IOWA.
than in the same latitude in New York and New England, though a person
may work in the open sun in Iowa when the thermometer is 100 degrees
above zero more comfortably than he can when it is at 90 degrees in New
York. An atmosphere saturated with water is more sultry and disagreeable
with the thermometer at 90, than a dry atmosphere with the thermometer at
100."
Iowa is blessed with abundance of water power, and the noblest of rivers ;
the Mississippi is on the east, the Missouri on the west, while numerous streams
penetrate it, the finest of which is the Des Moines, the great central artery
of the state, which enters it from the north and flows south-east through it
for 400 miles: it is a beautiful river, with a rocky bottom and high banks,
which the state is making navigable, for small steamers, to Fort Des Moines,
200 miles from its mouth.
By the census of 1856, the number of paupers was only 132 out of a pop
ulation of more than half a million. Population, in 1836, 10,531; in 1840
42,01/; in 1850, 192,214; in 1856, 509,000; in I860, 674;948.
Eastern view of Dubugve,from Dunleilh, 11L
The view shows the appearance of Dubuque, as seen from the terminus of the Illinois Central Railroad
on the eastern side of the Mississippi. On the left is the terminus of the Pacific and Dubuque Railroad.
On the right the Shot Tower. Back of the principal part of the city are the bluffs, rising to a hight of
about 200 feet.
DUBUQUE, the largest city, and the first settled place in the state, is on the
right or western bank of the Mississippi, 1,638 miles above New Orleans,
426 above St. Louis, and 306 below the Falls of St. Anthony. The city
proper extends two miles on a table area, or terrace, immediately back of
which rise a succession of precipitous bluffs, about 200 feet high. A small
marshy island is in front of the city, which is being improved for business
purposes. The beautiful plateau on which the city was originally laid out,
being too limited for its growth, streets have been extended up and over the
bluffs, on which many houses have been erected of a superior order, among
which are numerous elegant residences. The Dubuque Female College ig
IOWA. 373
designed to accommodate 500 scholars. The Alexander College, chartered
in 1853, is located here, under the patronage of the Synod of Iowa. Sev-
eral important railroads terminate at this place, which is the head-quarters
and principal starting place for steamboats on the northern Mississippi.
Nearly one third of the inhabitants speak the German language. Popula-
tion 1860, 13,021.
Mr. J. L. Langworthy, a native of Vermont, is believed to have been the
first of the Anglo-Saxon race who erected a dwelling, and smelted the first
lead westward of the Mississippi. He first came here in 1827. The first
act resembling civil legislation, within the limits of Iowa, was done in Du-
buque. Mr. Langworthy, with four others, H. P. Lander, James McPhee-
ters, and Samuel H. Scales, having obtained permission to dig for mineral,
entered into an agreement, dated July 17. 1830, by which each man should
hold 200 yards square of ground, by working on said ground one day in six,
and that a person chosen by a majority of the miners present, should hold
the agreement, "and grant letters of arbitration. ' It appears, from an in-
dorsement on the paper, that Dr. Jarrote held the articles, and was the first
person chosen by the people in the territory to be clothed with judicial
powers. In Oct., 1833, Mr. Langworthy and his brothers, with a few neigh-
bors, erected the first school-house built in Iowa. It stood but a few rods
from the Female College. The first brick building erected in Dubuque was
in the summer of 1837, by Le Eoy Jackson, from Kentucky. This house
is now standing on the corner of Iowa and Eleventh-streets, and is owned
and occupied by William Rebinan, a native of Pennsylvania, who came to
Dubuque in 183G, when a lad of 14 years, and acted as bodman to the ma-
sons who erected the building. When Mr. R. came to this place, there were
some 30 or 40 dwellings, many of them log cabins. The first religious ser-
vices were held in a log structure, used by various denominations. The first
school was kept by llev. Nicholas S. Bastion, a Methodist preacher; the
school house stood on the public square, near the Centennial Methodist
Church. It is said that the first lead discovered here was by Peosta, an In-
dian chieftain or the wife of one, who presented it to Capt. Dubuque.
The site of Dubuque was anciently known as the cornfields and place of
mounds of the "Little Fox Village." It was named, in 1834, after Julian
Dubuquc, an Indian trader, who settled here in 1788, and is generally con-
sidered as the first white settler in Iowa. He is said to have been of French
and Spanish parentage. He married into the Indian tribe, adopted their
habits and customs, and became a great chief among them. He was of small
stature, addicted to. the vices incident upon the commingling of Spanish and
Indian races in America, and a great medicine man. "He would take live
snakes of the most venomous kind into his arms and bosom, and was conse-
quently regarded by the Indians with superstitious veneration. He died a
victim to his vices, and was buried on a high bluff that overlooks the river,
near the Indian village at the mouth of Catfish Creek." When his grave
was visited by L. H. Langworthy, Esq., in 1830, a stone house, surmounted
by a cedar cross, with a leaden door, stood over the spot. The remains of
two Indian chiefs were also deposited within. The cross had a French in-
scription, of which the following is a translation :
"Julien Dubuque, miner, of the mines of Spain. Died this 24th day of March, 1810,
aged 45 years 6 nio."
The Indians, being instructed by Dubuque, worked the mines of lead here
as early as 1800. About the year 1830, an Indian war, between the Sioux
374 IOWA.
and the Sacs and Foxes, caused the latter to forsake their village here.
Upon this the whites entered upon these lands, and several made their for-
tunes in a single day, by striking upon a large lode. They were, however,
foon ordered to recross the river by Zachary Taylor, commanding the United
States forces at Prairie du Chien, as the territory had not yet been purchased
of the Indians. After the Black Hawk purchase, the west side of the Mis-
sissippi was opened for settlement. By 1834, several stores were erected;
the mines increased in richness, and emigration rapidly advanced. For a
time " Lynch Law " was the only one recognized. The first execution for
murder was that of a man who shot his partner. ''Upon this event a court
was organized, jury impanneled, trial had, criminal found guilty, and" after a
short time being allowed the prisoner to prepare for death, he was executed.
The gallows was erected upon the south-west corner of White and Seventh-
streets, upon a mound, which was only removed for the large block that now
fills its place. The population, at that time, amounted to over 1,000. nearly
the whole of which were witnesses to the final act of that dreadful tragedy."
The first newspaper issued here was by John King, Esq., under the fol-
lowing title:
" DUBUQUE VISITOR, Truth our Guide — the public good our aim. Dubuque
Lead Mines, Wisconsin Territory, May 16, 1836."
In 1838, some attention was paid to agricultural pursuits. The soil prov-
ing good, the prosperity of the place greatly increased. The exportations of
lead that year exceeded 6,000,000 Ibs. In 1846, the lands adjoining Du-
buque were brought into market, and the next year Dubuque was reincor-
porated under its present charter. The population at that time was less than
3,000.
"Below the 'Little Fox village,' is the bluff where the Sioux made their last and
final stand against the Sacs and Foxes. It stands close upon the shore of the Mis-
sissippi, with its perpendicular walls about two hundred feet in hight, and sloping
back toward a low prairie, by which it is surrounded and terminates with an ab-
rupt descent to this prairie." Here and there, scattered around it, are castellated
rocks, which make it one of nature's fortifications. The Sioux were encamped on
'the summit of this bluff. In the night the Sacs and Foxes commenced ascending,
and when near their enemy, by a fierce encounter, they secured the outposts, and
in a very short time had so reduced the number of the Sioux, that those remaining,
rather than have their scalps hang at their enemies' girdles, threw themselves
headlong from the precipice and were dashed to pieces. At the present time, a
few of the bones of those devoted warriors may be found in this their last resting
place; and of late years, when the Indians visit this, spot, they cast pebbles and
twigs from the summit upon the remains of those below."
To the foregoing outline we annex these details from the Lectures of Lu-
cius H. Langworthy, Esq., upon the History of Dubuque:
In 1827, the speaker came to the mines, in company with a brother and two
sisters, together with Mr. Meeker, on his return from Cincinnati, Maj. Hough,
Capt. Donney and lady, and five or six others.
We embarked at Quincy, Illinois, in a pirogue, and were thirty days on the voy-
age. A pirogue is a kind of intermediate craft, between a canoe and a keel boat
The name is French, and signifies the kind of boats used by the early voyageure
to transport their furs and effects over the shoal waters and rapid streams of the west-
ern wilderness. I mention the time occupied in our journey hither, in order to show
some of the difficulties of settling this new country at that early period. Think
of a boat's crew, with several ladies on board, all unaccustomed to the river, being
compelled to work a boat up with poles and oars, against the swollen current of
this mighty stream, in the hot weather of June, sleeping on sand bars, or anchored
IOWA. 375
out in the river at night, to avoid the musquitoes, or lurking Indians, living upon
salt pork and dry biscuit, coffee without cream or sugar, and withal making only
about eight miles average per day. But this was then the land of promise, t-vs Cal-
ifornia has since been. In July of that year, the Winnebago war commenced.
Much alarm was spread over the country, and the people erected forts and block
houses for defense, abandoning all other employments for the time. Col. Henry
Dodgo led a company of miners against the Indians, at their town on Rock River.
The village, however, was found deserted, and they returned after taking one lad
prisoner.
We crossed over the Mississippi at this time, swimming our horses by the side
of a cunoe. Jt was the first flow, or the first tide of civilization on this western
shore. There was not a white settler north of the Des Moines, and west of the
Mississippi, to Astoria, on the Columbia River, with the exception of Indian traders.
The Indians had all along guarded this mining district with scrupulous care. They
would not allow the white people to visit the place, even to look at the old grass-
grown diggings of Dubuque, which were known to exist here, much less would
they permit mining to be done, or settlements to bo made.
The country had just been abandoned by the red men, their moccasin tracks
were yet fresh in the prairie trails along which the retiring race had fled on their
mysterious mission westward, and the decaying embers were yet cooling on their
deserted hearths within their now lonely and silent wigwams. Where Dubuque
now stands, cornfields stretched along the bluffs, up the ravines and the Coule val-
ley, and a thousand acres of level land skirting the shore, was covered with tall
grass, as a field of waving grain. But the stalks of the corn were of the last year's
growth, the ears had been plucked, and they were withered and blighted, left
standing alone mournful representatives of the vanished race. A large village was
then standing at the mouth of Catfish Creek, silent, solitary, deserted — nothing re-
mained to greet us, but the mystic shadows of the past. About seventy buildings,
constructed with poles and the bark of trees, remained to tell of those who had so
recently inhabited them. Their council house, though rude, was ample in its di-
mensions, and contained a great number of furnaces, in which kettles had been
placed to prepare the feasts of peace or war. But their council fires had gone out.
On the inner surface of the bark there were paintings done with considerable
artistic skill, representing the buffalo, elk, bear, panther, and other animals of the
chase ; also their wild sports on the prairie, and even their feats in wars, where
chief meets chief and warriors mix in bloody fray. Thus was retained a rude
record of their national history. It was burned down in the summer of 1830, by
some visitors in a spirit of vandalism, much to the regret of the new settlers.
When the Indians mined, which was on special occasions, there were often fifty
or a hundred boys and squaws at work on one vein. They would dig down a
square hole, covering the entire width of the mine, leaving one side not perpendic-
ular, but at an angle of about forty-five degrees, then with deer skin sacks attached to
a bark rope they would haul out along the inclining side of the shaft the rock and
ore. Their mode of smelting was by digging into a bank slightly, then put up flat
rocks in a funnel shape, and place the ore within, mixed with wood; this all burnt
together, and the lead would trickle down into a small excavation in the earth, of
any shape they desired, and slowly cool and become fit for exportation.
The lead manufactured here in early times, by Dubuque and the natives, found
its way to St. Louis, Chicago, Mackinaw, and other trading ports, and some even
into the Indian rifle in the war of 1812, in the woods of Indiana and Michigan.
The mode of smelting adopted at first, by the white people, was by building a fur-
nace somewhat like two large chimney places, set in a bank of earth, leaving an
aperture in the lower side, for a circulation of air. In these, large logs of wood
were placed like back-logs, back-sticks and fore-sticks all fitting together, then the
mineral was placed on the logs, covered with finer wood, and the whole set on fire.
Thus, in twenty-four hours, the lead would be extracted and run into cast-iron
molds. About fifty per cent, of lead was obtained in this way, leaving scoriae and
a waste of small pieces of ore to be run over in another furnace differently con-
structed. In this last process, about fifteen per cent, was added to the first pro-
duct Now, by the improved mode, of blast furnaces, about eighty-five per cent, ia
376 IOWA-
obtained, showing that the ore is nearly pure, except only the combination of sul-
phur with it, which is the inflammable material, and assists in the process of sepa-
ration.
As I have said, the speaker and an elder brother, in June of 1827, crossed the
Mississippi in a canoe, swimming their horses by its side, landed for the first time
on the western bank of the stream, and stood upon the soil of this unknown land.
Soon after this, a number of miners crossed over the river, and possessed them-
selves of these lands, thus left vacant; their mining operations proved eminently
successful.
About the fourth of July, Zachary Taylor, then commanding at Prairie du Chien,
called upon the miners, in a formal and public manner, forbade their settlement,
and ordered them to recross the river. This land was not yet purchased of the
Indians, and, of course, came under the control of the war department. Captain
Taylor, as he was then called, told the miners that it was his duty as a government
officer, to protect the lands ; that such were the treaty stipulations, and that they
must be off in one week. They declined doing this, telling the captain that he
must surrender this time. They urged that they had occupied a vacant country,
had struck some valuable lodes, that the land would soon be purchased, and that
they intended to maintain possession; to which Zachary Taylor replied, " We shall
see to that, my boys."
Accordingly a detachment of United States troops was dispatched, with orders
to make the miners at Dubuque walk Spanish. Anticipating their arrival, they had
taken themselves off, for at that early day they believed that " rough " would be
" ready " at the appointed time. The miners were anxiously peering from the high
bluffs on the east side of the river as the steamer came in sight bringing the sol-
diers, who were landed on the west shore. Three of the men, who had lingered
too long, were taken prisoners. They were, however, soon released, or rather took
themselves off. It is said that one of them, a large, fat man, by the name of Lem-
ons, made his escape from the soldiers while at Galena, and taking the course of
the high prairie ridge leading northerly, exhibited such astonishing speed, that the
race has long been celebrated among the miners, as the greatest feat ever performed
in the diggings.
The military force was stationed permanently at Dubuque, and the Indians, ven-
turing back to the place, sure1 of safety and protection against their inveterate ene-
my, the Sioux, and other intruders, were encouraged to mine upon the lodes and
prospects which the white people had discovered. From one mine alone the In-
dians obtained more than a million pounds of ore, in which they were assisted by
the traders and settlers along the river, with provisions, implements, and teams.
While the discoverers, those who had opened these mines again, after they were
abandoned by them and the Spanish Tniners more than twenty years, were com-
pelled to look across the water and see the fruits of their industry and enterprise
consumed by the Indians. We lost, in this manner, more than twenty thousand
dollars worth of mineral, which was taken from one lode by them.
In September, 1832, a treaty was held at Rock Island, by General Scott and
others, on the part of the government, and the Black Hawk purchase was agreed
to. It included all the country bordering on the west side of the Mississippi River,
comprising the eastern portion of our state. About this time, those who felt an
interest in the mines of Dubuque, returned to take possession of their former dis-
coveries.
Many fine lodes and prospects were discovered, and considerable lead manufac-
tured up to about January 25, 1833. I could here name many others who settled
during this fall: Thomas McCraney, Whitesidcs, Camps, Hurd, Riley, Thomaa
Kelly, etc. In fact there were more than two hundred allured here by the flatter-
ing prospects of the country during this fall. But, in January, the troops were
again sent down from Prairie du Chicn, and removed the settlers the second time,
merely because the treaty by which the land was acquired had not been ratified
by the United States senate, a formal act that every one knew would take place at
the earliest opportunity. This was a foolish policy on the part of the government,
and operated peculiarly hard upon the new settlers, who were thus obliged to leave
their cabins in the cold winter of 1832-3, and their business also until spring.
IOWA 377
In June, 1833, Mr. John P. Sheldon, arrived with a commission from the depart-
ment at Washington, as superintendent of the mines, the military force having
b?en previously withdrawn, and the treaty confirmed. He proceeded to grant
written permits to miners, and licenses to smelters. These permits entitled tho
holder to the privilege of staking off two hundred yards square of land wherever
be chose, if not occupied by others, and have peaceful possession, by delivering his
mineral to a licensed smelter, while the smelter was required to give a bond to the
agent, conditioned to pay, for the use of the government, a fixed per centage of all
the lead he manufactured. Mr. Sheldon continued to act in this capacity only
about one year, for he could not be the instrument of enforcing this unjust and un-
wise policy. He saw that these men, like all other pioneers, who, by their
enterprise were opening up a new country, and fitting it for the homes of those
who follow their footsteps, should be left, by a wise and judicious system, to the
enjoyment of their hard earnings. The hidden wealth of the earth, its pine for-
ests and surface productions, should alike be offered freely to all those who pene-
trate the wilderness, and thus lay the foundation of future societies and states.
It has been the policy of our government, at various times, to exact rent for all
mineral, or pine lumber, taken from the public lands; which policy is wrong and
should be forever abandoned; for the early settlers have privations and hardships
enough, without encountering the opposition of their own government, especially
these miners, many of whom had labored for years on the frontiers, cut off from
khe enjoyments of home and all the endearments of domestic life. Your speaker
eas, himself, one of these, being thrown in early life upon the crest of the wave
-if western emigration, often beyond the furthest bounds of civilization, and not
unfrequently amid the tragical scenes of border strife. Twenty-three years he la-
bored, mostly in the mines, in different capacities, and during about half that pe;
riod he has toiled in the deep, narrow caves and crevices, in the cold, damp ground,
working upon his knees, sometimes in the water, and living like many other miners
in "Bachelor's Hall," cooking his own food, and feeling secluded from society and
far from the circle and associations of youthful friendship. Under such privations,
he felt the demand of a heavy tax, by the government, to be oppressive indeed, and
he would be wanting in consistency and spirit, if he had not, on all proper occa-
sions, protested against a system that seems much more regal than republican, and
which degrades the western pioneer to the condition of a tenant at will of the gen-
eral government.
In 1833—4, the town of Dubuque continued to improve. It now first received its
name by a public meeting held for that purpose, and began to assume the appear-
ance of a prosperous business place.
At this time there were but very few men in the whole country who did not in-
dulge in drinking and gambling. "Poker" and "brag" were games of common
pastime, while the betting often run up to hundreds of dollars in a single sitting.
It pervaded all classes; the merchants and other passengers, to and from St. Louis,
while on the steamboats occupied their time chiefly in Jhis way, and it was consid-
ered no disgrace to gamble. Balls and parties were also common, and it was not
an unfrequent occurrence for one to treat his partner in the dance at the bar, if he
•^id not, he generally performed that delicate and flattering attention to himself.
1'he Sabbath was regarded as a holiday, and vice and immorality were prevalent in
every form. Yet amidst all this there were occasional gleams of moral sunshine
breaking through the clouds of dissipation, and a brighter future lay before us.
Upon the establishing of courts here, first under the jurisdiction of Michigan,
then under that of Wisconsin Territory, matters assumed a more peaceful and quiet
aspect
But there were even then occasions of turbulence and bloodshed, in quarrels
about lands and claims. Mr. Woodbury Massey lost his life in one of these diffi-
culties. There were no courts of competent jurisdiction to try cases of crime, or
rights to property. A long time intervened between the withdrawal of the gov-
ernment protection and the establishment of civil laws by local authority.
No survey of the public lands had yet been made, and in the transition from the
old to the new state of things, misunderstandings naturally arose. Under the gov-
ernment rules and regulations for the control of the mines, it was necessary to
378
work and have mining tools almost continually on the land claimed, in order to se-
cure possession; under the new order of things there were no uniform customs pre-
vailing, regarding possession of property; each man formed his own standard and
was governed by his O'wn opinions. It was not surprising, then, that difficulties
should arise. He who has passed through all the scenes and trials incident to the
settlement of a new country, will not readily seek another distant frontier as a
home.
Woodhury Massey was the eldest of several brothers and a sister, all left orphans
in early life. Himself and family were members and the chief founders of the
first Methodist Church erected in this city; a man of fine education, polite and
amiable in his disposition, one of our first merchants, and possessing a large share
of popular favor. He was enterprising in business, and upright in all his. dealings.
Had he lived, he would no doubt have proved a main pillar and support in our
young community. But in an evil hour he became the purchaser of a lot or lode,
called the Irish lot, near where Mr. McKenzie now lives.
It appeared that a Mr. Smith, father and son, had some claim on this lot or lode.
They were the exact opposite to Mr. Massey, in character and disposition. A suit
before a magistrate grew out of this claim, and the jury decided the property to
belong to Mr. Massey. It being a case of forcible entry and detainer, the sheriff,
as was his duty, went with the latter to put him again in possession of the pre-
mises.
When they arrived upon the ground, the two Smiths, being secreted among the
diggings, rose up suddenly, and firing their guns in quick succession, Mr. Massey
•was shot through, the heart His family, living near by, saw him fall, thus early
cut down in the prime of his life and usefulness, a victim to the unsettled state of
the times, and the ungoverned passions of turbulent men. The perpetrators of
this deed were arrested and held in confinement until the session of the circuit
court, at Mineral Point, Judge Irving presiding. Upon the trial, the counsel for
the defense objected to the jurisdiction of the court, which was sustained by the
judge, and accordingly the prisoners were discharged and let loose upon society
They, however, left this part of the country for a time.
One of the younger brothers of Mr. Massey, highly exasperated by this transac-
tion, that no trial could be obtained for such offenders, had determined, it seems,
that should the elder Smith ever come in his way, he would take the punishment
for the murder of his brother into his own hands. One day, while sitting in his
shop at Galena, he chanced to see Smith walking the public streets of the place,
when, instantly snatching a pistol and hastening in the direction, he fired upon
him with fatal aim. Thus Smith paid the forfeit of his life by intruding again
among the friends of the murdered man, and in the community which had wit-
nessed the scenes of his violence.
For this act of the younger brother, there seems to have been the broadest char-
ity manifested. He was never tried, or even arrested, and still lives in ihe coun-
try, a quiet man, and greatly respected by all who know him.
The death of the father, of course, soon brought the younger Smith to the mines.
It was understood privately that he determined to shoot one or the other of the
surviving brothers at the very first opportunity. He was known to be an excellent
shot with a pistol, of imperious disposition and rash temper. These rumors finally
reached the ears of the fair haired, blue eyed sister, who was thus made to believe
that he would carry his threats into execution. She was just verging into woman-
hood, with fresh susceptibilities, and all of her deep affections awakened by the
. surrounding difficulties of the family. One day, without consulting others, she de-
termined, by a wild and daring adventure, to cut off all chances of danger in that
direction. Disguising herself for the occasion, and taking a lad along to point out
the person she sought, having never seen him herself, she went into the street
Passing a store by the way side, the boy saw Smith and designated him from the
other gentlemen in the room by his clothing. On seeing him thus surrounded by
other men, one would suppose that her nerves would lose their wonted firmness.
He was well armed and resolute in character, this she knew; yet stepping in
amidst them all, in a voice tremulous with emotion and ominous in its tones, she
exclaimed, "If you are Smith, defend yourself." In an instant, as he arose, sba
IOWA.
379
pointed a pistol at his breast and fired; he fell, and she retired as suddenly as she
appeared. It was all done so quickly, and seemed so awful that the specta-
tors stood, bewildered at the tragical scene, until it was too late to prevent the dis-
aster.
It so happened that Mr. Smith had, at the tim.e, a krge wallet filled with papers
in his breast pocket. The ball striking about its center did not of course pene-
trate all of the folded leaves, and thus providentially his lif« was spared.
Smith, soon recovering from the stunning effects, rushed into the street to meet
his assailant; but she had fled and found shelter at the house of Mr. Johnson, a
substantial merchant of the town, and was subsequently sent away, by her friends
here, to some relatives in Illinois, where she was afterward married to a Mr. Wil-
liamson, formerly of this place. Her name, Louisa, has been given to one of the
counties in our State. Smith lived several years, but the wounds probably has-
tened his death. She is also dead, and it is to be hoped that God's mercy has fol-
lowed them beyond earth's rude strifes, and that they dwell in peace in a purer
and better world.
Ruins of Camanche, Clinton county.
After the Great Tornado of June 3, ISiiO. Engraved from a view taken by photograph.
The west has, at various periods of its history, been subject to severe tor-
nadoes, which have carried ruin and devastation in their course. The most
terrible ever known, was that which swept over eastern Iowa and western Illi-
nois, on the evening of Sunday, June 3, 1860. It commenced about five
miles beyond Cedar llapids, in Linu county, Iowa, and stopped near Elgin,
Illinois, thus traversing a distance of nearly 200 miles. It varied in width
from half a mile to two miles. It was of the nature of a whirlwind, or as> some
eye witnesses aver of two whirlwinds, moving in the same direction and near
each other, which in shape resembled a funnel. The larger villages between
Cedar llapids and the Mississippi, were out of the course of this fearful de-
etroyer; but "much property was damaged, and more than fifty lives lost be-
fore reaching the river. The town of Camanche, on the Mississippi, in Clin-
ton county, about 70 miles below Dubuque, was utterly destroyed, and New
Albany, opposite it on the Illinois side, nearly ruined. It was stated in the
33
380 IOWA-
prints of the time, that, by this terrible calamity, 2,500 persons had been
rendered houseless and homeless, and about 400 killed and wounded. The
account of this event is thus given in the Fulton Courier:
The storm reached Camanche at 7.30 P.M., with a hollow, rumbling noise her-
alding its approach, which sounded like a heavy train of care passing over a bridge.
Moving with the velocity of lightning, it struck the devoted town, and the fearful
work of havoc commenced. The scene that followed, as given by eye witnesses,
can neither be imagined nor described. Amidst the roar of the tempest, the rust-
ling of the wind, the reverberating peals of thunder, the vivid flashes of lightning,
the pelting of the rain, the crash of falling buildings, the agonizing shrieks of ter-
ror stricken women and children, the bewildered attempts to escape, and the
moans of the dying, but little opportunity was left to observe the general appear-
ance of the blow.
Parents caught their children in their arms and rushed frantic for any place that
seemed to promise safety. Many found refuge in cellars, which to others proved
graves. So sudden was the shock that many in the upper parts of buildings wero
left no time to flee to other parts.
To go outside was as hazardous as to remain within. The turbulent air was filled
with fragments of lumber, furniture, and trees, flying in every direction, with the
force of cannon balls.
Amidst such intense excitement, attended with such fatal consequences, momenta
seem years. But from statements, that beyond doubt are correct, the storm did not
rage less than two and a half, nor more than five minutes. It would seem impos-
sible, on looking at the devastation, to suppose it the work of so short a time.
Darkness immediately closed over the scene, and left a pall over the town only
equaled by the darker gloom that draped the hearts of the survivors of the
disaster.
At Albany, heavy warehouses were lifted entire, and removed some considerable
distance, strong brick and stone buildings entirely demolished, while the lighter
frame dwelling houses were, in most cases, entirely swept away. We could not
estimate the whole number of buildings injured, but could learn of not over three
houses in the whole town that were not more or less damaged — most of them de-
stroyed. The ground was strewed with fragments of boards. The hotel kept by
Captain Barnes was not moved from its foundation, but part of the roof and inside
partitions were carried away. The brick (Presbyterian) church was leveled to
the ground, and the Congregational much injured. The brick and stone houses
seemed to afford but little more protection than the frame, and when they fell gave,
of course, less chance of escape. But one place of business (Mr. Pease s) was left
in a condition to use. The buildings, household furniture, provisions, and every-
thing in fact, in most instances, were swept beyond the reach of recovery. The
ferry-boat was lifted from the water and laid upon the shore. Cattle, horses, and
hogs, were killed or driven away by the irresistible element. The loss of life, how-
ever, was far less than could have been expected. But five persons were killed, and
perhaps fifty or sixty injured.
Camanche was almost completely destroyed. A very few buildings were, as if
by miracle, left standing, but even these were more or less injured. The ground
was covered with splinters, boards, furniture, etc., completely shivered to pieces.
Nothing perfect or whole was to be seen, but everything looked as though it
had been riven by lightning. The larger trees were blown down: while on tho
smaller ones that would yield to the wind, were to be seen tattered pieces of cloth-
ing, carpets, pillows, and even mattresses, nearly torn to shreds. The river below
was covered with marks of the storm, and much property was lost by being swept
into the water. The general appearance of the ground was much like the traces
left by a torrent where flood-wood is left lying in its path. Where buildings onoe
stood is now a mass of unsightly ruins. It is with difficulty that the lines of the
former streets can be traced. Frame houses were swept away or turned into every
conceivable variety of positions. Dead animals were left floating in the river or
lying among the ruins. The feathers on the poultry were even stripped from their
bodies. Everything was so completely scattered and destroyed that it was useless
IOWA. 381
to attempt to recover anything, and the citizens could only sit down in despair.
Until 12 M. of Monday, the work of exhuming the bodies from the fallen ruins was
still progressing. In one room that we visited, the bodies of children and females
were lying (ten or twelve in number), clothed in their white winding sheets. It
was a sight that we pray may never again be ours to witness. The little children,
in particular, had but few face injuries, and lay as if sleeping.
In all, thirty-eight persons were reported missing at Camanche, and thirty-two
bodies have been found. About eighty were reported as wounded, some of whom
have since died. Information has been received which furnishes us with reliable
accounts of 139 deaths caused by the tornado along the line of the Iowa and Ne-
braska road, including Camanche. On the Illinois side of the river the loss of
life has not been quite so great, but we think we are safe in putting the total num-
ber of killed at 175. The wounded are by far more numerous, while the loss of
property can not be definitely estimated. We hear of»150 cattle in one yard in
Iowa that were all destroyed. Farm houses, fences, crops, railroad cars, and all
property that fell in the path of the tornado, were left in total ruin. There were
hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of property destroyed, much of which will
never be reported.
The tornado commenced in Linn county, Iowa, and stopped, as near as we can
learn, in the vicinity of Elgin, Illinois. It, of course, would carry objects some-
times in opposite directions, moving as it did with the motion of a whirlwind. We
saw one house that had been lifted from its foundation, and carried two hundred
feet in a course directly contrary to the regular course of the tornado.
The escapes in all the places where the storm passed, were often truly miracu-
lous. In Albany, Mr. Slaymaker had repaired to the church for the purpose of
ringing the bell for worship, but seeing the appearance of a heavy rain approach-
ing, concluded not to ring it. Had the congregation been called together it would
have been certain death to all, as the walls of the church, being built of brick, fell
on the inside. We saw a small house that had been carried several rods with three
persons in it, and set down without damage to the house or inmates. A little
daughter of Mr. Swett was lying on a bed, and was blown with it twenty rods into
a grove, from whence it came unharmed, calling for its mother. An infant son of
Mrs. Joseph Riley was buried beneath her, and it is thought that her own weight
upon it was the cause of its death. One family took refuge in a meal chest, which,
fortunately, proved strong enough to protect them from a mass of rubbish that
covered them. Mrs. Oliver M'Mahan fell in a place where the floor of the first
story had been previously partly broken, producing a sag or bend. The joists fell
over her, but were long enough to reach over the bend, and thus saved her life.
Mr. Effher had at one time been safely secure in his cellar, but going up for some-
thing to shield his child from the cold, was killed instantly. We saw two children
who were killed in the arms of their mothers. At Camanche, the first story of a
hardware store, with its contents, was carried into the river and lost, while the up-
per part of the building dropped down square upon the foundation as though
placed there by mechanics. A child was blown from fifteen miles west of Camanche
to that place and landed uninjured. One man in Iowa was taken up 200 feet A
family on a farm took refuge in a "potato hole," where they remained secure; but
the house they left was completely demolished. Pieces of boards were picked up
eight and ten miles from Albany, in both north and south directions. A wagon
was lifted into the air, broken to pieces, and the tire of one of the wheels twisted
out of all shape. Nine freight cars, standing on the track at Lisbon, were blown
some distance from the place they were standing. The tornado raised immediately
over the house of Mr. Minta, in Garden Plain, and descended to strike the next
house beyond. We noticed that those living in frame houses metwith less loss of
life than the inmates of brick or stone houses.
A passenger from the west informs us that a small boy was blown across Cedar
River, and his mangled body left in the forks of a tree. In one family all that
was left were three little girls, the father and mother and two children having been
instantly killed. We saw where a fence board had been forced clear through the
side of a house, endwise, and hundreds of shingles had forced themselves clear
through the clapboards of a house.
382
IOWA.
Another eye witness says: A chimney, weighing about two tuns, was broken off
at its junction with the roof, lifted into the air, and hurled down into the front
yard, burying itself in the ground a depth of three feet, without breaking or crack-
ing a single brick. A light pine shingle was driven from the outside through the
clapboards, lath and plaster, and projects two inches from the inside wall of a dwell-
ing house. No other known force could have accomplished this. A common trowel,
such ns is used by masons, was driven through a pine knot in the side of a barn,
projecting full two inches. In one spot was found a large pile of book covers,
every leaf from which was gone, and twisted into a thousand shapes. Leaves were
stripped of their tissue, leaving the fibers clean and bare as if a botanist had
neatly picked it off. Tree trunks were twisted several times round until they were
broken off. The Millard House, a three story brick structure, fronting north, was
lifted up from its foundation and turned completely round, so that the front door
faced the south. It then collapsed, and seemed to fall outwardly as if in a vacuum,
and, strange to relate, out of seventeen persons in the house, only two were killed.
One house upon the bank was lifted from its foundation and whirled into the river,
crushing as it fell and drowning three persons, the inmates.
A piano was taken out of a house in the center of the town, and carried some
distance to the river bank without breaking it.
The effects upon some of the houses near Camanche, which were in the outer
edge of the tornado, were very curious. Upon some roofs the shingles were
stripped off in faciful shapes, a bare spot upon one roof exactly resembling a fig-
ure 8. Some roofs were entirely unshingled, and in some cases every clapboard
was torn off. The sides of some houses were literally perforated with boards,
splintered timbers and sharp stakes. In some parts of Camanche, where houses
stood thickly clustered together, there is not a vestige of one left. Another tract
of about forty acres is covered with splinters about two feet in length. The lower
stories of some houses were blown out entirely, leaving the upper story upon the
ground. The town is entirely ruined, and we do not see how it can ever be re-
built. There are whole blocks of lots that are vacant entirely, with nothing but
the cellar to indicate that a house ever stood there.
The whole atmosphere around the place is sickening, and a stench is pervading
the whole path of the storm that is almost impossible to endure.
DAVENPORT, a flourishing city, the county seat of Scott, is beautifully
situated on the right bank of the Mississippi, at the foot of the upper rapids,
opposite the town of llock Island, with which it is connected by a most mag-
nificent railroad bridge, the first ever built over the Mississippi.- The great
railroad running through the heart of the state, and designed to connect the
Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, has its eastern terminus at Davenport. The
city is 330 miles above St. Louis, and 100 below Galena. The rapids ex-
tend 20 miles above this place, and the navigation of the river is somewhat
obstructed by them during the time of low water. The city is built on
ground which rises gradually from the water, with a chain of rounded hills
in the back ground. Pop- 1860, 11,268.
The city derived its name from Col. George Davenport, who was born in
England, in 1783. He came to this country when a young man, entered
the U. S. army as sergeant, and saw considerable service, on the frontier, in
the war of 1812. After the war, he settled on Hock Island, opposite this
town, and engaged in trading with the Indians. That vicinity was densely
settled by them. The village of Black Hawk was there in the forks of
Rock River and the Mississippi. He carried on the fur trade very exten-
sively for many years, establishing trading posts at various points. On the
4th of July, 1845, a band of robbers entered his beautiful residence in the
middle of the day, in the absence of his family, and in robbing, accidentally
IOWA.
383
shot him. He died the same night. All of the murderers were taken, three
were hung and two escaped. Mr. Davenport was of a very free and gener-
ous disposition, jovial and fond of company. Wherever he went a crowd
assembled around him to listen to his anecdotes and stories. He never sued
Southern view of Davenport, from ihe, Rock Island Ferry.
The Steamboat Landing and Flouring Mill is seen in the central part. The Railroad Depot and A. Le-
Claire's residence, on an elevation in the distance, on the right. The Iowa College building on the left.
any one in his life, and could not bear to see any one in distress without try-
ing to relieve them. The biographer of Col. Davenport gives these inci-
dents:
During the Black Hawk war Mr. Davenport received a commission from Gov.
Reynolds, appointing him acting quartermaster general, with the rank of colonel.
In the latter part of tho summer of 1832, the cholera broke out among the troops*
on the island, and ranged fearfully for about ten days; one hundred died out of a
population of four hundred ; every person was dreadfully alarmed. An incident
occurred during this time which will show the state of feeling. Mr. Davenport,
Mr. LeClaire, and a young officer were standing together in front of the store one
morning. The officer had been giving them an account of the number of deaths
and new cases, when an orderly came up to them with a message from Gen. Scott
to Mr. LeClaire, requesting him to come down to the fort as soon as possible. Mr.
LeClaire looked at Mr. Davenport to know what excuse to make. Mr. Davenport,
after a moment, replied to the orderly to tell Gen. Scott that Mr. LeClaire could
not come, as he was quite sick. The officer and orderly laughed heartily at Mr.
Davenport and Mr. LeClaire being so much alarmed; but next morning the first
news they received from the fort, was, that these two men were dead.
At the time the cholera broke out at Fort Armstrong, there were two Fox chiefs
confined in the guard-house for killing the Menomonies at Prairie du Chien, and
had been given up by their nation as the leaders, on the demand of our govern-
ment, and were awaiting their trial. Mr. Davenport interceded for them with the
commanding officer, to let them out of their prison, and give them the range of
the island, with a promise that they should be forthcoming when they were wanted.
The Indians were released, and they pledged their word not to leave the island
384 IOWA-
until permitted to do so by the proper authorities. During all the time the fearful
epidemic raged on the island, and every person was fleeing from it that could get
away, these two chiefs remained on the island, hunting and fishing, and when the
sickness had subsided, they presented themselves at the fort to await their trial,
thus showing how binding a pledge of this kind was with this tribe of Indians.
Mr. Davenport, for many years, was in the habit of crediting the chiefs of the dif-
ferent villages for from fifty to sixty thousand dolla/s worth of goods annually,
having nothing but their word pledged for the payment of them, which they
always faithfully performed.
The following extracts relative to the early history of Davenport, are from
Wilkie's History of the city :
" In the year 1833, there were one or two claims made upon the lands now
occupied by the lower part of the city. The claim upon which the city was
first laid out was contended for by a Dr. Spencer and a Mr. McCloud. • The
matter was finally settled by Antoine LeClaire buying them both out: giv-
ing them $150. . . . Having fenced in this portion, Mr. LeClaire cul-
tivated it until it was sold to a company in 1835. In the fall of this year, a
company was formed for the purchasing and laying out a town site. They
met at the house of Col. Davenport, on Rock Island, to discuss the matter.
The following persons were present: Maj. Wm. Gordon, Antoine LeClaire,
Col. Geo. Davenport, Maj. Thos. Smith, Alex. McGregor, Levi S. Colton, and
Philip Hambaugh. These gentlemen, with Capt. James May, then in Pitts-
burg, composed the company which secured the site
In the spring of the next year, the site was surveyed and laid out by Maj.
Gordon, U. S. surveyor, and one of the stockholders. The cost of the en-
tire site was $2,000 or $250 per share. In May the lots were offered at auc-
tion. A steamboat came up from St. Louis, laden with passengers to attend
the sale, which continued for two days. Some 50 or 60 lots only were sold,
mostly to St. Louis speculators, at from $300 to $GOO each. The remaining
portion of the site was divided among the proprietors. The emigra-
tion this year was small, only some half dozen families coming in. The first
tavern was put up this year and opened by Edward Powers, on the corner
of Front and Ripley-streets. It was built by Messrs. Davenport and Le-
Claire, and was called "Davenport Hotel." A log shanty drinking saloon was
also put up, which stood on Front-street, below the Western-avenue. It was
long a favorite resort of the politician and thirsty. . . .
James Mackintosh opened the first store, and commenced business in a
log house near the U. S. House, corner of Ripley and Third-streets. . . .
Lumber at that time was brought from Cincinnati, and almost everything
else from a distance. Flour at $16 per barrel; pork at 16 cents per pound,
were brought from that city. Corn was imported from Wabash River, and
brought $2 per bushel The ferry dates its existence from this
year — it being a flat bottomed craft, technically called a " mud-boat." This,
in 1841, was superseded by a horse-boat, which in time gave way to steam. .
The first child born in Davenport, was in 1841, a son of L. S. Colton. . .
The first law office was opened by A. McGregor. The first religious dis-
course was delivered by Rev. Mr. Gavitt, a Methodist, at the house of D. C.
Eldridge. Preaching also from an Episcopalian tne same spring. Reli-
gious services were held occasionally, in which a priest from Galena
officiated. . . . The pioneer ball was held at Mr. LeClaire's, Jan. 8,
1838. Some forty couples were present, consisting of frontier men, officers
from the island, and others. The music was furnished by fiddles, from which
IOWA. 385
no contemptible strains were occasionally drawn by Mr. LcClairc himself. . .
The party danced till sunrise, then broke up — the gentlemen being, as a
general thing, as genial as all the "punches" they could possibly contain,
would make them.
In the summer of 1836, Mr. A. LeClaire was appointed postmaster. Mails came
once a week from the east, and once in two weeks from Dubuque. The postmas-
ter used to carry the mail across the river in his pocket, and the per centage for
the first three months was seventy-Jive cents. In September, a treaty was held at
East Davenport, between Gov. Dodge, U. S. commissioner, and the Sacs and Foxes.
The object of the treaty was to secure possession of the land bordering on the
Iowa River, and known as "Keokuk's Reserve." About one thousand chiefs and
warriors were present, and were encamped during the time just above Renwick's
mill This was the last treaty ever held in this vicinity. There were
seven houses at the close of this year. Ihere was a frame dwelling partly finished
and owned by a Mr. Shields. It has been since known as the "Dillon House"
{of which a gentleman, since governor of the state, was once hostler). The year
t(1836) closed with a population of less than one hundred. Stephenson (now Rock
Island) which had been laid out in 1834, had at this time a population of nearly
five hundred
The first duel "on record" in Iowa, was fought, in the spring of 1837, between
two Winnebago Indians. These young men, in a carousal at Stephenson, com-
menced quarreling, and finally resorted to the code of honor. One had a shot gun,
the other a rifle. On the Willow Island, below the city, at the required distance
they fired at each other. The one with the shot gun fell, and was buried not far
from the graveyard below the city. The survivor fled to his home in the Rock
River country. The friends and relations of the slain clamored for the blood of
the slayer, and the sister of the latter went for the survivor. She found him — en-
treated him to come back to Rock Island and be killed, to appease the wrathful
manes of the deceased. He came — in a canoe paddled by his own sister — singing
his death song. A shallow grave was dug, and kneeling upon its brink, his body
tumbled into it, and his death song was hushed, as the greedy knives of the exe-
cutioners drank the blood of his brave heart.
Dr. A. E. Donaldson, from Pennsylvania, came in July, 1837, and was, it is stated,
the first regular physician. The religious services, for this year, and for a year or
two afterward, were held in a house belonging to D. C. Eldridge. Clergymen of
various denominations officiated. In 1838, during the summer, the first brick house
was erected by D. C. Eldridge, standing on the S.E. corner of Main and Third-
streets. Nearly at the same time, the brick building now used by the Sisters, in
Catholic block, was completed as a church. A long controversy between Rouking-
ham and Davenport, respecting the location of the county-seat, was terminated in
favor of the latter, in 1840, by the citizens of Davenport agreeing to construct the
court house and jail, free of expense to the county.
The celebrated " Missouri War'' is ascribed to about this date. It arose fron*a
dispute in regard to boundary — two lines having been run. The northern one cut
off a strip of Iowa some six or eight miles in width, and from this portiou Mis-
souri endeavored to collect taxes. The inhabitants refused to pay them, and the
Missouri authorities endeavored, by sending a sheriff, to enforce payment. A fight
ensued, and an lowan was killed, and several taken prisoners. The news spread
along the river counties, and created intense excitement. War was supposed to be
impending, or to have actually begun.
Col. Dodge, an individual somewhat noted as the one who, in connection with
Theller, had been imprisoned by the Canadian authorities for a participation in
the " Patriot War," had lately arrived here, after breaking jail in Canada. His
arrival was opportune — a call for volunteers to march against Missouri was circu-
lated, and was responded to by some three hundred men, who made Davenport
their rendezvous on the proposed day of marching. A motley crowd was it! Arms
were of every kind imaginable, from pitchforks to blunderbusses, and Queen Anno
muskets. One of the colonels wore a common rust}' grass scythe for a sword,
while Capt. Higginson, of company A, had been fortunate enough to find an ola
25
386 JOVYA.
sword that an Indian had pawned for whisky, which he elegantly belted around
him with a heavy log chain.
The parade ground was in front of the ground now occupied by the Scott House.
Refreshments were plenty, and ''steam" was being rapidly developed for a start,
when word came that peace was restored— Missouri having resigned her claim
to the disputed ground. The army was immediately disbanded, in a style
that would do honor to the palmiest revels of Bacchus. Speeches were made,
toasts drunk, and a host of maneuvers, not in the military code, were performed,
to the great amusement of all. Some, in the excess of patriotism and whisky,
started on alone to Missouri, but lay down in the road before traveling far, and
slept away their valor.
St Anthony's Church, the first erected, was dedicated May 23, 1839, by Rt. Rev.
Bishop Loras, of Dubuque. The Catholic Advocate thus states, "Mr. Antoine Le-
Claire, a wealthy Frenchman, and a zealous and exemplary Christian, in partner-
ship with Mr. Davenport, has granted to the Catholic congregation, in the very cen-
ter of the town, a whole square, including ten lots, erecting, partly at his own ex-
pense, a fine brick church with a school room attached." The Rev.
Mr. Pelamourgues, who first assumed charge of the church, still retains it.
The First Presbyterian Church was established in the spring of 1838, pastor,
James D. Mason ; the Davenport Congregational Church was organized July 30,
1839, by Rev. Albert Hale; their present church building was erected in 1844.
The first regular services of the Protestant Episcopal Church were commenced
here Oct. 14, 1841, by Rev. Z H. Goldsmith. The corner stone of the present
edifice of Trinity Church was laid, by Bishop Kemper, May 5, 1852. The Metho-
dist Episcopal Church was established June 1, 1842; the First Baptist Church was
established in 1839, N. S. Bastion, pastor; the German Congregation was estab-
lished July 19, 1857, A. Frowein, pastor; "Church of Christ,' or Disciples Church
established July 28, 1839.
The first newspaper was the " Iowa Sun and Davenport and Rock Island News,"
issued in Aug., 1838, by Alfred Sanders. It was continued till 1841, when it was
succeeded by the "Davenport Weekly Gazette." The "Weekly Banner" was
started in 1848, by A. Montgomery; in 1855, it was bought by Messrs. Hildreth,
Richardson & West, and was changed to the " Iowa State Democrat." The " Even-
ing News," daily and weekly, was started by Harrington & Wilkie, Sept., 1856.
The "Der Demokrat" (German) was established, by T. Guelich, in 1851.
Bellevue, the capital of Jackson county, is on the Mississippi, 12 miles
below Galena. It is one of the oldest towns in the state, having been first
settled in 1836, by J. D. Bell. The location being a beautiful one, had long
been a favorite spot with the Indians. The population in 18GO was about
1.500.
The following interesting narrative of some incidents which took place
here in the early settlement of the place is given to us by Wm. A.
Warren Esq. He was the sheriff in command of the posse of citizens,
some of whom it will be seen lost their lives in their efforts to restore law
.and order.
In the year 1836, was organized a band of horse-thieves, counterfeiters, and high-
way robbers, having their head-quarters near Elk Heart, Michigan, and extending
their ramifications in all directions from that point, many hundred miles. The
Rock River valley, Illinois, and the settled portions of what is now Iowa, were the
chief points of their operations, although the band extended through Kentucky,
Missouri, and even to the Cherokee Nation.
Their organization was complete. They had their pass words, and other means
of recognition. No great master spirit controlled the whole organization, as is
usually the case in criminal associations of that nature. The leaders were those
whose education rendered them superior to the instincts of the half savage settlers
with whom they were associated. ,
Their method of doing business, and escaping detection, was &s follows : B. 8
IOWA
387
band, in Iowa, would "spot" certain horses and other "plunder," and arrange to
make a foray on some particular night. A., in Missouri, having obtained tlio
knowledge of this, would start his band on a marauding expedition the same night.
But those who were to do the plundering would make a feint to go north or south
on a trading expedition, a day or two before the time fixed upon, and returning at
night, would be carefully concealed until the proper time, when they would sally
forth on the expedition in earnest. The two bands then meeting half way, would
exchange the stolen property, and returning, dispose of the plunder, perhaps to
the very persons whom they had robbed a few nights before.
Storming of the Bellevne Hotel, by the Citizens.
The engraving illustrates a scene in tli" early UNtnrv »t Bellpvne. T!ie hotel of the town \vn» occupied
by a hand of outlaws, who had l>"en t!i« terror of the whole c.-imtry for hundreds of miles diwtant. As
they defied th« authorities, the citizens were compelled to resort to anus. The stronghold \v»s curried by
storm, in which several were slain on each side.
Those of the band who were merely accomplices, were careful to be visiting
some honest neighbor on the night of the robbery, and thus avert suspicion from
themselves. By this means, it will be seen, that detection was almost impossible,
and suspicion unlikely t<> rest upon the re;il perpetrators.
The then frontier village of Bellevue, was a central point on this route, and also
the headquarters of one of the most numerous and powerful of the bands. Its
leader, William Brown, was a man remarkable in many respects. Ho came to
Bellevue in the spring of 183fi, and soon after brought out his family and opened
a public house, which was destined to become famous in the village history.
Brown, physically, was a powerful man. and in education superior to those around
him. He possessed a pleasant, kindly address, and was scrupnlously honest in his
every day's dealings with his neighbor**. It is said that none who reposed confi-
dence in him in a business transaction ever regretted it. He was ably seconded
bv hb wife, a woman of about "24 years of age. and of more than ordinary natural
.•.apac ty. They had but one child, a little girl of some four years of age. Kver
ready to assist the destitute, the foremost in public improvements, this family soon
Ixv.amt idolized by the rude population of that early day, so that nothing but pos-
itive proof finally fastened suspicions of dishonesty upon them. Having, by his
388 IOWA-
wiles, seduced a larger part of the young men into his band, and being daily rein-
forced from other quarters, Brown became more bold in his operations, then threw
off the mask, and openly boasted of his power and the inability of the authorities
to crush him out. It was no idle boast. Fully two thirds of the able bodied men
in the settlement were leagued with him. He never participated in passing coun-
terfeit money, stealing horses, etc., but simply planned.
Any man who incurred the enmity of the "gang," was very certain to wake
some morning and find his crops destroyed, his horses stolen, and the marks of hia
cattle having been slaughtered in his own yard; in all probability the hind quar-
ters of his favorite ox would be offered for sale at his own door a few hours there-
after. If one of his gang was arrested, Brown stood ready to defend him, with an
argument not now always attainable by the legal profession — he could, at a mo-
ment's notice, prove an alibi. Thus matters went on, until it became apparent to
the honest portion of the community that the crisis had arrived.
As an instance of the boldness which they evinced, now the band had become
BO powerful, we give an incident of the stealing of a plow from a steamboat. In
the spring of 1839, a steamboat landed at Bellevue to wood ; the boat was crowded
•with passengers, and the hurricane deck covered with plows. It being a pleasant
day, the citizens, old and young, according to custom, had sallied forth to the river
side, as the landing of a steamboat was then by no means a daily occurrence. The
writer of this, standing near Brown, heard him remark to a man, named Hapgood,
and in the presence of numerous citizens, "that, as he (H.) had long wanted to
join Brown s party, if he would steal one of those plows, and thus prove his qual-
ifications, he should be admitted to full fellowship." Hapgood agreed to make the
trial, and thereupon, to our surprise, as we had supposed the conversation to be
merely in jest, he went upon the hurricane deck, and in the presence of the cap-
tain, passengers, and citizens on shore, shouldered a plow and marched off the
boat and up the levee. When on the boat, Hapgood conversed with the captain
for a few minutes, and the captain pointed out to him which plow to take. In a
few moments the boat was gone, and Hapgood boasted of the theft. It was sup-
posed that he had bought the plow and paid the captain for it, but the next day,
when the boat returned, there was great and anxious inquiry, by the captain, " for
the man that took that plow," but he had disappeared, and remained out of sight
until the boat was gone. About the same time another bold robbery occurred
near Bellevue, the incidents of which so well illustrate the character of these
ruffians, that we can not forbear recounting them.
One Collins, a farmer, living about eight miles from town, came in one day and
sold Brown a yoke of cattle for $80. Being a poor judge of money, and knowing
Brown's character well, he refused to take anything in payment but specie. On
his return home that evening, he placed his money in his chest. About midnight
his house was broken open by two men, upon which he sprang from his bed, but
was immediately knocked down. His wife coming to his rescue was also knocked
down, and both were threatened with instant death if any more disturbance was
made. The robbers then possessed themselves of Collins' money and watch and
departed. In the morning he made complaint before a justice of the peace, ac-
cusing two men in the employment of Brown with the crime. They were arrested
and examined. On the trial, Collins and his wife swore positively to the men, and
also identified a watch found with them as the one taken. In their possession was
found $80 in gold, the exact amount stolen. A farmer living near Collins, testified
that about 1 1 o'clock, on the night of the robbery, the accused stopped at hia
house and inquired the way to Collins'. Here the prosecution closed their evidence,
and the defense called three witnesses to the stand, among whom was Fox, after-
ward noted as the murderer of Col. Davenport, all of whom swore positively that,
on the night of the robbery, they and the accused played cards from dark till day-
light, in Brown's house, eight miles from the scene of the robbery! In the face
of the overwhelming testimony adduced by the state, the defendants were dis-
charged I
Another laughable instance, displaying the shrewdness and villainy of these fel-
lows, occurred early in the spring of 1838. Godfrey (one of the robbers of Col-
lins) came into town with a fine span of matched horses, with halter ropes around
IOWA. 389
their necks. From the known character of their possessor, the sheriff thought best
to take the horses into his custody. Brown's gang remonstrated, against the pro-
ceedings, but to no effect. Subsequently a writ of replevin was procured, and tho
horses demanded — the sheriff refused to give them up. A general row ensued.
The citizens, being the stronger party at that time, sustained the sheriff, and he
maintained the dignity of his office.' Handbills, describing the horses accurately,
were then sent around the county. A few days afterward, a stranger appeared in
town, anxiously inquiring for the sheriff, and upon meeting him, he announced his
business to be the recovery of a fine span of horses, which had been stolen from
him a short time before, and then so accurately described those detained by the
sheriff, that the latter informed him that he then had them in his stable. Upon
examining them, the man was gratified to find that they were his; turning to the
crowd, he offered $25 to any one who would produce Godfrey, remarking that, if he
met him, he would wreak, his vengeance upon him in a summary. manner, without
the intervention of a jury. Godfrey was not. however, to be found, and the horses
were delivered to the stranger.
Imagine the consternation of the sheriff, when, two days later, the true owner
of the horses appeared in search of them! The other was an accomplice of God-
frev, and they had taken that method of securing their booty. Similar incidents
could be detailed to fill pages, for they were of continual occurrence.
On the 20th of March, 1840, the citizens of Bellevue, not implicated in the
plans of the horse-thieves and counterfeiters, held a meeting to consider the
wrongs of the community. But one opinion was advanced, that the depredators
must leave the place or summary vengeance would be inflicted upon them all. It
was resolved that a warrant should be procured for the arrest of the whole gang,
from Justice Watkins — father of our present sheriff — and, upon a certain day, the
sheriff, accompanied by all the honest citizens as a posse, should proceed to serve
the same. The warrant was issued upon the affidavit of Anson Harrington, Esq.,
one of our most respectable citizens, charging about half the inhabitants of the
town — Brown's men — with the commission of crimes.
A posse of 80 men was selected by the sheriff from among the best citizens of
the county, who met in Bellevue on the first day of April, 1840, at 10 o'clock, A.M.
Drown, in the mean time, had got wind of the proceedings, and had rallied a party
of 23 men, whose names were on the warrant, and proceeded to fortify the Believue
Hotel, and prepare for a vigorous defense. On the-sheriff s arriving in Bellevue
with his party, he found a red flag streaming from the hotel, and a portion of
Brown's men inarching to and fro in front of their fort, armed with rifles, present-
ing a formidable appearance.
A meeting of the citizens was then convened to consult upon the best method
of securing the ends of justice, of which Major Thos. S. Parks was chairman. It
was resolved that the sheriff should go to Brown's fort, with two men, and demand
their surrender, reading his warrant, and assuring them that they should be pro-
tented in their persons and property. It was also resolved, if they did not surren-
der, to storm the house, and that Col. Thos. Cox, then a representative in the Iowa
legislature, should assist the sheriff in the command of the party selected for this
purpose.
The sheriff then went to the hotel, accompanied by Messrs. Watkins and Ma-
goon. When near the house, they were suddenly surrounded by Brown and a
party of his men, all fully armed. They captured the sheriff, and ordered Watkins
and Magoon to return and inform the citizens, that at the first attempt to storm
the house, they would shoot the sheriff. Being conducted into the house, the sheriff
read his warrant and informed them of the proceedings of the meeting. Just then
it was discovered that Col. Cox, with a party of citizens, was rapidly advancing
on the hotel. Upon the sheriff's promise to stop them and then return, he was re-
leased by Brown. He met the party, and accosting Cox, requested him to delay
the attack one hour, and if he (the sheriff) did not return by that time, for cbt-m
to come on and take the house.
Cox was determined the Sheriff should not return, saying that he should not
keep his word with such a band of ruffians. Better counsels, however, prevailed,
and the sheriff went back. On his return he found that Brown's meii had been
390
drinking freely to keep up their courage. After some parleying, Brown deter-
mined m t to surrender, commanding the sheriff to return to his men and tell them
to come < sn, and it' they succeeded in carrying the hotel, it should only be over their
dead bodies.
The sheriff returned and disclosed the result of his interview. Mrs. Brown, in
the mean time, and a fellow called Buckskin, paraded the streets with a red flag.
The citi/.ens were then addressed by Cox and Watkins, and it was finally deter-
mined that a body of forty men should be selected to make the attack, upon which
the posse started and charged upon the house at a full run. As our men entered
the porch, the garrison commenced firing, but we being so near they generally over-
shot their mark. At the first fire one of our best men. Mr. Palmer, was killed, and
another, Mr. Vaughn, badly wounded. Brown opened the door and put out hia
gun to shoot, when he was immediately shot down by one of our men. The battle
then became desperate and hand to hand. After considerable hard fighting, the
" balance " of the gang commenced their retreat through the back door of the
house. They were surrounded and all captured but three. The result of the
fight was, on the part of the counterfeiters the loss of five killed and two badly
wounded; on the part of the citizens, four killed and eleven wounded.
The excitement after the fight was intense. Many of the citizens were in favor
of putting all the prisoners to death. Other counsels, however, prevailed, and a
citizens' court was organized to try them.
During the fight, Capt. Harris anchored his boat in the middle of the river, and
remained there until the result was known, when the passengers ascended to the
upper deck and jrave three hearty cheers. Doctors Finley, of Dubuque, and Cross-
man, of Galena, were sent for, and were soon in attendance on the wounded of
both parties.
Much joy was manifested by the citizens at the breaking up of one of the most
desperate gangs of housebreakers, murderers and counterfeiters, that ever infested
the western country. The next morning a vote of the citizens was taken as to the
disposal of the prisoners.
AS the district court was not to meet for three months, and there being no jail
in the county, and in fact none in the territory that was safe, and surrounded as
we were on all sides, by offshoots of the same band, who could muster 200 men Jn
a day's time to rescue them, it was deemed the merest folly to attempt to detain
them as prisoners, and it was resolved to execute summary justice upon them.
The question was then put, whether to hang or whip them. A cup of red and
white beans was first passed around, to be used as ballots, the red for hanging, and
the white for whipping.
A breathless silence was maintained during the vote. In a few moments the
result was announced. Jt stood forty two white and thirty eight red beans. The
resolution to whip them was then unanimously adopted. Fox, afterward the mur-
derer of Davenport, and several others made full confessions of many crimes, in
which they had been engaged. The whole crowd of prisoners was then taken
out and received from twenty-five to seventy five lashes apiece, upon their bare
backs, according to their deserts. They were then put into boats and set adrift in
the river, without oars, and under the assurance that a return would insure a
speedy death.
Animated by the example of Bellevue, the citizens of Rock River, 111., Linn,
Johnson, and other counties, in Iowa, arose en masse, and expelled the gangs of
robbers from their midst, with much bloodshed.
Thus ended the struggle for supremacy between vice and virtue in Bellevue,
which, from this day forth, has been as noted, in the Mississippi valley, for the
morality of its citizens, as it was once rendered infamous by their crimes.
BURLINOTON, a flourishing commercial city, the seat of justice for Des
Moines county, is on the western side of the Mississippi, 45 miles above
Kcokuk, 248 above St. Louis, and 1.429 above New Orleans. The city was
organized under a charter from the Territory of Wisconsin, in 1838. It is
IOWA.
391
regularly laid out and beautifully situated. Part of the city is built on the
high grounds or bluffs, rising in some places about 200 feet above the
river,
try
high grounds or blutts, rising in some places about ZOO feet above the
river, affording a beautiful and commanding view of the surrounding coun-
try: with the river, and its woody islands, stretching far away to the
South-eastern view of Burlington.
The view shows the appearance of the city, as seen from near the South Bluff: the eastern terminus of
the Burlington and Missouri Railroad, Un; Court House, and other public buildings on the elevated ground
In the distance, appear in the central part ; the North muff and Steamboat Landing on the right
north and south. It has a variety of mechanical and manufacturing estab-
lishments. The pork packing business is carried on extensively. It is the
seat of the Burlington University, and contains 12 churches, in 1860, 6,706.
inhabitants.
The country for sixty miles around Burlington, sometimes called the "gar-
den of Iowa," is very fertile. Near the city are immense quantities of gray
limestone rock, suitable for building purposes.
The first white person who located himself in Burlington, appears to have
been Samuel S. White, a native of Ohio, who built a cabin here, in 1832,
close to the river at the foot of the upper bluff. The United States, accord-
ing lo the treaty with the Indians, not being then entitled to the lands west
of the Mississippi, the dragoons from Fort Armstrong came down, burnt
White out, and drove him over to the Illinois side of the river. He re-
mained on Honey Creek till the 1st of the next June, when, the Indian title
being extinguished, he returned and rebuilt his cabin near its former site.
Mr. White was soon afterward joined by Amzi Doolittle, and in 1834, they
laid out the first part of the town on the public lands. The survey of White
and Doolittle was made by Benjamin Tucker and Dr. Wm. R. Ross. Their
bounds extended down to Hawkeye Creek. White and Doolittle afterward
sold out all their lands and removed. The first addition to this tract was
made by Judge David Rorer, a native of Virginia, in April, 1836, who had
emigrated the month previous. In July of this year, he built the first brick
building ever erected in Iowa. Judge R. laid the first brick with his own
hands. This building stood on what is now lot 438, the next corner north
392
IOWA.
of Marion Hall. This dwelling was taken down by Col. Warren, in 1854 or
'55. The first location made outside the town, was by a settler named To-
thero, whose cabin was about three miles from the river; this was previous
to June, 1833. He was consequently driven off by the drag:>ons, and his
cabin destroyed.
The town was named by JoRn Gray, a native of Burlington, Vermont, and
brother-in-law to White, the first set-
tler. The Flint Hills were called by
the Indians Sliolcokon, a word in their
language signifying " flint hills ; " these
bluffs are generally about 150 feet
above the river. .Burlington became
the county seat of Des Moines in
1834, under the jurisdiction of Michi-
gan. In 1836 it was made the seat of
government of Wisconsin Territory,
and in the fall of 1837, the legislature
of that territory first met at Burling-
ton. When Iowa Territory was formed
in 1838. Burlington became the seat
of government. The building in \vhich
the legislative assembly first met stood
on the river bank, just north of Colum-
bia-street. It was burnt down ?oon
afterward. At the first court he,d in
Burlington, three divorces were granted, one conviction for assault and bat-
tery, and one fine for contempt of court. The record does not show the
grounds of contempt, but from other sources we learn i,t was a rencounter in
open court, in which the tables of the judges, being dry goods boxes and
barrels with planks laid across, were overturned. The hero of the occasion
was afterward taken prisoner in the Santa Fe expedition from Texas.
Dr. Ross and Maj. Jeremiah Smith, who came to Burlington in 1833, were
the first merchants. The first church (the Methodist Old Zion) was erected
the same year, and is believed to have been the first house of worship erected
in Iowa. In this venerable structure, which is still standing, the legislative
body have met and courts have been held. The "Iowa Territorial Gazette,"
the first newspaper, was issued in the summer of 1837, by James Clarke,
from Pennsylvania, who was subsequently governor of the territory. The
second paper was the "Iowa Patriot," afterward the "Hawkeye," by James
G. Edwards, of Boston. The Iowa Historical and Geological Society was or-
ganized in 1843, and is the oldest literary society in the state.
JUDGE ROBER'S HOUSE.
The first brick building erected in Iowa.
The following inscriptions are from monuments in the Aspen Grove Cem-
etery, at the N.W. border of the city:
Here lie the mortal remains of JAS. CLARKE, founder of the first Newspaper in Burling-
ton, Member of the first Constitutional Convention, Secretary and Governor of the Territo-
ry of Iowa. Born July 5, 1812; died July 28, 1850
Mv Husband and our Father, ABXER LEONARD, minister of the Gospel, born Dec. 13, 1787,
in Washington Co., Pa.; died Oct. 30, 1856.
Now with my Savior, Brother, Friend,
A blest Eternity I'll spend,
Triumphant in his grace.
IOWA.
393
In memory of KEV. HORACE HUTCHIMSON, late Pastor of the Congregational Church, of
Burlington. He was born at Button, Mass., Aug. 10, 1817. Graduated at Arnherst Colloge;
1839, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1843. He died March 7, 1846.
Sacred to the memory of REV. SAMUEL PAYNTE, Missionary, native of New Jersey, who
departed this life, Jan. 8, 1845, aged 38 years, 6 mo. and 17 days. Blessed are the dead
•which die in the Lord from henceforth : yea saith the spirit, that they may rest from their
labors ; and their works do follow them. Rev. xiv, 13.
In memory of REV. THOMAS SCHULTZ, German Missionary of the Methodist Church ; born
July 11, 1821; died March 18, 1848. ^Christus ist mein Leben und sterben ist inein Gewin.
In memory of REV. WILLIAM HK.WMINGHAUS, German Missionary of the M.E. Church :
bom Jan. 26, 1808; died Jan. 24, 1848.
Wo ich bin da soil mein, diener auch sein.
Where I am, there shall be my servant. Jan. 12, 1826.
East view of Keokuk.
The view shows the appearance of Keokuk, as seen from the hights above (ho Ferry landing, on the
Illinois side of the Mississippi. The K»okuk, Fort Pes Monies and Minnesota Railroad is on the extreme
left ; the Keokuk, Mount Pleasant and Muscatino Railroad on the right.
KEOKUK, and semi-capital of Lee county, is a short distance above
the confluence of the Des Moines with the Mississippi, on the west side of
the Mississippi, 200 miles above St. Louis, 1,400 above New Orleans, and
about 150 from Des Moines, the capital. It is at the S.E. corner of the
state, at the foot of the "Lower Rapids," and being the only city of Iowa
having uninterrupted communication with all the great tributaries of the
"Father of Waters," it has not inaptly been called the "Gate Cify" of Iowa.
The site of Keokuk is remarkably fine. It covers the top and slopes of a
large bluff, partially around which the Mississippi bends with a graceful
curve, commanding a fine prospect to the south and north. The city standi
394
IOWA.
upon an inexhaustible quarry of limestone rock, forming ample material fur
buildings. A portion of the great water power at this point is used in
various manufactories, flouring mills, founderies, etc. The Mississippi, up-
ward from this place, flows over a rocky bed of limestone, called the Rapid*,
12 miles in extent, falling, in that distance, 24£ feet, making it difficult for
the larger class of steamboats to pass. The city contains several splendid
public buildings, the medical department of the State University, hospital,
some eight or nine churches, and about 13,000 inhabitants.
The plat of the village of Keokuk was laid out in the spring of 1837, and
in the ensuing June a public sale of town lots was held, and attended by a
very large crowd. One boat was chartered in St. Louis, and numbers came
up on other boats. Only two or three lots, the south-west corner of Main-
street and the levee, and one or two others lying contiguous, were sold. The
corner lot went for $1,500, and a New York company still hold the deed of
trust on it to secure the payment.
In 1840, the main portion of Keokuk was a dense forest, and where Main-
street now is, were thick timber and underbrush. It was so swampy and
rough between Third and Fourth-streets, as to be rather dangerous riding
on horseback after a heavy rain. About a dozen cabins comprised all the
improvements. In the spring of 1847, a census of the place gave a popula-
tion of 620. Owing to the unsettled state of the titles, but little progress
was made till 1849. From that time until the autumn of 1857 it had a
rapid growth.
Keokuk derived its name from Keokuk (the Watchful Fox), a chieftain
of the Sac tribe, distinguished for his friendship to the Americans during
the Black Hawk war. He often lost his popularity with his tribe by his
efforts to keep them at peace with the United States, and nothing but his
powerful eloquence and tact sustained him. He was once deposed by his
tribe, and a young chief elected in his place. He, however, soon attained
his former position. Keokuk was born about the year 1780. He was not
a hereditary chief, but raised himself to that dignity by the force of tnlent
and enterprise. He was a man of extraordinary eloquence; fertile in re-
sources on the field of battle; possessed of desperate bravery; and never at
a loss in any emergency. He had six wives, was fond of display, and on his
visits of state to other tribes, moved, it is supposed, in more savage mag-
nificence than any ether chief on the continent. He was a noble looking
man, about five feet ten inches in hight, portly, and over 200 pounds in
weight. He had an eagle eye, a dignified bearing, and a manly, intelligent
expression of countenance, and always painted and dressed in the Indian
costume. He supplanted Black Hawk as chieftain of the Sacs and Foxes.
He died in Missouri a few years since, and was succeeded in the chieftain-
ship by his son.
The Des Moines River, which terminates at Keokuk, is one of the noblest
of streams. Keokuk is the principal port of its valley, in which half the
population and agricultural wealth of the state are concentrated. On the
banks of the Des Moines stood the village of the celebrated chief Black
7Aw/i-, who there breathed his last, Oct. 3, 1840. He was buried near the
banks of the river, in a sitting posture, as is customary with his tribe. His
hands grasped his cane, and his body was surrounded by stakes, which united
at the top.
Iowa is noted for the extent and magnificence of her prairies. These are
of great advantage to the rapid and easy settlement of a country. When,
IOWA.
395
however, too extensive, without a sufficiency of timber, a prairie country has
some serious drawbacks. Fortunately, in Iowa, the immense beds of coal
partly supply the deficiency in fuel, and the prairie country there is remark-
ably healthy. It is generally rolling, often even hilly, the streams mostly
Prairie Scenery.
fresh running water, with sandy or gravelly beds, which condition prevents
the origin of miasma, the great scourge of flat, prairie districts, where slug-
gish streams, winding, their snaky shaped course through rich alluvial soils,
generate disease and death from their stagnant waters, green and odious with
the slime of a decaying vegetation. The prairie farms of Iowa, large, smooth
and unbroken by stump or other obstruction, afford an excellent field for the
introduction of mowing machines and other improved implements of agri-
culture.
The wonderful fertility of the prairies is accounted for by the fact that we have
a soil "which for thousands of years has been hearing annual crops of grass, the
ashes or decayed stems of which have been all that time adding to the original for-
396
tility of the soil. So long back as we have any knowledge of the country, it had
been the custom of the Indians to set fire to the prairie grass in autumn, after frost
set in, the fire spreading with wonderful rapidity, covering vast districts of coun-
try, and filling the atmosphere for weeks with smoke. In the course of ages a soil
somewhat resembling an ash-heap must have been thus gradually created, and it
is no wonder that it should be declared to be inexhaustible in fertility. In Kurope
such tracts of fertile country as the plain of Lombardy are known to have yielded
crops for more than 2,000 years without intermission, and yet no one says that the
soil is exhausted. Here we have a tract naturally as rich, and with the addition
of its own crops rotting upon its surface, and adding to its stores of fertility all
that time. It need occasion no surprise therefore, to be told of twenty or thirty
crops of Indian corn being taken in succession from the same land, without ma-
nure, every crop, good or better, according to the nature of the season."
A distinguished English chemist analyzed some of the prairie soils of the west
" His analysis, which was of the most scrutinizing character, bears out completely
the high character for fertility which practice and experience had already proved
these soils to possess. The most noticeable feature in the analysis is the very large
quantity of nitrogen which each of the soils contains, nearly twice as much as the
most fertile soils of Britain. In each case, taking the soil at an average depth of
ten inches, an acre of these prairies will contain upward of three tuns of nitrogen,
and as a heavy crop of wheat with its straw contains about fifty-two pounds of ni-
trogen, there is thus a natural store of ammonia in this soil sufficient for more
than a hundred wheat crops. In Dr. Voelcker's words, ' It is this large amount of
nitrogen, and the beautiful state of division, that impart a peculiar character to
these soils, and distinguish them so favorably. They are soils upon which I
imagine flax could be grown in perfection, supposing the climate to be otherwise
favorable. I have never before analyzed soils which contained so much nitrogen,
nor do I find any record of soils richer in nitrogen than these.' "
"The novelty of the prairie country is striking, arid never fails to cause an ex-
clamation of surprise from those who have lived amid the forests of Ohio and
Kentucky, or along the wooded shores of the Atlantic, or in sight of the rocky bar-
riers of the Allegheny ridge. The extent of the prospect is exhilarating. The
outline of the landscape is undulating and graceful. The verdure and the flowers
are beautiful ; and the absence of shade, and consequent appearance of a profu-
sion of light, produces a gayety which animates every beholder.
These plains, although preserving a general level in respect to the whole coun-
try, are yet, in themselves, not flat, but exhibit a gracefully waving surface, swell-
ing and sinking with easy, graceful slopes, and full, rounded outlines, equally avoid-
ing the unmeaning horizontal surface, and the interruption of abrupt or angular
elevations.
The attraction of the prairie consists in its extent, its carpet of verdure and
flowers, its undulating surface, its groves, and the fringe of timber by which it is
surrounded. Of all these, the latter is the most expressive feature. It is that
which gives character to the landscape, which imparts the shape, and marks the
boundary of the plain. • If the prairie be small, its greatest beauty consists in the
vicinity of the surrounding margin of woodland, which resembles the shore of a
lake indented with deep vistas, like bays and inlets, and throwing out long points,
like capes and headlands.
In the spring of the year, when the young grass has just covered the ground
with a carpet of delicate green, and especially if the sun is rising from behind a
disrant swell of the plain and glittering upon the dewdrops, no scene can be more
lovely to the eye. The groves, or clusters of timber, are particularly attractive at
this season of* the year. The rich undergrowth is in full bloom. The rosewood,
dogwood, crab-apple, wild plum, the cherry, and the wild rose are all abundant, and
in ninny portions of the state the grape-vine abounds. The variety of wild fruit
and flowering shrubs is so great, and such the profusion of the blossoms with which
they are bowed down, that the eye is regaled almost to satiety.
Tlio gayety of the prairie, its embellishments, and the absence of the gloom and
savage wildncss of the forest, all contribute to dispel the feeling of loneliness which
usually creeps over the mind of the solitary traveler in the wilderness. Thougb
IOWA. 397
he may not see a house or a human being, and is conscious that he is far from the
habitations of men, the traveler upon the prairie can scarcely divest himself of tho
idea that he is traveling through scenes embellished by the hand of art. The
flowers, so fragile, so delicate, and so ornamental, seem to have been tastefully dis-
posed to adorn the scene.
In the summer, the prairie is covered with long, coarse grass, which soon assumes
a golden hue, and waves in the wind like a fully ripe harvest. The prairie-grass
never attains its highest growth in the richest soil; Out in low, wet, or marshy land,
where the substratum of clay lies near the surface, the center or main stem of the
grass — that which bears the seed — shoots up to the hight of eight and ten feet,
throwing out long, coarse leaves or blades. But on the rich, undulating prairies,
the grass is finer, with less of stalk and a greater profusion of leaves. The roots
spread and interweave, forming a compact, even sod, and the blades expand into a
close, thick grass, which is seldom more than eighteen inches high, until late in
the season, when the seed-bearing stem shoots up. The first coat is mingled with
small flowers — the violet, the bloom of the wild strawberry, and various others, of
the most minute and delicate texture. As the grass increases in hight, these
smaller flowers disappear, and others, taller and more gaudy, display their brilliant
colors upon the green surface; and still later, a larger and coarser succession arises
with the rising tide of verdure. It is impossible to conceive a more infinite diversity,
or a richer profusion of hues, 'from grave to gay,' than graces the beautiful carpet
of green throughout the entire season of summer."
'•The autumnal months, in Iowa, :ire almost invariably clear, warm, and dry.
The immense mass of vegetation with which this fertile prairie soil loads itself
•luring the summer is suddenly withered, and the whole earth is covered with com-
bustible materials. This is especially true of those portions where grass grows
from two to ten feet high, and is exposed to sun and wind, becoming thoroughly
dried. A single spark of fire, falling upon the prairie at such a time, instantly
kindles a blaze that spreads on every side, and continues its destructive course as
long as it finds fuel. These fires sweep along with great power and rapidity, and
frequently extend across a wide prairie and advance in a long line. No sight can
be more sublime than a stream of fire, beheld at night, several miles in breadth,
advancing across the plains, leaving behind it a background of dense black smoke,
throwing before it a vivid glare, which lights up the whole landscape for miles
with the brilliancy of noonday. The progress of the fire is so slow, and the heat
so intense, that every combustible in its course is consumed. The roots of the
prairie-grass, and several species of flowers, however, by some peculiar adaptation
of nature, are spared."
The winters on the prairie are often terrible. Exposed to the full sweep of the
icy winds that come rushing down from the Rocky Mountains, without a single
obstruction, the unlucky traveler that is caught, unprotected by sufficient clothing,
is in imminent danger of perishing before the icy blast. December and January
of the winter of 1856-7, were unprecedentedly stormy and cold in western Iowa.
A writer for one of the public prints, who passed that winter on the western fron-
tier of this state, gives this vivid picture of the sufferings of the frontier settlers,
his communication being dated at "Jefferson's Grove, fifty miles from a postoflice."
"Once the mercury has been 30 deg. below zero, twice 24 deg., several times 16
deg., and more than seven eighths of the time at some point below zero. Only two
days in the whole two months has it been above the freezing point
We have had four fierce snow storms, in which one could not see an object four
rods distant, and I doubt if such storms can be excelled in fury in any of the hy-
perborean regions. Everybody was compelled to keep within doors; cattle were
driven before the driving snow until they found refuge in the groves; and most of
the houses, within doors, were thoroughly sifted with snow. But I will relate a
few instances of frontier hardships.
Forty miles above here, at the very margin of the settlement, a family was caught
by the first snow storm, almost without firewood and food. In the morning the
husband made a fire, and leaving to seek for assistance from his nearest neighbors,
distant six miles, directed his family to make one more jire, and then retire to bed,
•and there remain until ho returned; they did so. After excessive hardships, ho
IOWA.
returned on the second day, with some friends, and conveyed his wife and little
children, on hand-sleds through the deep snow, to their kind neighbors.
Last summer five families ventured across a fifty mile prairie, uninhabited, of
course, and commenced making farms on a small stream, very sparcely timbered,
called Hoyer River. The early frost nipped their late corn, and left them with-
out food. Seven of the men of this little detached settlement, started in the
Fall for Fort Des Moinee, distant one hundred and fifty miles, to procure provis-
ions and other necessaries. When on their return, fifty miles from Fort Des
Monies, on the North Koon River, they were overtaken by the severe snow storm
that commenced on the first day of December and raged for forty eight hours.
Tin>y then halted, constructed sleds, and started for their families, one hundred
miles distant, across a trackless prairie. They suU'ored terribly, and one of them
perished with the cold."
State Capitol, Des Moines.
DCS Moinrs, which became in 1855 the capital of Iowa, is at the head of
steamboat navigation on Des Moines River, in the geographical center of tho
state, about 170 miles west of Davenport, and 140 eastward of Council BhifFs.
The line of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad passes through the city,
as also will several others in contemplation". The city is situated at the con-
fluence of Raccoon River with the Des Moines, the two streams uniting near
the corporation limits. The scenery at this point is beautiful: a smooth val-
ley, rising on all sides, by successive benches, back to the gently sloping
hills, which finally attain a hight of about 200 feet.
This spot was the council ground of the Indians. It was afterward the
site of Fort Des Moines, selected by the officers of the U. S. army, on which
barracks and defenses were erected. Most of the town is laid out with wide
streets. On the elevations are beautiful building sites, commanding views
of all the central town, of both rivers, and of the faces of most of the other
hills, with their residences. On the summit of one of the hills is the pres-
ent state house, and the square set apart for the permanent capitol. Some
6 or 7 churches are already erected, and 3 newspapers are printed. Popu-
lation about 5,000.
IOWA. 399
MUSCATINE, the county seat of Muscatine county, is situated 100 miles
above Keokuk, and 32 below Davenport. Commencing at the Upper Rapids,
the Mississippi runs in a westerly direction until it strikes a series of rocky,
bluffs, by which its course is turned due south. At this bend, and on the
summit of the bluffs, is situated the city of Muscatine,, which is regularly
Western view of Muscatine.
laid out, with fine, wide streets, having several elegant buildings. It is a
shipping point for a very great amount of produce raised in the adjoining
counties. When the various railroads are completed which are to run in
various directions from this point, Muscatine will have added to her natural
advantages fine facilities for communication with every part of the country.
Muscatine was first settled by the whites in 1836, previous to which time
it was an Indian trading post, known by the name of Manatheka. After-
ward it was called Bloomington. Population in I860, 5,324.
Council Bluffs Clfy, the' county seat of Pottawatomie county, is near the
geographical center of the United States, on the east side of the Missouri
River, about 140 miles westward of Des Moines, the capital of the state,
nearly opposite Omaha City, the capital of Nebraska, about 300 miles above
Leavenworth City, and 685 above St. Louis. It is built on a beautiful, ex-
tended plain. It has a number of fine stores, and many elegant private
buildings. This is a flourishing place, and here a portion of the emigrants
for the far west procure their oatfits. It was for a long time an important
point in overland travel to California, being the last civilized settlement be-
fore entering the Indiau country. Four important railroads from the east
are projected directly to this place, some of which are fast progressing to
completion. The first one finished will be the Mississippi and Missouri,
which, commencing at Davenport, already extends to beyond Iowa City.
Population about 5,000.
A gentleman, who was at Council Bluffs in 1860, gives these valuable
items upon the history of the town, and the condition and resources of the
country:
The growth of Council Bluffs has been rapid within the last six years, and it
Btill retains, as it is likely to retain, the position of the most important city of
western Iowa. This point was formerly known as Kanesville, and was for about
400 IOWA-
three years — from 1846 to 1849 — the residence of the Mormon hosts ol Brigham
Young, in his celebrated march to the great Salt Lake valley. After the Mormons
•were driven from Nauvoo, they determined to build up a kingdom to themselves in
the far west. They departed, but upon reaching the borders of the great plains
they found they had not the number of cattle and horses, nor the provisions that
were indispensable for so long and so distant a journey; so they selected a roman-
tic and wooded valley, adjoining the great bottoms of the Missouri, for their tem-
porary home. Timber was plenty, and with it they soon constructed log houses
for fifteen thousand people. They inclosed several hundred acres of the rich and
easily cultivated Missouri bottoms, and planted them with corn. Their cattle, fed
on these fine pastures, increased in numbers rapidly. They raised large amounts
of corn — for these fanatics are hard working, industrious men and women. In
three years they found themselves so prosperous that they resumed their journey,
and in due time found themselves at their destination in the uHoty Valley" at the
Great Salt Lake.
As the Mormons left, other settlers came in. The name was changed to Council
Bluffs. This cognomen had been given by Lewis and Clarke, a long time before,
to a point on the Missouri, several miles above the present town. It had become
a historical name, and it was wise in the new-comers to appropriate it to their use.
So much for the early history of this place. The Mormon town was built in a very
pleasant valley, that opens upon the great Missouri bottom from the north-east. Jt
is four miles from the base of the hills, which are several hundred feet high, and
very abrupt, to the river. The log houses left by the Mormons were used'by the
early settlers, and many of them are yet standing.
But it soon became manifest that the business part of the future city must be on
the great plain or bottom, and out of the bluffs. And so the result has shown.
The best part of the city is on the plain, though the finest places for residences are
en the delightful slopes and hillsides of the valleys, which now constitute the upper
town.
The view from the high bluffs back of the city is very commanding and beauti-
ful. From the top of one of these hills one can see six rising cities in the far dis-
tance— Omaha, Saratoga, Florence, Bellevue, St. Marys, and Pacific City. At the
foot of these bluffs the Missouri bottom extends four miles to the west, to Omaha,
and to the south and north as far as the eye can reach. The bottoms are from four
to ten miles in width, and are mostly dry and most fertile lands. Strips of timber
abound. The bluffs facing the bottom are generally naked, and very abrupt. The
eastern man will again and again wonder how the earth can be made to remain in
such fantastic and sharply pointed shapes for centuries, as he finds them here.
Back of the first range of bluffs, the country is covered with timber for some miles,
when the rolling and open prairie becomes the leading feature for hundreds of
miles, and indeed across the state of Iowa to the Mississippi River.
Council Bluffs claims a population of 5,000, but the usual deduction must be
made. It has passed through the usual process of rapid tand extended inflation,
and consequent collapse and almost suspension of vitality. The paper part of the
city embraces territory enough for a quarter of a million of people. The exten-
sive and rich bottoms, instead of being cultivated as farms, are all staked off into
city lots ; and in years past, large numbers of them were sold to speculators. So
crazy did these people become, that one man bought a quarter section of this bot-
tom land, two miles from the present town, and gave his notes for sixty thousand
dollars for the same. He collapsed, of course, as the crash of 1857 brought his
air castle to the ground; and he can not now sell his land for twenty dollars por
acre. Here is another large four story monument of folly in the shape of a brick
hotel, some half a mile out from the present business part of the city. A man by
the name of Andrews had sold out shares in Florence for large sums. He had
realized about thirty thousand dollars in hard cash. He became giddy, bought a
tract adjoining Council Bluffs, laid it off into city lots; and, to show his faith ,-ind
to sell his lots, he erected this large and costly hotel. But it was never completed.
The crash also caught him unprepared, and he went under, with thousands of
other*. His hotel is roofed, but not finished; and it looks the wreck it is, of the
fast inflation which culminated and exploded three years ago.
IOWA.
401
Still there are many evidences of substantial prosperity in Council Bluffs. Sev-
eral brick blocks of stores would do credit to older towns, and they are well filled
with stocks of goods, and held by substantial, intelligent business men. The bus-
iness portion is mainly on the plain, and is extending from the base of the bluffs
toward the river. The present steamboat landing is about four miles from the
town, and directly south of it. Council Bluffs has the Knnesville land office,
where a large portion of the lands of western Jowa has been sold.
IOWA CITY, the first capital of the state of Iowa, is on the left bank of
Iowa River, in Johnson county, 55 miles from Davenport, by the Mississippi
and Missouri Railroad,
in the midst of one of
the most beautiful and
thriving of agricultural
regions. Population
in 1860, 5,214.
Annexed we present
a sketch from a corres-
pondent, giving a his-
tory of the city and of
the University situated
in it, which gives pro-
mise of great useful-
ness to the future of
Iowa:
In 1838, Congress pass-
ed an act to divide the
Territory of Wisconsin,
and form the Territory
of Iowa out of that part
which lay to the west of
the Mississippi River.
The governor of the new
territory under the or-
ganic act, fixed the seat
of government at Bur-
lington. On the !21stof
January following, the
territorial legislature ap-
pointed commissioners to
STATE UNIVERSITY, IOWA CITY.
The large building on the right was originally the first State Capitol.
locate the seat of government and superintend the erection of public buildings.
These commissioners selected the site now occupied by Iowa City, on the east bank
of the Iowa River, about 50 miles west of the Mississippi River. Congress hud
appropriated $20,000 for the erection of the capitol, and subsequently granted the
section of land on which the capitol was to be erected. The corner stone of the
building was laid on the 4th of July, 1839. The proceeds of the sale of lots on
the section granted by congress, defrayed the main part of the expense of the
erection. The first session of the legislature was held in Iowa City, in December,
1841, in a temporary building the capitol not being yet finished. The building wa»
first occupied by the legislature in 1844.
The location of the capital soon collected a considerable population in Iowa
City. When the city was first laid out, there was but one log cabin on the ground.
^t the end of a single year, the number of inhabitants was seven hundred, and it
continued steadily to increase. In 1852, the population was 3,500. The opening
of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, from Davenport as far as Iowa City, in.
1S54, and the rush of emigration into the state, gave a new impetus to tha.: oity.
26
402
In 1857 the population had increased to 8,000, and all kinds of business were ex-
ceedingly active and profitable. But the-monetary crisis of 1857 put a stop to its
prosperity, and since that time has diminished rather than increased, and in 1860
was only about 7,000. In 1856, the capital was removed from Iowa City to DCS
Moines, and permanently fixed there by the new constitution of the state, adopted
in January, 1 860.
When the seat of government was removed to Des Moines, the state house in
Iowa City was given by the legislature to the State University, together with the
10 acres of land on which it stands. The State University has for its foundation
72 sections of land, granted by congress for the endowment of a university. In
1847, the state legislature passed a law organizing the University, and appointing
trustees to manage its concerns, put the institution did not go into operation till
1855. At that time a chancellor and several professors were appointed, and the
University was opened in a building hired by the trustees for that purpose. The
year following a part of the state house was occupied by the preparatory depart-
ment, and as lecture rooms for the professors. The building, however, was in a
bad condition, and required fitting up in order to suit the purposes of an institu-
tion of learning. The city was full of people, and accommodations for students
could not be easily procured, and in 1857, the pecuniary embarrassments of the
country preventing the collection of the interest on the funds, the trustees saw fit
to close the University for a time — this took place in the summer of 1858. By the
new constitution of the state, adopted in 1857, a board of education was created,
whose duty it was to take the entire charge of the educational institutions of the
state. This board at their first meeting, in December, 1858, passed a law reorgan-
izing the University, appointing a new board of trustees, with the understanding
that the institution should be reopened as early as practicable. In October, 1859,
they appointed the Rev Silas Totten, D.D.,L.L.D., president of the University, and
in June following, proceeded to fill the professorships of mathematics, languages,
philosophy and chemistry, and natural history. On the 19th of October, the Uni-
versity was reopened under the new organization.
In the session of 1858, the legislature granted $13,000 to tfee University, for re-
pairs on the state house, and for the erection of another building for the residence
of students. A new roof was put upon the state house, and the other building be-
gun and the exterior completed.
A further grant of $10,000 was made in 1860, $5,000 to be expended on the old
building and in the purchase of philosophical and chemical apparatus, and the
remainder upon the new building. The repairs and alterations of the state house
have been completed, and it is now both an elegant and commodious building for
the purposes of a university. It is built of cream colored limestone, and is 120
feet long by 60 broad, and two stories high, with a basement. The walls are of
massive cut stone, and the rooms are spacious and lofty. The original cost of the
building was $160,000. It contains the chapel, library, cabinet, five lecture rooms,
a room occupied by the State Historical Society, and a spacious entrance hall, sur-
mounted by a dome. The other building is of pressed brick, 105 feet by 45-, three
stories high, and when finished will accommodate about 100 students. The build-
ings are situated on a ridge of land, the highest in the city, in the middle of a
park of ten acres, which contains many fine old oak trees in a very flourishing con-
dition. The site is beautiful, overlooking the valley of the Iowa River on the west
and the city on the east, while from the top of the dome may be seen a vast ex-
tent of rolling country, prairie and woodland, spread out on every side.
The University has now all the requisites for a first class institution of learning.
It has a choice library of 1,500 volumes, quite an extensive mineralogical cabinet,
and a very complete philosophical and chemical apparatus. Provision has been
made for the increase of the library and cabinet.
Furt Dodge, the county seat of Webster county, is beautifully situated on
a platform of prairie land, on the east side of Des Moines River, on the line
of the Dubuque and Pacific Railroad. Building was commenced here in
IOWA.
403
the fall of 1855. Several fine brick buildings and business-houses have been
erected. Bituminous coal and iron ore, of a superior quality, are found in
great abundance in the immediate vicinity.
Sioux City, Woodbury county, a new settlement at the confluence of the
Big Siour River, about 230 miles above Council Bluffs, is well situated on
a high bank, and is the last place of importance on the Missouri.
Port Madison, the county seat of Lee county, is a flourishing town. It
contains the state-prison, and 4000 inhabitants. A fortification was built
here in 1808, as a defence against the Indians, who obliged the garrison to
abandon it. In the war of 1812, the fort was twice attacked by the Indians.
In November, 1813, it was evacuated and the buildings burnt, as the con-
tractor failed to furnish the garrison with provisions.
Grinnell is in Powesheik county, 115 miles from Davenport, by the Mis-
sissippi and Missouri Railroad, is a fine town, and noted as the seat of Iowa
College.
There are in the state many small, city-like towns, as : Keosanqua, in Van
Buren co.; Lyons, in Clinton; Cedar Rapids, in Linn; Oskaloosa, in Ma-
haska ; Cedar Falls, in Black Hawk, and Mount Pleasant, in Henry. At
tl.e last named is the State Insane Asylum and the Wesleyan University
and about 6000 inhabitants.
MISCELLANIES.
UNITED STATES LAND SYSTEM.
All the lands belonging to the United States, within the new states and territories,
are surveyed and sold under one general system, which, from its simplicity, has
been of incalculable benefit in the settlement of the west. This admirable system of
surveys of lands by townships and ranges, was first adopted by Oliver Phelps, an ex-
tensive landholder in Genesee county, N. Y., who opened a land office at Canandaigua,
in 1789. His was the model which was adopted for surveying all the new lands in
the United States. Col. Jared Mansfield, appointed surveyor general of the United
States for the North-western Territory, by Jefferson, in 1802, applied the system
the government lands, and greatly improved it. In brief it is this :
"Meridian lines are established and surveyed in a line due north from some
given point — generally from some important
water-course. These are intersected at right
angles with a base line. On the meridians,
the "townships'" are numbered north and
south from the base lines; and, on the base
lines, "ranges" east or west of the meridian.
Township lines are then run, at a distance of
six miles, parallel to the meridian and base
lines. Each township contains an area of 36
square miles; each square mile is termed a
section, and contains 640 acres. The sections
are numbered from 1 to 36, beginning at the
north-east corner of the township, as the an-
nexed diagram illustrates.
When surveyed, the lands are offered for
Bale at public auction, but can not be disposed of at a less price than one dollar
and twenty-five cents per acre. That portion not sold at public auction is subject to
private entry at any time, for the above price, payable in cash at the time of entry.
6
5
4
3
10
2
1
7
8
9
11
12
18
17
16*
15
14
13
19
20
21
22
23
24
30
29
28
27
26
25
31
32
oo
66
34
35
36
404
IOWA.
Pre-emption rights give the improver or possessor the privilege of purchasing at
the minimum price."
By a wise provision of the law of the United States, every 16th section in each
township is appropriated for the support of public schools. This is one thirty
sixth of all the public lands, and in a state of 36,000 square miles would give one
thousand to this object.
Previous to the adoption of this system of surveying the public-lands, great con-
fusion existed for the want of a general, uniform plan, and in consequence titles
often conflicted with each other, and, in many cases, several grants covered the
same premises, leading very frequently to litigation most perplexing and almost
interminable. Now, the precise boundaries of any piece of land can be given in
a very few lines ; and, in a moment, found on the maps in the government land
offices, or, if the land has been sold to individuals, in the recorder's office in the
county in which it may be situated, and where it is entered for taxation. The
land itself can be easily found by the permanent corner posts at each corner of
the sections.
The form of description of government lands is thus shown by this example :
"North-East Quarter of Section No. 23; in Township No. 26 of Range No. 4,
West of Meridian Line, in White Co., Tnd., and containing 160 acres." It is usual
to abridge such descriptions, thus: "N.E. i S. 23, T. 26, R. 4 W., in White Co.,
Ind., & cont'g 160 A."
The state institutions and principal educational institutions of Iowa are
located as follows : the State University, Iowa City, a-nd its Medical De-
partment at Keokuk ; State Agricultural College, on a farm in Story
county; the Blind Asylum, in Vinton, Benton county; Deaf and Dumb
Asylum, Iowa City ; Insane Asylum, Mount Pleasant ; the Penitentiary,
Fort Madison ; State Historical Society, Iowa City ; Iowa Orphan Asylum,
Farmington, Van Buren county. Among educational institutions are : the
Iowa College, at Grinnell ; Bishop Lee Female Seminary, at Dubuque j
Cornell College, at Mount Vernon ; Upper Iowa University at Fayette ;
Iowa Wesleyan University, at Mount Pleasant ; and Indianola Male and
Female Seminary, at Indianola.
M I SSO U fil.
MISSOURI was originally included in the limits of Louisiana, purchased
of the French government in 1803. The first Europeans who visited any
part of its territory appear to have
been Marquette and Joliet, the
French missionaries from Canada,'
who sailed down the Mississippi in
1673. This river was more fully ex-
plored by La Salle, in 1682, who de-
clared all the region between the Il-
linois country and the Gulf of Mex-
ico to be an appendage of France.
From this period, settlements began
to be made in the valley of the Mis-
sissippi, and the territory was pro-
tected from Spanish invasion by a
chain of fortifications, extending from
the lakes to the gulf. Among these
was Fort Orleans, built in 1719, near
the mouth of the Osage, not far from
the site of Jefferson City.
The settlements in the Mississippi
valley were made advancing from its
northern and southern extremities into the interior. " Missouri being in the
central part, its progress was slow. Its lead mines were worked as early as
1720. St. Genevieve, the oldest town, was founded in 1755; St. Louis in
1764 : other settlements followed in quick succession. During the progress
of the contest between France and Great Britain, many of the Canadian
French emigrated by way of the lakes, and going southward, located them-
selves in both Upper and Lower Louisiana. These emigrants gave the first
important impulse to the colonization of Missouri.
After the conquest of Canada, in 1763, the jurisdiction of the Mississippi
passed from France to Great Britain and Spain, the Mississippi River being
the dividing line between the possessions of the two latter powers. The
whole population of Spanish Louisiana, north and south, at the time of the
public transfer, in 1769, is stated to have been 18.840 persons, of whom 5,556
were whites, and the remainder negroes. A river trade had sprung up be-
405
ARMS OF MISSOURI.
MOTTO — f!ahi*.popuU snprema lex exto — Let the prop-
erty of the i>eople, be the supreme law.
406 MISSOURI.
tween the northern and southern part of the province, and the exports at
this period amounted to $250,000 annually. The laws of Spain were now
extended over this part of Louisiana, and the character of the new govern-
ment was conciliating. The highest tribunal in Upper Louisiana, which com-
prised Missouri within its limits, was that of the lieutenant governor, the
governor having jurisdiction in the lower province. The commandants of
the various posts in the provinces held inferior tribunals. Lands were
granted liberally to colonists, and great facilities were given to settlers.
Many emigrants from Spain now came into the country.
In 1763, Mr. Laclede, the head of a mercantile company, who had ob-
tained a monopoly of the Indian and fur trade on the Mississippi and Mis-
souri Rivers, left New Orleans on an expedition to form establishments, and
open a commerce with the natives. Having left his stores at Fort Chartres,
on the Kaskaskias, Laclede proceeded up the river to the bluff, where St.
Louis now stands. Pleased with the situation, he determined to make it the
central place of the company's operations. Laclede was accompanied by
Auguste and Pierre Choteau, two young Creoles of New Orleans, of high
respectability and intelligence. In 1764, Auguste, the elder of the two
brothers, commenced the first buildings in St. Louis. These brothers became
at this place the heads of numerous families, whose name became a passport
that commanded safety and hospitality among the Indian nations in the
United States, north and west.
At the commencement of the American revolution, in 1775, St. Louis,
originally a depot for the fur trade, had increased to a population of about
800, and St. Genevieve to about half that number. In 1780, a body of En-
glish and Indians, 1,540 strong, from Michillimackinac and the southern ex-
tremity of Lake Michigan, attacked St. Louis. During the siege, which lasted
about a week, some sixty persons were killed in the town and vicinity. While
the fate of the garrison remained in great uncertainty, the timely arrival of-
Gen. Clarke, from Kentucky, turned the tide of fortune against the enemy.
The general peace of 1783, put an end to hostilities. Spain retained her
previous possessions, Great Britain resigned East Louisiana, called also the
"Illinois Country," to the United States, retaining only Canada and other
possessions at the north.
On the restoration of peace, the settlers in the western part of the United
States, to some extent, emigrated and built their cabins on the western or
Spanish side of the Mississippi. Difficulties, as might have been expected,
soon arose between Spain and the United States. A dispute relative to the
navigation of the Mississippi occurred in 1795, when, by treaty, Spain
granted to the United jStates free navigation of that river. But Spain did
not act up to the spirit of her agreement, and threw obstacles in the way
of the Americans navigating that stream. An open warfare seems to have
been only prevented by the cession of Louisiana to France, in 1801, who
transferred it to the United States in 1803, being purchased of the French
government for fifteen millions of dollars.
The new purchase was immediately divided into the "Territory of Orleans"
(since the state of Louisiana), and the "District of Louisiana," erected in
1805 into a territorial government, administered by a governor and judges,
under the title of "Territory of Louisiana," having four districts, St. Charles..
St. Louis, Cape Girardeau, New Madrid and Arkansas. When the present
state of Louisiana came into the Union, in 1812, the name of this territory
was changed to "Missouri Territory." The territory extended from latitude
MISSOURI. 407
33° to 41° N. The government now became representative, and the first
governor under the new government was William Clarke. The legislature
consisted of a council of nine members, appointed by the president, and a
house of representatives, one member for every 500 free white males, elected
by the people.
The limits of the Missouri Territory, on the west, were gradually extended
by treaties with the Indians. "People from the western states began to move
in from the time of the purchase, so that in 1810, the population numbered
20,845, of whom all, but about 1,500 belonging to Arkansas, were settled
within the present limits of Missouri. The French settlements were now
overrun by Americans, from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, etc., and American
habits, usages, laws, and institutions soon became prevalent. The original
settlers were quickly merged and almost lost among the later and more active
population, until at length the whole became a homogeneous people. Immi-
gration was so rapid, that in 1817, the territory contained 60,000 souls. In
1817, application was made by the assembly to congress, for authority to
frame a state constitution, preliminary to admission into the Union. A fierce
and stormy debate arose at once o'n the subject in congress. A powerful
party demanded that the new state should exclude slavery by their constitu-
tion. The discussion raged for two years, threatening to tear the Union
asunder; at length, however, the debate was stopped by the passage of the
compromise resolutions of Mr. Clay, by which it was agreed that the institu-
tion of slavery should be recognized in Missouri, but in no other new state
north of latitude 36° 30'. The state constitution, somewhat modified since
its adoption, was framed by a convention of forty delegates, which met at
St. Louis, on the 12th of June, 1820, and was adopted on the 19th July fol-
lowing. The new state was found, by a census taken the same year, to con-
tain a population of 66,586, of whom 10,222 were slaves."*
The north-western boundary of the Missouri was enlarged in the session
of congress of 1836-7, by the addition of a wedge-shaped piece of terri-
tory, measuring on the east side about 104 miles long, north and south, and
about 60 miles wide on the north end, and bounded on the west by the Mis-
souri River. This territory is now comprised in the six counties of Platte,
Buchanan, Andrew, Atchison, Nodaway, and Holt, and contains over three
thousand square miles. Although this acquisition was in opposition to the
terms of the Missouri Compromise, it appears to have been acquiesced. in
with little or no opposition from any source. It had its justification in a
better and more natural boundary, the Missouri River: and the country being
of remarkable fertility, became filled with a wealthy and thriving popula-
tion.
Since the establishment of the state government, there has been to the
present time a constant tide of emigration into Missouri, from the southern,
western and northern states, and, to some extent, from Europe. Agriculture
and commerce have flourished to a great extent. The manufacturing inter-
ests are considerable, and its extraordinary mineral wealth, is beginning
to be appreciated. Many of the Mormons, previous to their location at Nau-
voo, emigrated to the north-western section of the state, where they caused
much difficulty, in Ray county, in which some were killed and wounded. In
1838, the governor of the state issued an order, or proclamation, for the ex-
pulsion of the Mormons. After the repeal of the "Missouri Compromise,"
* Fisher's Gazetteer of the United States.
408 MISSOURI.
in 1854, the western border of the state became the theater of much excite-
ment and many hostile demonstrations, arising from the contest between the
free state men,' who had emigrated into the adjoining Territory of Kansas,
.and the pro-slavery party, principally from the western border of Missouri,
who were, by their opponents, termed "border ruffians." During the strug-
gle for ascendency, rnan^r outrages were committed, and many lives lost on
both sides. Of late years, a political contest has sprung up between the
emancipation and pro-slavery parties in this state, the final result of which
remains to be seen.
Missouri is bounded N. by Iowa, E. by the Mississippi River, S. by Ar-
kansas, and W. by Kansas, Nebraska, and the Indian territory. It is situ-
ated between 36° and 40° 36' N. Lat., and between 89° and 95° 36' W.
Long. It is 287 miles long and 230 broad, containing upward of 65,000
square miles, nearly equaling in extent the six New England states together,
and more than doubling them all in agricultural capacity. The surface of
Missouri is quite varied. Alluvial, or bottom lands, are found on the mar-
gins of the rivers. In the interior, bottoms and barrens, naked hills and
prairies, heavy forests and streams of water, may be often seen in one view.
In the south-east part, near the Mississippi and south of Cape Girardeau, is
an extensive marsh, reaching into Arkansas, and comprising an area nearly
equal to the entire state of Connecticut. Back of this is a hilly country,
rich in minerals, which extends to Osage River. One of the richest coal
fields in the Union occupies the greater part of the state north of the Osage
River, and extending nearly to the Iowa line. The coal is bituminous and
much of it cannel. The great cannel coal bed in Calloway county, is the
largest body of cannel coal known: in places it is 75 feet thick. On distil-
lation, it yields excellent coke, and a gas that, being destitute of sulphur,
burns with a bright and beautiful flame. The lead region is at an average
distance of seventy miles from St. Louis, and covers an area of 3,000 square
miles. While in Wisconsin the lead does not extend 100 feet in depth, the
lead veins of Missouri extend, in places, more than 1,000 feet. The mineral
region contains 216 localities of lead ore, 90 of iron, and 25 of copper. The
state abounds in iron ; in fact, no country in the world contains so much of
this useful ore as Missouri ; and her general mineral wealth is enormous, in
coal, iron, copper, lead, etc. Minerals of the non-metallic kind are also
abundant, limestone, sandstone, porphyries, gypsum, sienite, porcelain, pipe
and variegated clays.
The country north of the .Missouri, and that which adjoins Kansas, has
been termed the garden of the west. In most places it has a beautiful, un-
dulating surface, sometimes rising into picturesque hills, then stretching into
a sea of prairie, interspersed with shady groves and streams of water.
Missouri possesses very great facilities for internal intercourse by water,
having the navigation of the two greatest rivers in the United States, if not
in the world. By means of the Mississippi River, forming her eastern boun-
dary, she has commerce with the most northern territory of the Union, with
the whole valley of the Ohio, some of the Atlantic states, and the Gulf of
Mexico; by the Missouri, which passes.through the central part of the state,
she can extend her commercial intercourse to the Rocky Mountains. The
climate is variable, in winter the streams are sometimes frozen so as to admit
the passage of heavy loaded vehicles; the summers are very hot, but the air is
dry and pure, and the climate may be classed among those most favorable to
health. The soil of the state, speaking generally, is good and of great agri-
MISSOURI
409
cultural capabilities, particularly the bottom lands, bordering the rivers.
The principal agricultural staples are Indian corn and hemp. The southern
highlands are finely adapted to the culture of the grape. In 1810. the pop-
ulation was less than 20,000 ; in 1830, in was 140,000; in 1850, 682,214, of
whom 87,422 were slaves; in 1860, 1173,317, including 114,965 slaves.
Central part of the Levee, at St. Louis.
The view was taken from Bloody Island, near the Railroad Di^pot, on the Illinois side of the Mississippi,
and Bhows the steamboats lying at the Levee, in the vicinity of the Custom House, and the Court House,
the nppur portion of which is seen in the distance. The river front here, for a long distance, is generally
crowded with steamers, lying abreast of each other, in tiers of three and four deep, indicating the extra-
ordinary commerce of the city.
ST. Lours, the. commercial capital of Missouri, and of the great central
valley of the Mississippi, is situated -on the W. bank of the Mississippi, 18
miles below the junction of the Mis^uri. It is in 38° 37' 28" N. Lat., and
90° 15' 16" W. Long., about 1,200 miles above New Orleans, 340 from Cin-
cinnati, 822 from St. Pan], 274 from Louisville, Ky., 180 above Cairo, and 125
from Jefferson City, the capital of the state. The compact part of the city
stretches about three miles along the river, and two miles back. The site
rises from the river into two limestone elevations, the first, twenty, and the
second forty feet above the ordinary floods of the Mississippi. The ascent
to the first is rather abrupt, the second rises more gradually, and spreads out
into an extensive plain. The city is well laid out, the streets being for the
most part 60 feet wide, and, with few exceptions cross each other at right
angles. Front-street, which extends along the levee, is upward of 100 feet
broad, built upon the side facing the river with a massive range of stone ware-
houses, which make an imposing appearance. The population of St. Louia
410
MISSOURI.
in 1840, was 16,469; in 1850, 82,774; and in 1860, 162,179. About one
third of the inhabitants are natives of Germany or their descendants.
St. Louis is sometimes fancifully called the "Mound City" from a great
mound, at the base of which it was first settled, and which is said by the In-
dians to have been the burial place of their ancestors for centuries.
The natural advantages which St. Louis enjoys, as a commercial emporium,
are probably equal to any inland port in the world. Situated midway be-
tween two oceans, and near the geographical center of the finest agricultural
and mineral region of the globe, almost at the very focus toward which con-
verge the Mississippi, the Missouri, the Ohio, and the Illinois Rivers, she
seems destined to be the great receiving and distributing depot for a vast re-
gion of country. It is now, next to New Orleans, the principal port on the
Mississippi, and among the western cities is the rival to Cincinnati in popu-
lation and wealth. "In a circuit of less than 90 miles from the city, iron,
coal, lead, and probably copper, are sufficiently abundant to supply the Union
for indefinite ages, and of this region St. Louis is the only outlet. The man-
ufactures of St. Louis embrace a great variety of products. Among the
manufacturing establishments may be mentioned, extensive iron works, flour-
ing mills, sugar refineries, manufactures of hemp, rope and bagging factories,
tobacco factories, oil mills, etc. The city is supplied with water from the
Mississippi, drawn up by two engines, each of about 350 horse power, and
forced through a 20 inch pipe to the reservoir, located about one mile west,
and capable of holding thirty-two millions of gallons.
Very few cities in the Union have improved more rapidly in the style of
its public buildings, than St. Louis; among these is the magnificent court
house, which occupies a square, presenting a front on four streets : it is con-
structed of limestone, and erected at an expense of upward of one million
of dollars. The custom house, another noble building, is fire proof, con-
structed of Missouri marble. The Lindell House is one of the most exten-
sive and beautiful of hotels. The Mercantile Library building is a fine
structure, having one of the best halls in the western states, capable of
seating 2,300 persons. The library connected with the institution consists
of upward of 14,000 volumes. The Library Association, among the curios-
ities in their possession, have the original model of John Fitch's steam en-
gine, made about the year 1795 ; it is some two feet high, with a copper
boiler. They also have a marble slab, about seven feet square, from the ruins
of ancient Ninevah, covered with a figure in bas-relief and interesting cunei-
form inscriptions. The St. Louis University, under the direction of the Cath-
olics, has a spacious building in the city, with 18 instructors, and about 300
students, and some 15,000 volumes in its libraries. This institution was
founded, in 1829, by members of the Society of Jesus, and was incorporated
by the legislature in 1832. In the museum connected with the University,
is the dagger of Cortez, 14 inches long, the blade consisting of two divisions,
with an apparatus and spring in the hilt for containing and conveying poison.
The Washington University was founded in 1853. The city contains various
other excellent literary institutions : among these are several medical colleges.
There are also hospitals, dispensaries, and other charities, for the medical
care of the destitute. Among the charitable institutions, the most conspic-
uous are the Protestant and Catholic Orphan Asylums — the first under the
direction of Protestant ladies, and the latter of the Sisters of Charity. The
total value of the taxable property of St. Louis, for 1860, was about 100
millions of dollars.
MISSOURI.
411
The subjoined sketch of the history of St. Louis, is extracted from the
London edition of the work of Abbe Domenech,* the original being in
French:
St. Louis, the Queen of the West, was French by birth ; her cradle was sus-
pended in the forest watered by the Mississippi ; her childhood was tried by many
privations; and her adolescence was reached amid the terrors inspired by the In-
dian's cry. Her youth, though more calm, was scarcely more happy. Abandoned
by her guardian, the Lion of Castile, she was again claimed by her ancient mother;
but only to be forsaken anew. She then passed under the protecting wing of the
American eagle, and became the metropolis of the Empire of the Deserts.
South-eastern view of the Court JIov.se, St. Louis.
M. d'Abadie, civil and military director-general, and governor of Louisiana, con-
ceded, in 1762, to Messrs. Pierre Ligueste, Laclede, Antoine Maxan. and Company,
the monopoly of the fur trade with the Indians of Mississippi and Missouri. M.
Laclede, a man of remarkable intelligence, of .an enterprising character, and the
principal chief of the company, immediately prepared an expedition, with a view
of forming a large establishment in the north-west. On the 3d of August, 1763,
he startod from New Orleans, and on the 3d of November following, he reached
St. Genevieve, situatec} sixty miles south of where St. Louis is actually built.
At that epoch the French colony, established sixty years before in Illinois, was
in a surprising state of prosperity. It had considerably augmented its importance
since 1732, at which period France was beginning to realize her great conception
of uniting Canada to Louisiana by an extensive line of military posts, that were
*" Seven Years Residence in the Great Deserts of North America, by the Abbe Em
Domenech, Apostolical Missionary, Canon of Montpellier, Member of the Pontificial Acad-
emy Tiberina, and of the Geographical and Ethnographical Societies of France, etc.: " io
two volumes.
412 MISSOURI.
to have been supported by forts, the strategic positions of which were admirably
chosen. But when M. Laclede arrived in the country, Louis XV had already signed
the shameful treaty by which he ceded to England, in a most blamable and incon-
siderate manner, one of the finest regions of the globe, the possession of which had
cost nearly a century of efforts, discoveries, and combats, besides enormous sums
of money. By that^ treaty, which will cover with eternal ignominy the memory of
Louis XV, France yielded up to great Britain the two Canadies, the immense ter-
ritory of the northern lakes, and the rich states of Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee,
Mississippi, and Western Louisiana, as far as the Gulf of Mexico.
The Britannic frontiers, north, west, and south, were then surrounded by that
French race, so antipathetic to the Saxon one. It enveloped them by its power
and its immense territory, by an uinterrupted chain of fertile countries, which ex-
tend from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, following the interminable and rich val-
ley of the Mississippi, which winds round the English possessions like the coiling
serpent whose innumerable folds entwined the Laocoon. Unhappily for France,
the statesmen of her luxurious court were short-sighted in this matter; they did not
know the value of our transatlantic dominions, nor forsee what the future might
do for them. Occupied with miserable palace intrigues, they basely abandoned our
finest colonies, and merely sought feebly to prolong their agony. Napoleon him-
self committed a great fault when he ceded Louisiana for fifteen millions. He
thought that a bird in the hand was better than two in the bush ; but what a bush
he sold for such a sum! Louisiana, that of herself contains colossal wealth, did
she not give birth to many powerful states by dismembering herself? Did she not
draw toward Texas, Kansas, New Mexico, and California? When one thinks of
this great and irreparable loss which Louis XV and Napoleon I csaused France to
suffer, one can not help sighing at the blindness of that fatal policy, which, for the
sake of passing difficulties, from pusillanimous fear, or from the want of perfect
knowledge of the resources and importance of the colonies, forgets the honor and
interest of the empire it rules.
It was thus that in the time of M. Laclede, the Mississippi became the natural
Itoundary of the French and English possessions ; St. Genevieve was the only
French settlement on the right bank of the river, all the others, being on the left,
were made over to the English. After a short sojourn in that village, M. Laclede
explored the country, and discovering, sixty miles more to the north, a table-land
seventy-five feet above the Mississippi, and covered with forests and fertile ground,
he took possession of it and laid the foundation of a town, which he named St.
Louis, in the presence of the French officers of the Chartres and of two young
Creoles, Messrs. Auguste and Pierre Chouteau. We had the satisfaction of seeing
the latter in 1847, during the festival celebrated at St. Louis in honor of Laclede.
Scarcely was the rising colony established, which was augmented by French,
Creole, and Illinois emigrants, who would not remain under the English dominion,
when it was greatly alarmed by the arrival of 400 Indians, who, without being hos-
tile, were nevertheless very troublesome, on account of their continual demands
for provisions and the daily robberies they committed. M. Laclede made all pos-
sible haste to rescue his establishment from the peril that menaced it, and imme-
diately acted in a manner that showed his tact and his profound knowledge of the
Indian character. The chieftains having appeared in his presence, addressed him.
in these terms :
" We are deserving of pity, for we are like ducks and geese seeking clear water whereon
to rest, as also to find an easy existence. We know of no bott^ttplace than where we are.
We therefore intend to build our wigwams around your village/ -.We shall be your children,
and you will be our father."
Laclede put an end to the conversation by promising to give his answer the next
day, which he did in the following manner:
" You told me yesterday that you were like ducks and geese that seek a fair country
wherein to rest and live at ease. You told me that you were worthy of pity ; that you had
not found a more favorable spot to establish yourselves in than this one; that you would
build your village around me, and that we could live together as friends. I shall now an-
swer you as a kind father: and will tell you that, if you imitate the ducks and geese, you
follow improvident guides; for, if they had any forethought, they would not establish
MISSOURI.
413
themselves on clear water where they may be perceived by the eagle that will pounce on
them. It would not have been so had they chosen a retired spot well shaded with trees.
You, Missourians, will not be devoured by birds of prey, but by the red men, who have
fought so long against you, and who have already so seriously reduced your number. At
this very moment they are not far from us, watching the English to prevent them from tak-
ing possession of their new territories. If they find you here they will slay your warriors
and make your wives and children slaves. This is what will happen to you, if, as 'you say,
you follow the example of the ducks and geese, instead of listening to the counsels of men
who reflect. Chieftains and warriors, think now, if it is not more prudent for you to go
away quietly rather than to be crushed by your enemies, superior to you in number, in the
presence of your massacred sires, of your wives and children torn to pieces and thrown to
the dogs and vultures. Remember that it is a good father who speaks to you ; meditate on
what he has said, and return this evening with your answer."
In the evening the entire tribe of the Missourians presented itself in a body be-
fore M. Laclede, and announced to him that its,intention was to follow his advice ;
the chiefs then begged of him to have pity on the women, and children, by giving
them some provisions, and a little powder to the warriors. M. Laclede acceded
liberally to their request, and sent them off next day well supplied and happy.
On the 17th of July, 1755, M. de St. Ange de Bellerive resigned the command
of the frontiers to the English, and came to St. Louis with his troops and the civic
officers. His arrival favored the definitive organization of the colony ; St. Louis
became the capital of Upper Louisiana, and M. de St. Ange was appointed gov-
ernor of the place. But Louis XV had made, in 1763, another treaty, by which
he ceded to Spain the remainder of our possessions in North America. This treaty,
kept secret during a year, completed the measure of humiliations and losses that
France had to endure iinder such a reign. The official news of it was only re-
ceived at Xew Orleans on the '21st of April, 1764, and the consternation it spread
throughout Upper and Lower Louisiana was such that the governor, M. d'Abadie,
died of grief. Serious disturbances were the consequence, and the tragical events
which took place under the command of Gen. O'Reilly, of sanguinary memory,
caused the administration of Upper Louisiana to remain in the hands of the French
for several years. It was only on the llth of August; 1768, that the Spanish troops
wjjte able to take possession of St. Louis for the first time, and even then they could
nlrt hold the position above eleven months. At last, peace being restored, the Span-
lards again became masters of all the country in 1770, five years before the death
of M. de St. Ange, who expired at St. Louis in 1775. aged seventy-six years. M.
Laclede died at the Post of the Arkansas on the 20th of July, 1778, leaving no
children.
In 1780, St. Louis was unsuccessfully attacked by 1,000 Indians and English-
men, from Michillimackinac, who had received orders to seize upon the town on
account of the part the Spaniards had taken in the war of American independ-
ence.
Spain never sought to derive any advantage from the resources of Upper Louis-
iana : it would seem as if she merely considered that mighty region as a barrier
against the encroachments of her neighbor on her Mexican possessions. This
policy alone can explain her indifference with regard to the government of that
country. When she took possession of all the territory situated to the west of the
Mississippi, she found there a French population already acclimated, civilized, and
inured to fatigues, owing to the long wars it sustained against the English and the
Indians. The prospect of a calm and peaceable existence had assembled this pop-
ulation on the borders of Arkansas, of the Mississippi, and of the Missouri, where
it only awaited a protecting government, to enable it to give to industry and agri-
culture all possible development. All that Spain had to do was to open markets
for its produce, and for exchanges with the southern colonies. This extensive em-
S're, possessing the largest natural advantages, bounded by the Mississippi, the
issouri, and the Pacific Ocean, might have, owing to the preponderance that it
could have acquired (as we witness in our days), changed the course of events
which have taken place in Europe since that epoch. France could not aspire to
such power as long as she possessed Canada, but she should have thought of it
when she abandoned that colony. The immense results obtained by the liberal
institutions of the United States show clearly, in the present day, that the loss of
414 MISSOURI.
Canada would have turned to our advantage; and that by developing the produce
of the possessions which we still retained to the west of the Mississippi, «e hould
soon have been amply compensated for the sacrifices made in 1763, after the taking
of Quebec. Such was the opinion of the intelligent men of France. Turgot, our
celebrated statesman, in particular, foresaw the advantages to be derived from such
a policy, and he even submitted a plan to the king by means of which that vast re-
gion he called Equinoctial France, was to become densely populated in a short
time. But, as M. Nicollet observes in his essay on the primitive history of St.
Louis, he was treated as a visionary.
What was easy for France was still much more so for Spain ; but instead of adopt-
ing this simple policy — liberal and grand in its results — Spain contented herself with
isolating the colonists and the Indians of Missouri and of Mississippi, imposing an
arbitrary government upon them, checking all communication between the neigh-
boring populations; establishing restrictions on importation, prohibiting foreign
competition, restricting emigration, granting exclusive privileges, and making,
without any conditions, concessions of lands, etc. It is not surprising, then, that
she complains that her colonies cost her more than she realized by them. No-
where, either in her laws or in her decrees, is there to be found a plan adopted
with a view of developing the natural and moral resources of these countries. As
the government appeared only to occupy itself with the exigencies of each day, in
like manner the inhabitants did not seem to think of the morrow. The Creoles of
Upper Louisiana, who were the descendants of a brave and enterprising nation, not
finding in this state of things any support for their physical and moral faculties,
penetrated into the depths of the forests, got amid a multitude of savage tribes
whom they had not heard of before, began to explore the regions situated between
the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, and created the fur trade in that exten-
sive portion of North America. In this way was formed that class of intrepid men
called voyageurs or engages, of whom we have already spoken, and who were as
necessary in the plains of the west as are the Canadian voyagevrs in the frozen
countries of the north and north-west.
Meanwhile America had attained her independence, and France was commen'c-
ing her revolution, when, all of a sudden, on the 9th of July, 1803, at seven o'clock
in the evening, the inhabitants of St. Louis learned that Spain had re-ceded Louis-
iana to Napoleon, who, in turn had sold it to the United States. We will make no
remark on the profound sensation produced by this unexpected news. We will
merely observe that the colonists could scarcely recover from their astonishment
on hearing that they had become republicans, and seeing a multitude of judges,
lawyers, notaries, tax-gatherers, etc., arriving among them. They were even
less able to understand that liberty which obliged them to leave their homes to
vote at elections, or to serve as jurors. They had allowed civilization to advance
without taking any notice of it. Their existence was so isolated, so simplified, that
they lost sight of the advantages of social life. They possessed no public schools,
and the missionaries, being too few in number, were seldom able to visit or in-
struct them in their religious duties. The object of their material life did not go
beyond the domestic circle, the virtue and honesty of which were proverbial.
They knew nothing of notaries, lawyers, or judges; and the prison remained empty
during thirty years. To give an idea of the simplicity of the Creoles, we can not
do better than relate an incident that took place a few years after the cession of
Louisiana to the United States.
A Creole from Missouri was lounging about a sale of negro slaves on the bor-
ders of the Mississippi, in Lower Louisiana. The merchant, who was from Ken-
tucky, asked him if he wished to buy anything: "Yes," replied the Missourian,
"I want a negro." Having made his choice, he inquired the price of the one he
selected. "Five hundred piastres," replied the merchant; "but, according to cus-
tom, you have one year to pay." At this proposition the purchaser became em-
barrassed; the thought of being liable to such a debt during an entire year
annoyed him greatly. "No, no!" said he to the merchant, "I prefer paying you
at once six hundred piastres, nnd letting the matter be ended." "Very well,' said
the obliging Kentuckian, " I will do anything you please to make the affair con-
venient to you." And the bargain was concluded.
MISSOURI. 41 5
Tho Spanish troops departed from Louisiana on the 3d of November, 1804
The American governor, VV. H. Harrison, who had the chief command of the In
dian territories of Upper Louisiana, organized the civil and judicial power of that
country; and on the 2d of July, 1805, Gen. James Wilkinson established there,
by order of congress, a territorial government, of which St. Louis was the capital.
Thegreatmilitary event in the annals of St. Louis was the attack upon the
town by the English and Indians from Mackinaw, in 1780. The citizens
had intelligence the previous fall of the contemplated expedition, and there-
upon fortified the town with a rude stockade six feet high, made by two rows
of upright palisades, a few feet apart, filled in between with earth. The out-
line of the stockade described a semi-circle around the place, resting its ex-
tremities upon the river, above and below the town, flanked by a small fort
at each extremity. Three gates gave opening to the country in the rear,
each defended by a piece of ordnance, kept well charged. Monette, in his
History of the Mississippi Valley, gives these particulars :
The British commandant at Michillimackinac, hearing of the disasters of the British
arms in Florida, conceived the idea of leading an expedition upon his own responsibility
against the Spanish settlement of St. Louis. Early in the spring he had assembled one
hundred and forty regular British troops and Canadian Frenchmen, and fourteen hundred
Indian warriors for the campaign. From the southern extremity of Lake Michigan this
host of savages, under British leaders, marched across to the Mississippi, and encamped
within a few miles of St. Louis. The town had been fortified for temporary defense, and
the hostile host made a regular Indian investment of the place. Skirmishes and desultory
attacks continued for several days, during which many were killed, and others were taken
captive by the Indians. Much of the stock of cattle and horses belonging to the place
was killed or carried off.
The people at length, believing a general attack was contemplated, and having lost con-
fidence in their commandant's courage, or in his preparations for defense, sent a special re-
quest to Col. Clark, then commanding at Kaskaskia, to come to their aid with such force
as he could assemble. Col. Clark immediately made preparation to march to their relief.
Having assembled nearly five hundred men under his command, he marched to the bank
of the Mississippi, a short distance below the town of St. Louis. Here he remained en-
camped for further observations. On the sixth of May the grand Indian attack was made,
when Col. Clark, crossing the river, marched up to the town to take part in the engage-
ment. The sight of the Americans, or the "Lang -knives," as they were called, under the
command of the well-known Col. Clark, caused the savages to abandon the attack and
seek safety in flight. They refused to participate in any further hostilities, and reproached
the British commandant with duplicity in having assured them that he would march them
to fight the Spaniards only, whereas now they were brought against the Spaniards and the
Americans. They soon afterward abandoned the British standard, and returned to their
towns, near Lakes Superior and Michigan.
An old settler, writing for the Missouri Republican, in 1826, and the St.
Louis Sketch Book, gives these historical items:
A lapse of twenty years has ensued since I first obtained a residence in this rising
town. ... It did not, when I first knew it, appear to possess even the germ of the
materials which have since been so successfully used in making it the mart of commerce
and the seat of plenty. Then, with some exceptions, it was the residence of the indolent
trader or trapper, or more desperate adventurers. . . . Twenty years ago there were
no brick buildings in St. Louis. The houses were generally of wood, built in a fashion
peculiar to the country, and daubed with mud. There were, however, some of the better
order, belonging to the first settlers of the town, but whose massive walls of stone were
calculated to excite the wonder of the modern beholder, giving the idea of an antique
fortress. What was then called Chouteau's Hill, but which has since lost that distinctive
appellation, was nothing else than a barren waste, over which the wind whistled in its unob-
structed course, if we except only an occasional cumbrous fortification, intended for a de-
fense, and evidencing the poverty of the country in military as in other talent. Then, and
for a long while after, the streets" were intolerably bad, resembling the roads in Ohio, where
416 MISSOURI
it is related of a man that, his hat was taken from his head just as ho was disappearing
forever in the regions of mud.
Twenty years since, and down to a much later period, the commerce of the country, on
the Mississippi, was carried on in Mackinaw batteaux and keel boats. A voyage performed
in one of the latter kind was a fearful undertaking; and the return trip from New Orleans
was considered an expeditious one if made in ninety days. When an increased commerce
took place, our streets were thronged with voyageurs, of all ages, countries and complex-
ions. They were a source of constant trouble to a weak and inefficient police, with whom
they delighted to kick up a row. Deprived, by the introduction of steamboats, of their
usual means of living, and like the savage averse to settled life, they have almost entirely
disappeared. At the time of which we write, the traveler who made a journey to the
Atlantic states, did not resolve upon it without mature deliberation. . .. It then required
from thirty to forty days to travel to Philadelphia. . . . The morals or religion of the
people can not be defined. They had, it is true, vague notions of such things, but they
were of so quiescent a character as to be easily set aside when in opposition to their pleas-
ure or interest. There was but one church, and after a resort to this it was no uncommon
thing to pass the remainder of the Sabbath evening in dancing or whist, for St. Louis then
contained, at most, but a few hundred people."
"Previous to the year 1829." says the Uketch Book of St. Louis, " there was no Pro-
testant church in St. Louis, but in that year the first Presbyterian church was buiH, and
the Rev. Artemas Bullard engaged as the minister. . . . There were places where the
Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Universalists, etc., held divine service, but none of them
possessed church edifices until this year.
In 1844, another flood, equaling that which took place in the days of Crusat, visited the
Mississippi. The river rose rapidly ui:til the entire American bottom was submerged.
Steamboats and all descriptions of water craft were to be seen winding their way through
the woods opposite the city, conveying passengers to and from the coal hills on the Illinois
shore, a distance of about twelve miles. This flood was very disastrous in its character,
almost totally destroying Illinoistown, which had become a village of several thousand
inhabitants. The damage was immense, while not a few lives were lost, thousands of
hogs, horses, cattle, sheep, fowls, etc., were drowned. ' Many who, before the flood, were
in affluent circumstances, found themselves beggared. This was a marked event upon the
trade of St. Louis, and she had scarcely recovered from the effects, when another calamity
befel her. Late in the fall of 1848, that dreadful scourge, the cholera, made its appear-
ance; the approach of cold weather stayed in a great measure the ravages of disease, but
in the spring it developed itself in full force. . . . The disease now assumed a more bold
and formidable appearance, and instead of stalking through dirty lanes and filthy alleys,
it boldly walked the streets. . . . Funeral processions crowded every street. . . The hum
of trade was hushed. The levee was a desert.'
When the disease was raging at its fiercest, the city was doomed to another horror — May
17, 1843, it was burned — fifteen squares were laid in ashes. The fire commenced on the
steamer White Cloud. At the commencement the wind was blowing stiffly, forcing the
boat directly into shore, which circumstance- contributed seriously to the mariiie disaster.
The wind set into the wharf, and although the cables of all the boats were hauled in, and
they drifted out into the current, yet the flaming vessel seemed to outstrip them all in the
speed with which she traveled down stream. ... In a short time, perhaps thirty minutes,
twenty-three vessels were burnt. . . . Fifteen blocks of houses were destroyed and in-
jured, causing a loss of ten millions of dollars. Olive-street was the commencement in
the city, and with the exception of one building, the entire space down to Market-street
was laid in ruins. The progress of the flames was stayed by blowing up a portion of the
buildings below Market-street with powder: in doing this, although timely warning was
given, several persons lost their lives."
In July, 1817, came the Gen. Pike, the first steamer which arrived at St. Louis. She
was commanded by Capt. Jacob Reed, and was built on Bear Grass Creek, near Louisville.
In 1847, on the anniversary of the city's birth, a miniature representation of the boat was
exhibited, and became the most curious feature of the celebration, as showing the changes
in steamboat architecture. " This miniature representation was about twenty feet long;
the hull that of a barge, and the cabin on the lower deck run up on the inside of the run-
ning board. The wheels were exposed, being without a wheel-house — she was propelled
by a low pressure engine, with a single chimney and a large walking beam. The crew
were supplied with poles, and where the current proved too strong for the steam, they used
the poles, as on keel beats, to help her along. It was mounted on wheels, and drawn by
eight white horses. The boat was manned by a crew of steamboat captains, who appeared
in the dress usually worn by the officers and men in their various stations."
MISSOURI.
417
Bloody Island, opposite St. Louis, near the Illinois shore of the Missis-
sippi, is the terminus of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad. It received its
name from the circumstance of its being the dueling ground for this region.
It is within the limits of Illinois, and at the time of high freshets is par-
tially covered with water. It has a growth of large forest trees. This spot
was selected by duelists from its being neutral ground: the island was for
some time disputed territory between the states
of Illinois and Missouri. A fatal contest of
this kind ensued between Thomas Biddle, of
St. Louis, and one of his friends, in which both
were killed. The origin of the duel seems to
have been some jocose remark made by the
antagonist of Mr. Biddle in regard to his (Mr.
Biddle's) family affairs. Mrs. Biddle foolishly
considering herself insulted, gave her husband
no rest until he had challenged the author of
the remark to mortal combat. Having passed
over to Bloody Island, they fought at the dis-
tance of some three or four paces apart, and
both fell mortally wounded. . Mrs. Biddle,
overwhelmed at the fatal consequences of her
attempt to avenge her injured feelings, devoted
the remainder of her life .to penitence, and her
fortune to charity. The annexed engraving is
a view of a monument erected in memory of
husband and wife, on the premises of St. Mary's
Orphan Asylum, on Tenth-street, under the charge of the order of the
"Daughters of Charity." The monument is about 20 feet high : the follow-
in" words are affixed over the door, "Pray for the souls of Thomas and Anne
Biddle."
The following inscriptions are from monuments within the city limits:
In memory of one whose name needs no eulogy, JOSEPH M. WHITE, late Delegate in Con-
gress from the Territory of Florida. Born in Franklin county, Kentucky, 8th of Oct., 1798,
died in St. Louis, at the residence of his brother, Thomas J. White, M.D., the 19th day of
October, 1839.
BIDDLE MONUMENT, ST. Louis.
Over the door are the words, Pray for
the souit of Thomas and Anne Biddle.
THOMAS BARBOUR, M.D., son of the Hon. P. P. Barbour, of Virginia. Born Aug. 28>
1810, and died June 18, 1849. In all the relations of life, he illustrated the strength and1
beauty of Christian principle — ardent affection, generous friendship, and fervent charity
were the spontaneous emotions of a heart imbued with the holy desire of glorifying ©od*
*nd doing good to man. As a practitioner of medicine he had attained a distinguished^
eminence. With the Medical Department of the University of Missouri, his name is asso-
ciated as one of its founders and most able and faithful teachers. With the early hiatory-
o.f the Central Presbyterian Church, of which he was an Elder, his name ia recorded afron»-
of its brightest ornaments.
JEFFERSON CITY, the capital of Missouri is situated on the right bank, of
Missouri River, on elevated, uneven and somewhat rocky ground, 125 miles
W. of St. Louis. It contains the state house, a state penitentiary, the.^gov-
ernor's house, several schools, 5 churches, 2 banks, and about 3,500 inhabit-
ants, of whom near one half are Germans or of German orgin. The-- state
house is built of stone, at an expense of §250,000, and presents a magnifi-
cent appearance as it is approached sailing up the river from the^aastward.
27
418
MISSOURI.
Over the door of the main entrance of the capitol is the following inscrip-
tion :
" Erected Anno Domini, 1838. L. W. Bojrgs, Governor ; P. C. Glover, Sec'y of State ; H.
II. Baber, And. Pub. Acets ; W. B. Napton, Att'y General; A. McClellan, Treasurer, Com-
missioners. S. Hills, Architect."
East view of Jefferson City.
The view annexed presents the appearance of the Capitol and other buildings, as the city is entered
upon the Pacific; Kail road. The blutf shown is 80 fret his;li, and on its summit is tlie residence of Gen. J.
I,. Minor, formerly secretary of t!ie state. The Railroad Depot is at the foot of tin; 1. luff on the left ; the
Capitol on Capitol Hill is in the central part, at the base of which is the Ferry and City Landing.
The first white persons who located themselves within the limits of Jefferson City were
John Wier and a Dr. Brown. Wier, who appears to have been a squatter, built his cabin
on the spot where J. T. Rogers' (lute mayor) house now stands. Wier's Creek, at the foot
of Capitol Hill, was named after him. Dr. Brown, Mid to have been from Ireland, located
himself on the declivity of Capitol Hill. William Jones, a bricklayer, kept the first Jerry
and house of entertainment at this pliice; he was succeeded by Mr. Thomas Rogers, the
father of the mayor. Dr. Stephen C. Dorris, father of Dr. A. P. Dorris, was the first reg-
ular physician: lie was succeeded by Dr. Bolton, and he in turn by Dr. Mills. Robert A.
Ewing (afterward judge of the county court), was the first resident lawyer. Judge Wells
was the next. Robert Jones was the first merchant: he had his store at the base of the
Capitol Hill, near the ferry and city wharf. Among his purchases was that of two or three
barrels of coffee, which at that time was considered a bold and hazardous speculation, as
it was supposed it would take a long period to sell such an amount.
The first school was taught by Jesse F. Roys, an itinerant teacher from North Carolina;
;l»e was succeeded by Hirnm H. Baber, Esq., a native of Virginia, and now, with one ex-
ception, the ofdest inhabitant of Jefferson City. The school house was about half way
between the railroad depot and the penitentiary. Jason Harrison, Esq., the first clerk of
Cole county, was a native of Maryland; he came into Missouri in 1811, and into Jefferson
City in 1831. The first brick structure erected was a one story building, 16 feet square,
built by Win. Jones, and occupied as the state treasury office: it stood opposite the Metho-
dist'Church. The first state house was built of brick, by Reuben Garnett, and stood in
a lot adjoining the governor's house. It was accidentally burnt in Nov., 1837, and all the
state papers, except those in the auditor's office destroyed. The seat of government was
located1!!! 1F21, laid out in 1822, and the first sale of lots was made in 1823. The first
trustees of the town were Adam Hope, John C. Gordon, and Josiah Ramsay, jr. The first
governor resident in Jefferson City, was John Miller, and a man of great wealth. He died
while member of Congress, and was buried at St. Louis.
MISSOURI. 419
The first printing press was started here in 1826, by Calvin Ounn, who, it is believed,
was from Connecticut. It was called the "Jeffersonian Republican." The first house for
public worship here was erected by the Methodists and Baptists: this was in 1838. The
Episcopal church was erected in 1842; the first resident Episcopal clergyman was I^cv.
Wm. L. Hommann. The first Presbyterian church was built about the year 1845, and tho
first resident clergyman was Rev. Hiram S. Goodrich, D.D., from the eastern states, who
came here about 1843. The Catholics, who are the largest religious body in the city,
erected their first house of worship in 1847: their present handsome structure was built in
1857. The state penitentiary was opened about 1835: the first warden was Gen. Lewis
Bolton, and for about three months he had but one convict under his charge, who was put
here for horse stealing or some kindred crime. This prisoner was much delighted when
the next convict arrived, for he was quite weary of solitude.
The Missouri River is about 1,1.100 yards wide at this place, its ordinary current three
and a half miles an hour, and its fall four inches to the mile. The ordinary rise of water
here is from 10 to 15 feet above low water mark. The highest floods occur annually in
June, like the annual overflow of the Nile in Egypt. It is caused by the melting of the
snow in the Rocky Mountains, nearly 3,000 miles distant. One of the greatest rise of
waters known was on the 24th of June, 1844, at which time the water rose thirty feet above
low water mark.
In this section the principal fish are the cat, buffalo, and shovel fish: sturgeon are also
taken. The cat fish ordinarily weigh from 3 to 25 Ibs. In some instances they have been
known to weigh 200 Ibs. The method by which they are taken is called "jugging for
cats." A single line about four feet in length, having a hook baited withNflesh, is attached
to the handle of a gallon jug and then thrown into the middle of the current of the river.
When the bait- is swallowed it is known by the sinking of the jug, which acts like a cork:
the fisherman thereupon takes up the line and secures the fish. The fisherman's usual
method is to go up the stream, throw in his jugs, and float down with them, hugging the
shore with his boat, so as to be in a position to closely watch his jugs, of which he can
generally oversee some 10 or 12 at a time.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the Jefferson
City graveyard:
Erected by the State of Missouri to the memory of Gov. THOMAS REYNOLDS, who died
Feb. 9, 18-1?, aged 48 years. He was born in Bracken county, Kentucky, March 12, 1796 :
in early life he became a citizen of the State of Illinois, and there filled the several offices
of Clerk of the House of Representatives, Attorney General, Speaker of the House of Rep-
resentatives, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In 1829, he removed to the State
of Missouri, and was successively Speaker of the House of Representatives, Judge of the
Second Judicial Circuit, and died Governor of the State. His life was one of honor, virtue
and patriotism, and in every situation in which he was placed, he discharged his duty faith-
fully.
•
In memory of PETER G. GLOVER, born in Buckingham county, Va., Jan. 14, 1792 ; died
in Osage county, Oct. 27, 1851, and lies buried here. He emigrated to Kentucky in early
life, then to Missouri, where he filled the important public offices of the Justice of the
County Court, Representative from Callaway, Senator from Cole, Auditor of Public Ac-
counts, Superintendent of Common Schools, and Treasurer of the State, to the satisfaction
of the people. As a father, husband, and friend, he was without reproach.
WM. A. ROBARDS, late Attorney General of the State of Missouri, born in Ky., May 3,
1817; died Sept. 3, 1851. Erected by the State of Missouri, of which he was a worthy cit-
izen, and its able and faithful officer, having filled several offices of public trust.
New Madrid, the seat of New Madrid county, is on the Mississippi, 1 50
miles below St. Louis, in the south-eastern corner of the state, arid has about
1,000 inhabitants. This is one of the old towns of Missouri, and the earliest
American settlement west of the Mississippi River. Through the diplomatic
talents of Colonel Wilkinson, the Spanish governor of Louisiana was induced
to adopt a policy of conciliation to the western people, in hopes of attaching
them to the Spanish government, and so forming a political union with tho
420
MISSOURI.
Louisianians, that should terminate in a dismemberment of the east from the
•west, and an incorporation of the latter under the Spanish crown. Says
Monette :
The first step toward the a ^omplishment of this desirable object wag the plan of form-
ing American settlements in Upper Louisiana, as well as in the Florida district of Lower
Louisiana. A large American settlement was to be formed on the west side of the Mis-
sissippi, between the mouth of the Ohio and the St. Francis River. General Morgan, an
American citizen, received a large grant of land about seventy miles below the mouth of
tho Ohio, upon which he was to introduce and settle an American colony. Soon afterward
and in 1788, General Morgan arrived with his colony, and located it about seventy miles
below the mouth of the Ohio, upon the ancient alluvions which extend westward to the
Whitewater Creek, within the present county of New Madrid, in Missouri. Here, upon
the beautiful rolling plains, he laid off the plan of a magnificent city, which, in honor of
the Spanish capital, he called " New Madrid." The extent and plan of the new city was
but little, if any, inferior to the old capital which it was to commemorate. Spacious
streets, extensive public squares, avenues, and promenades were tastefully laid off to mag-
nify and adorn the future city. In less than twelve months from its first location, it had
assumed, according to Major Stoddart, the appearance of a regularly built town, with nu-
merous temporary houses distributed over a high and beautiful undulatory plain. Its lati-
tude was determined to be 36 deg. 30 min. north. In the center of the site, and about one
mile from the Mississippi, was a beautiful lake, to be inclosed by the future streets of the
city.
This policy was continued for nearly two years, in hopes of gaining over the western
people to an adherence to the Spanish interests. Nor was it wholly unsuccessful. In the
meantime, many individuals in Kentucky, as well as on the Cumberland, had become fa-
vorably impressed toward a union with Louisiana under the Spanish crown, and a very
large portion of them had been highly dissatisfied with the policy of the Federal govern-
ment, because it had failed to secure for them the free navigation of the river, either by
formal negotiation or by force of arms. But this state of mitigated feeling toward the
Spanish authorities was of but short duration.
New Madrid was nearly ruined by the great earthquakes of the winter
of 1811-12, it being the center of the most violent shocks. JThe first
occurred in the night of 15th Dec., 1811, and they were repeated at in-
tervals for two or three months, being felt from Pittsburg to New Orleans.
By them the Little Prairie settlement, thirty miles below this place, was en-
tirely broken up, and Great Prairie nearly ruined. The graveyard at New
Madrid, with its sleeping tenants, was precipitated into the river, and the
town dwindled to insignificance and decay. Thousands of acres in this sec-
tion of the country sunk, and mulfitudes of ponds and lakes were created in
their places. "The earth burst in what are called sand blows. Earth, sand,
coal, and water were thrown up to great hights in the air." The Mississippi
was dammed up and flowed backward; birds descended from the air, and
took refuge in the bosoms of people that were passing. The whole country
was inundated. A great number of boats that were passing on the river
were sunk, and whole crews perished ; one or two that were fastened to islands
went down with them. The country being but sparsely settled, and the build-
ings mostly logs, the loss of life was less than it otherwise would have been.
Col. John Shaw gives these reminiscences of this event.*
While lodging about thirty miles north of New Madrid, on the 14th of December, 1811,
about two o'clock in the morning, occurred a heavy shock of an earthquake. The house
where I was stopping, was partly of wood and partly of brick structure; the brick portion
•11 fell, but I and the family all fortunately escaped unhurt. At another shock, about two
o'clock in the morning of the 7th of February, 1812, I was in New Madrid, when nearly
two thousand people, of all ages, fled in terror from their falling dwellings, in that place
*" Personal Narrative of Col. John Shaw, of Marquette county, Wisconsin," published
in the Collections of the Historical Society of Wisconsin.
MISSOURI. 421
and the surrounding country, and directed their course about thirty miles north to Ty wap-
pety Hill, on the western bank of the Mississippi, about seven miles back from the river
This was the first high ground above New Madrid, and here the fugitives formed an en-
campment. It was proposed that all should kneel, and engage in supplicating God's mercy,
and all simultaneously, Catholics and Protestants, knelt and offered solemn prayer to their
Creator.
About twelve miles back toward New Madrid, a young woman about seventeen years,
of age, named Betsey Masters, had been left by her parents and family, her leg having
been broken below the knee by the falling of one of the weight-poles of the roof of the
cabin; and, though a total stranger, I was the only person who would consent to return and
see whether she still survived. Receiving a description of the locality of the place, I
started, and found the poor girl upon a bed, as she had been left, with some water and
corn bread within her reach. I cooked up some food for her, and made her condition as
comfortable as circumstances would allow, and returned the same day to the grand en-
campment. Miss Masters eventually recovered.
In abandoning their homes, on this emergency, the people only stopped long enough to
get their teams, and hurry in their families and some provisions. It was a matter of doubt
among them, whether water or fire would be most likely to burst forth, and cover all the
country. The timber land around New Madrid sunk five or six feet, so that the lakes and
lagoons, which seemed to have their beds pushed up, discharged their waters over the sunken
lands. Through the fissures caused by the earthquake, were forced up vast quantities of
a hard, jet black substance, which appeared very smooth, as though worn by friction. It
seemed a very different substance from either anthracite or bituminous coal.*
This hfgira, with all its attendant appalling circumstances, was a most heart-rending
scene, and had the effect to constrain the most wicked and profane, earnestly to plead
to God in prayer for mercy. In less than three months, most of these people returned to
their homes, and though the earthquakes continued occasially with less destructive effects,
they became so accustomed to the recurring vibration?, that they paid little or no regard
to them, not even interrupting or checking their dances, frolics, and vices.
Father Cartwright, in his autobiography, gives us some facts to show that
the earthquakes proved an element of strength to the Methodists. He tells
us:
In the winter of 1812 we had a very severe earthquake; it seemed to stop the current
of the Mississippi, broke flatboats loose from their moorings, and opened large cracks or
fissures in the earth. This earthquake struck terror to thousands of people, and under the
mighty panic hundreds and thousands crowded to, and joined the different churches.
There were many very interesting incidents connected with the shaking of the earth at
this time; two I will name. I had preached in Nashville the night before the second
dreadful shock came, to a large congregation. Early the next morning I arose and walked
out on the hill near the house where I had preached, when I saw a negro woman coming
down the hill to the spring, with an empty pail upon her head. (It is very common for
negroes to carry water this way without touching the pail with either hand.) When she
got within a few rods of where I stood, the earth began to tremble and jar; chimneys were
thrown down, scaffolding around many new buildings fell with a loud crash, hundreds of
the citizens suddenly awoke, and sprang into the streets; loud screaming followed, for
many thought the day of judgment was come. The young mistresses of the above-named
negro woman came running after her, and begging her to pray for them. She raised the
shout and said to them, " My Jesus is coming in the clouds of heaven, and I can't wait to
pray for you now; I must go and meet him. I told you so, that he would come, and you
would not believe me. Farewell. Hallelujah! Jesus is coming, and I am ready. Halle-
lujah! Amen." And on she went, shouting and clapping her hands, with the empty pail
on her head.
Near Russellville, Logan county, Kentucky, lived old Brother Valentine Cook, of very
precious memory, with his wife Tabitha. Brother Cook was a graduate at Cokesbury Col-
lege at an early day in the history of Methodism in these United States. He was a very
pious, successful pioneer preacher, but, for the want of a sufficient support for a rising and
rapidly increasing family, he had located, and was teaching school at the time of the above
*The late Hon. Lewis F. Linn, a resident of St. Genevieve, and for many years a mem-
ber of the United States senate from Missouri, and a man of science, addressed a letter, in
1836, to the chairman of the committee on commerce, in which he speaks of the New Mad-
rid earthquakes, and distinctly mentions water, sand, and coal issuing from the vast chasing
opened by the convulsions.
422
MISSOURI.
named earthquake. He and his wife were in bed when the earth began to shake and trem-
ble. He sprang out of bed, threw open the door, and began to shout, and started, with
nothing on but his night-clothes. He steered his course east, shouting every step, saying,
" My Jesus is coming." His wife took after him, and at the top of her voice cried out,
"O Mr. Cook, don't leave me."
"0 Tabby," said he, " my Jesus is coming, and I can not wait for you ; " and on he
went, shouting at every jump, "My Jesus is coming; I can't wait for you. Tabby.'"
The years of the excitement by these earthquakes hundreds joined the Methodist Epis-
copal Church, and though many were sincere, and stood firm, yet there were hundreds that
no doubt had joined them from mere fright.
The earthquake gave Tecumseh, the Shawnee chieftain, the reputation of
a prophet among the Indians of Alabama. A few months previous to this
event, he was on his mission to the southern Indians, to unite all the tribes
of the south with those of the north in his grand scheme of exterminating
the whole white race from the wide extent of the Mississippi valley — from
the lakes of the north to the Gulf of Mexico. Drake, in his memoir of Te-
cumseh, gives this anecdote:
On his return from Florida, Tecumseh went among the Creeks m Alabama, urging them
to unite with the Seminoles. Arriving at Tuckhabatchee, a Creek town on the Tallapoosa
River, lie made his way to the lodge of the chief, called the Big Warrior. He explained
his object, delivered his war talk, presented a bundle of sticks, gave a peace of wampum
and a hatchet; all which the Big Warrior took.- When Tecumseh, reading the intentions
and spirit of the Big Warrior, looked him in the eye, and pointing his finger toward his
face, said: " Your blood is white; you have taken my talk, and the sticks, and the wam-
puni, and the hatchet, but you do not mean to fight; I know the reason; you do not be-
lieve the Great Spirit has sent me; you shall know; I leave Tuckhabatchee directly, and
shall go straight to Detroit; when I arrive there, I will stamp on the ground with my foot,
and shake down every house in Tuckhabatchee." So saying, he turned and left the Big
Warrior in utter amazement, at both his manner and his threat, and pursued his journey.
The Indians were struck no less with his conduct than was the Big Warrior, and began to
dread the arrival of the day when the threatened calamity would befall them. They met
often and talked over this matter, and counted the days carefully, to know the time when
Tecumseh would reach Detroit. The morning they had fixed upon, as the period of his
arrival, at last came. A mighty rumbling was heard — the Indians all ran out of their
houses — the earth began to shake; when at last, sure enough, every house in Tuckhabat-
chee was shaken down! The exclamation was in every mouth, "Tecumseh has got to
Detroit! " The effect was electrical. The message he had delivered to the Big Warrior
was believed, and many of the Indians took their rifles and prepared for the war. The
reader will not be surprised to learn that an earthquake had produced all this; but he will
be, doubtless, that it should happen on the very day on which Tecumseh arrived at Detroit;
and, in exact fulfillment of his threat. It was the famous earthquake of New Madrid.
LEXINGTON, the county seat of Fayette, is situated for the most part on
high grounds, on the south bank of the Missouri. The bluffs at the landing
being about 200 feet above the river, the city is but partially seen from the
decks of passing steamers. It is 125 miles above Jefferson City, and 250
from St. Louis. It contains the county buildings, 8 churches, the Masonic
College, a flourishing "institution, under the patronage of the Masonic fra-
ternity of the state, and about 5,000 inhabitants.
Fayette. the county in which Lexington is situated, ranks the second in
wealth in Missouri. Hemp is the most important production. Inexhausti-
ble beds of bituminous coal are found in almost every part of the county,
and the soil is rich and fertile. The Messrs. McGrew's establishment for the
manufacture of bale rope, at Lexington landing, is admirably constructed.
The hemp is unloaded at the upper story, and passes through the various
stages of its manufacture, till it comes out bales of rope, ready for transpor-
tation to market, in the warehouse below. The machinery is moved by
MISSOURI.
423
steam, the coal to produce which is dug out of tha earth a few feet only from
the building. Eight tuns of rope can be manufactured daily.
Vieir of Lfyini/ttm. La,>dhi;/.
The engraving shows the appearance of the steamboat landing a* it appears from the point on the
opposite side of Missouri River. TUc Messrs. M'Grexv's Kemp Factory, KKmriug Mil1, tto-., are ei^Hi in
tin; central part ; tlie ri>a<l to the city 'nick from tlie blurt's appears on tlie left; tlie places from \\ hence
coal is tiikfii on tlie right.
Lexington was originally laid out about a mile hack from tlie river, winch, at tliat period,
was hardly considered fit for navigation, goods being principally transported by land. The
pre.-ent city, being an extension of the old town, was commenced in 1839. At that, time,
th# site on which the present court house stands was a cornh'eld, owned by James Aull,
brother to Robert Aull, the pi evident of the Bank of Lexington, both of whom were im-
tives of Ne\v Castle, Del. The first court house was erected in the ancient part of Lex-
ington, and is now occupied as a Female Seminary, a flourishing institution under the
paf K'liHge of the Baptists. The Ijrsr. houxe of worship in Lexington, was erected about
18'!] or 18H2, by tlie Cumberland ami l.lie Old School Presbyterians. It was a small frame
building, which stood a few r»ds west <>r the old court house. Rev. John L. Yantis, now
president of the Theological College at Richmond, wf«s one of the first preachers. The
inhabitants previously attended public worship in the country, back from the river. The
Bapiist and Methodist, churchc- were creeled in 184'). The Episcopal church is a recent
strikUire; the first inimster \vl-o officiated was Rev. St. Michael Fackler, DOW a missionary
in Oregon. The Dutch Reformed Church bought thcu- meeting house of the Christians
or C.unpbellite Baptists, in 16.r>G.
The iiot regular public house in the modem part of Lexington, was the house next the
resideii' e of Robert Aull, the president of the bank, on the summit of the bluff. This
spot comma]!*'" an extensive prospect up and down the river, showing Wellington, 8 miles
distant, also Camden, in Ray county, some 8 o»: 10 miles distant in a direct line, but 18 by
the river. The first regular •ferryniiin was William Jack, a Methodist class leader and ex-
lior'.ci1, a man much esteemed for his Christian life and conversation. In 1827, 0. R. JVJore-
heul, cashier of the Farme.-'s Hank, built and loaded the first flathoat, in which he trans-
ported the first tobacco raised for export in the comity. This cargo, which consisted of
forty-six hogsheads, with a quantity of bees-wax and peltries, was sent, to New Orleans.
Tlie first goods brought by steamboats came in 1828, by tlie steamer William Duncan.
In 1838, at the period of the Mormon war. as it was called, Lexington contained some 500
inhabitants. The Mormons first loc-ited themselves in Jackson county, about 3,') miles
west. They afterward effected a more permanent settlement in Caldwell county. At, first
they were enabled to live peaceably with their neighbors. In 1838, difficulties arising, the
governor of Missouri gave orders for their expulsion. A conflict took place in Ray county,
in which Patten, a Mormon leader and elder was killed, and a number wounded. During
this period it was quite a time of alarm iu this section, and the inhabitants of Lexington
fled to Richmond for safety.
Win. Downing is believed to have been the first innkeeper in the ancient part of Lexing-
ton. Wm. Todd was the first judge of the circuit court; the present judge, Russcl Hicks,
424
MISSOURI.
who first came into the county about the year 1825, hired himself out to a farmer for about
ten dollars a month. He afterward became a school teacher, and while studying law, he
supported himself by this occupation.
The following inscriptions are copied from monuments in the graveyard in
this place:
In memory of REV. FINIS EWING, born in Bedford county, Va., July 10, 1773, died in
Lexington, Mo., July 4,1841. He was a Minister of the Gospel for forty-five years ; was
one of the fathers and founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
In memory of Reverend JESSK GREENE, born Nov. 29, A.D. 1791, died April 18, A.D.
1847. A pure Christian, a wise Counsellor, a faithful Minister, a Pioneer of Methodism in
Missouri, part in the Council and Itinerant labors of his Church, and fell at his post. "I
heard a voice from heaven, saying write, Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord; Yea,
saith the Spirit, their works do follow them." Rev. xiv, 13. The members of the Saint
Louis Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church South have erected this mon-
ument over his remains, A.D. 1850.
L. A. GRISWOLD, Hebe of Prudence Constellation, No. 34, A.A.R., surrendered her crown
on Earth to be crowned with immortal glory in Heaven. In memory of Lockie A. Gris-
wold, wife of Sylvanus A. Griswold, completed her errand of Mercy here, and was per-
mitted to behold the Light of the Seraphic world, which ever inspired her with fraternal
excellence, at 10 o'clock, P.M., Sept. 27, 1856.
North-eastern view of Kansas City.
Showing the appearance of Kansas City, at the Landing, as seen from the opposite bank of the Missouri.
The forest shown in the distance, beyond the point of the bluff ou the right, is within the territorial limits
of Kansas. The Ferry Landing and the old Jail or Calaboose appear ou the left.
KANSAS CITY is situated near the mouth of Kansas River, at the western
boundary line between the state of Missouri and Kansas, 282 miles westward
of Jefferson City, 456 from St. Louis, and 109 southerly from St. Joseph, on
the Missouri. It is the western terminus of the line of the Pacific Railroad.
A bluff, about 120 feet above high water mark, extends along the river for
about a mile within the city limits. The principal part of the town is situ-
ated immediately back of the bluff, through which roads are being cut to the
levee in front. This city is the great depot for the Santa Fe trade, and it ig
MISSOURI. 425
estimated that one fourth of all the shipments up the Missouri River, from
its mouth to the Rocky Mountains, are received here. Kansas City was in-
corporated in 1853. Population about 8,000.
As far back as the days of Lewis and Clarke, or the first expeditions of the vari-
ous trapping companies of the French and the old pioneers of the west, the site
of Kansas City has been a prominent point for the business of the old trappers and
traders, who have had many a business transaction around their camp fires under
the bluffs of the "Kawsmouth," as this spot was formerly called.
The principal portion of the land inclosed by the old city limits was entered by
Gabriel Prudhomme, an old mountain trader. The selection, survey, and first sale
of the lots was made in 1838. The survey was but a partial one, and owing to
some disagreement, nothing was done by the stockholders except the erection of a
few cabins. In 1840, the town was re-surveyed by J. C. McCoy, Esq., and the
growth of the city may be dated as commencing from that year. Within eighteen
months after the first sale of lots, there was a population of about 700. The pro-
prietors of the town were J. C. McCoy, Wm. Gilliss, Robert Campbell, H. Jobe,
W. B. Evans, Jacob Ragan, and Fry P. McGee.
The fir^t house erected in Kansas City was a log cabin, which stood on the site
of the building in which the Western Journal of Commerce is issued. This cabin
was erected in 1839, by Thomas A. Smart, as a trading house. The second build-
ing was erected by Anthony Richers, a native of Germany, who was educated for
the Catholic ministry. Father Bernard Donnelly, a native of Ireland and a Cath-
olic, is believed to have been the first clergyman who officiated in public worship ;
he preached in a log building, now used as a school house, near Broadway, about
half a mile back from the steamboat landing. The first physician was Dr. Benoist
Troost, of Holland, formerly a surgeon under Napoleon. The first postmaster was
William Chick, who for a time kept the office in the top of his hat. "One eyed
Ellis" as he was familiarly called, appears to have been the first lawyer, who, it
is stated, employed his leisure time in "picking up stray horses." Wm. B. Evans
kept the first tavern, at the corner of Main and Levee-streets. The first newspapers
were the "Kansas Ledger," first issued in 1852, and the "Western Journal cf
Commerce," first issued in Aug., 1854, under the name of the "Kansas City En-
terprise."
A great portion of the early trade of the city was with the Indians, mountain
and Mackinaw traders, boatmen, etc. Poneys, pelts, furs, etc., were received in
exchange for powder, lead, tobacco, coffee, etc. The first and principal warehouses
in town were erected in 1847. Col. E. C. McCarty, in company with Mr. Russell,
started the first train from Kansas City to New Mexico; old Mr. McDowell took
the charge of it, and was the first man that ever crossed the American Desert in
a wagon. The following is extracted from the Annals of the City of Kansas, pub-
lished in 1858:
The New Mexico, or, as it is generally known, the Santa Fe trade, is said to have first
began at Boonville, or Old Franklin, as early as the year 1824. Mr. Monroe, Philip
Thompson, the Subletts of St. Louis and Jackson counties, Nat. Sernes, and others, were
among the first men ever engaged in the trade. The idea of taking or sending goods to New
Mexico, was first suggested to these gentlemen by the richness and thick settlements of this
valley of the Rio Grande Del Norte. When returned to the states, they commenced mak-
ing preparations to' forward goods to this valley. How to get their merchandise there,
•without being at an almost ruinous expense, was the most important subject of considera-
tion. Finally, having resolved to go — to make the experiment at all hazards, they started,
taking out their freight as best they could, some in one horse wagons, some in carts, some
on pack-mules, and, on dit, with packs on their backs. They were successful — a better
trade was found than they anticipated — more goods were sent out, with better carriage fa-
cilities, and in a few years large fortunes were realized. In 1845, Messrs. Bent and St.
Wain landed the first cargo of goods at Kansas City, that was ever shipped from this
point to New Mexico in wagons that went out in a train. This train consisted of eighteen
wagons, with five yoke of cattle to the wagon, and about 5,000 Ibs. of freight to each
team. A great excitement was extant. Mexican commerce had given new life to border
trade. Gradually the business with New Mexico became concentrated at points on the river.
From 1832 to 1848, or 1850, our neighbor city, Independence, had the whole command of
426
MISSOURI.
this great trade. Her merchants amassed fortunes, and the business1 generated by this
prosperous intercourse, built up Independence into cue of the most tlou wiring and beauti-
ful towns iii the west.
During these years, from 1832 to 1S43, some few mountain and Mexican goods were
landed among the cottonwoods below our city. Messrs. Beat & St. Vrain are amors; the
oldest freighters engaged in transporting goods over the Great Plains; in 1834, thev landed
a small shipment of mountain goods at Mr. Francois Choutenu's log warehouse, near the
island just east of the city. In 1846 our citizens then had what they thought to be quite
a large and respectable trade with New Mexico, and the next year, 1847, it is conceded
that Kansas City fairly divided this great trade with the city of Independence; and since
18;">0, Kansas City has had the exclusive benefit of all the shipping, commission, storage,
repairing and outfitting business of the mountains and New Mexico, save, perhaps, a few
wagons that have been loaded and outfitted at Independence by her owu merchants.
A Train crossing Hie Great Plains.
From the most reliable information we can obtain, it is estimated that there are at least
three hundred merchants and freighters now engaged in the New Mexico and mountain
commerce. Properly, in. this connection, may be inserted a few remarks concerning our
mountain traffic and importations.
Some of our leading merchants for years have had trading houses established in tha
mountains, where they constantly keep a large stock of goods to trade with the Indians,
who pay for these goods with their annuity money, with buffalo robes, with furs, pelts,
hides, and Indian ornamental fabrics.
This trade done in the mountains, creates large importations of the above mountain
products to our city. In 1857, the following importations were made: Robes, furs, etc.,
$267,253 52; Mexican wool, $129,600; goat skins, $25,000; dressed buckskins, $62,500;
dry hides, $37,500; peltries, $36,000. Like the transport of Mexican goods, these imports
come to us as the cargoes of the great mountain trains or caravans.
Train is only another word for caravan. These caravans, then, consist of from forty to
eighty large canvas covered wagons, with from fifty to sixty-five hundred pounds of
freight to each wagon — also, six yoke of oxen or five span of mules for every wagon —
two men as drivers for every team, besides supercargoes, wagon masters, etc., who gener-
ally ride on horseback. When under way, these wagons are about one hundred feet apart,
and ns each wagou and team occupies a space of about ninety or one hundred feet, a train
of eighty wagons would stretch out over the prairie for a distance of a trifle over three
miles. In 1857, 9,884 wagons left Kansas City for New Mexico. Now, if tho^e wagons
were all in one train, they would make a caravan 223 miles long, with 98,840 mules and
oxen, and freighting an amount of merchandise equal to 59,304,000 Ibs.
A recent visitor at Kansas City gives some valuable items :
Just below the mouth of the Kansas, and between it and the highlands on which Kansas
MISSOURI. 4-27
C:\T is located, is an extent of level bottom land, embracing some fifty acres, and covered
sparsely with trees. This b the camping ground of the immense caravans of Russell,
hl-.jors & Co. We found several acres covered with the enormous wagons that are used
in the prairie trade. Here is also an immense stable for the horses, mules, etc., and a
place of deposit for feed for the thousands of oxen. It was to me something of a sight to
see such a number of land ships. They will carry from seven to ten thousand pounds, and
are drawn by from three to six yokes of oxen. They are covered when loaded, so as to
protect the goods from the rains. 1 examined them, and found them made many hundreds
of miles to the east. I saw a large number which came from Michigan. They are strong,
heavily ironed and massive wagons.
The commercial business of the town is mostly transacted on the levee. The solid
blocks of warehouses receive the goods from the steamers, and from them they are loaded
into the immense wagons and taken to their final destination. Here is the landing and
the starting place for the vast trade to Santa Fe and New Mexico. One of the singular
features in the streets is the large number of Mexicans, or as every body here calls them,
"greasers," with their trains of mules, loading for their far distant homes. Kansas City
has been the starting place for this trade for thirty years. Many of the citizens have be-
come wealthy by it, and the evidences of prosperity and thrift around us are traceable to
the effects of this Santa Fe trade. I do not see any cause that can disturb this in the fu-
ture. Heavy loads of goods and merchandise of all kinds are brought from St. Louis and
the east, on steamers, to this, the last and the nearest point to the Territory of New Mex-
ico, and as this business must increase with the settlement of the country to the west and
south-west, the permanence of the prosperity of this city seems to be fixed.
These " grensers " arc a hard looking set of men. They are a sort of compromise be-
tween the Indian and negro, with now and then a touch of Spanish blood. • They are gen-
erally short and small, quite dark, very black straight hair, geneially hanging about their
faces. Their national hat is a low crowned slouch looking concern. They wear girdles,
with knives, etc., convenient for use. Altogether they look like an ignorant, sensual,
treacherous, thieving and blood-thirsty set, which is very much the character they bear
among the people of this city.
Kansas City, being in Missouri, has a few slaves, but they are fast disappearing. Some
forty were shipped off in one gang this spring for the southern market. The original set-
tlers were Southerners and slaveholders, but the northern element has been pouring in
upon them till a large proportion of the business men are now from the free states. There
is now no talk, about slavery, all are engaged in a more sensible business — building up
the city.
ST. JOSEPH, the most populous and flourishing place in north-western
Missouri, is situated on the E. bank of the Missouri, 565 miles N.W. from
St. Louis, 391 from Jefferson City, and 206, by the Hannibal and St. Joseph
Railroad, from the Mississippi. The city is for the most part on broken and
uneven ground, called the Black Snake Hills, and is surrounded by a rich
and fertile country. There are 7 churches, 2 female seminaries, 2 daily and 3
weekly papers published here. There are several steam sawing and grist mills
and other extensive manufacturing establishments. The Catholic Female
Seminary of this place stands on a commanding elevation back from the city,
and is seen from down the river at a great distance. The completion of the
Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad makes this, at present, the most western
point in the United States reached by the great chain of railroads, and has
opened a new era in its prosperity. It is now the central point for all west-
ern travel. The Great Salt Lake mail, the Pike's Peak express, and the
Pony express, taking dispatches to San Francisco in eight days, all start from
this place. Population about 10,000.
The city of St. Joseph was founded by Joseph Robidoux, a .native of St.
Louis, and of French descent. Mr. Robidoux first visited this place in 1803,
as an Indian trader, being in connection at that time with the American Fur
Company. He was forty days in sailing up the Missouri from St. Louis, and
camped out every night on shore with his boatmen, about a dozen in number.
The Indians lived on the city grounds till they removed to the opposite bank
428
MISSOURI.
of the river, about 25 miles above. He erected his first trading house Li
1831, about two miles below the city. In 1833, he built a second tradiii;;
house on the spot now occupied by the City Hotel : and in 1838 pre-empted
the site of the city.
South view of St. Joseph.
The view shows the appearance of the city, as it is approached from the south by the Missouri River.
The Court House, in the central part, stands on an elevation of about 200 feet ; the Railroad from Hanni-
bal enters the city on the rich bottom lands on the right. The sand bank seen ill the view on the left, is
within the limits of Kansas.
The town was laid off in 1843. The first resident clergyman in the place
was a Catholic, Rev. Thomas Scanlan, and the first public worship was held
in the house of Mr. Julius C. Robidoux, the first postmaster in the place.
Mr. 11. 's first office was west of the Black Snake Creek, and he was the first
regular merchant in St. Joseph. Rev. T. S. Reeve, the next minister, first
preached in a log house on the corner of Third and Francis-streets. The
first settlers were principally from Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. Among
the first settlers were Col. Samuel Hall, Capt. Wm. H. Hanson and William
Ewing, from Kentucky ; Capt. John Whitehead and James Cargill, from
Virginia; Frederick W. Smith, from St. Louis; and Michael Rogers, from
Ireland. Daniel Gr. Keedy, from Maryland, was the first physician. Jona-
than M. Bassett, James B. Grardenhire, and Willard P. Hall, were among the
first lawyers. Mrs. Stone, a widow lady, opened the first school. The first
tavern was kept by David St. Clair, from Indiana, who came here in 1843.
Jeremiah Lewis, from Kentucky, was the first ferryman.
Weston, a flourishing commercial town, on the Missouri River, about 4
miles above Fort Leavenworth, is the river port for Platte county, about 225
miles W. N.W., by the road, from Jefferson City, and upward of 500 by
water from St. Louis. Its frontier position renders it a favorable position
for emigrants starting for California and other points west. It was first settled
in 1838. The great emigration westward of late years, has much increased
the activity of trade at this point. Two newspapers are published here.
Population about 3,500.
MISSOURI. 499
Independence, the county seat of Jackson, is important as one of the start-
ing points in the trade to New Mexico, and other places westward. It is
about five miles back from the Missouri River, and 165 miles W. by N. from
Jefferson City. It was laid out in 1828, and is surrounded by a most beau-
tiful and fertile country, abundantly supplied with pure water. Population
about 3,500.
Hannibal.
HANNIBAL, Marion county, on the western bank of the Mississippi, is 15
miles below Quincy, 111., and 153 above St. Louis. It is a flourishing town
and the shipping port of. a large quantity of hemp, tobacco, pork, etc.,
raised in the vicinity. Stone coal, and excellent limestone for building pur-
poses, are abundant. Its importance, however, is principally derived from
its being the eastern terminus of the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, a
line extending directly across the northern part of the state, and which, at
this point, connects this great western railroad with the system of railroads
eastward of the Mississippi. Hannibal was laid out in 1819, and incorpor-
ated in 1839. It is one of the most thriving towns on the Mississippi, has
numerous manufacturing establishments, an increasing commerce, and about
8,000 people.
Col. John Shaw, in his personal narrative, relates some incidents that
occurred in this section of Missouri in the war of 1812. He acted as a
scout on this frontier. AVe here quote from him :
The Upper Mississippi Indians, of all tribes, commenced depredations on the
frontiers of Missouri and Illinois, in 1811, and early in 1812. Several persons
wore killed in different quarters. About thirty miles above the mouth of Salt
River, and fully a hundred above the mouth of the Missouri, was Gilbert's Lick,
on the western bank of the Mississippi, a place of noted resort for animals and
cattle to lick the brackish water ; and where a man named Samuel Gilbert, from
Virginia, had settled two or three years prior to the spring of 1812. Jn that region,
and particularly below him, were a number of other settlers. About the latter
part of May, 1812, a party of from twelve to eighteen Upper Mississippi Indians
descended the river in canoes, and fell upon the scattered cabins of this upper set-
tiement in the night, and killed a dozen or more people.
This massacre in the Gilbert's Lick settlement, caused great consternation along
the Missouri frontier, and the people, as a matter of precaution, commenced fort-
ing. Some seven or eight forts or stockades were erected, to which a portion of
the inhabitants resorted, while many others held themselves in readiness to flee
there for safety, in case it might be thought necessary. I remember the nau*e of
430 MISSOURI.
Stout's Fort, Wood's Fort, a small stockade at what is now Clarksville, Fort HOT-
ard, and a fort at Howell's settlement — the latter nearest to Col. Daniel Boone; b'?t
the people bordering immediately on the Missouri Kiver, being less exposed to dan-
ger, did not so early resort to the erection of stockades.
About this time, probably a little after, while I was engaged with eighteen or
twenty men in building a temporary stockade where Clarksville now stands, on the
western bank of the Mississippi, a party of Indians came and killed the entire
family of one O Neil, about three miles above Clarksville, while O'Neil himself was
employed with his neighbors in erecting the stockade. In company with O'Neil
and others, I hastened to the scene of murder, and found all killed, scalped, and
horribly mangled. One of the children, about a year and a half old, was found
literally baked in a large pot metal bake kettle or Dutch oven, with a cover on ; and
as there were no marks of the knife or tomahawk on the body, the child must have
been put in alive to suffer this horrible death; the oil or fat in the bottom of the
kettle was nearly two inches deep.
I went to St. Louis, in company with Tra Cottle, to see Gov. Clark, and ascertain
whether war had been actually declared. This must have been sometime in June,
but the news of the declaration of war against Great Britain had not yet reached
there. On our return, I was strongly urged by the people to act as a spy or scout
on the frontier, as 1 was possessed of great bodily activity, and it was well known
that I had seen much woods experience. I consented to act in this capacity on
the frontiers of St. Charles county, never thinking or troubling myself about any
pecuniary recompense, and was only anxious to render the distressed people a use-
ful service. 1 immediately entered alone upon this duty, sometimes mounted, and
sometimes on foot, and carefully watching the river above the settlements, to dis-
cover whether any Indians had landed, and sometimes to follow their trails, learn
their destination, and report to the settlements.
Upon my advice, several of the weaker stockades were abandoned, for twenty or
thirty miles around, and concentrated at a place near the mouth of Cuivre or Cop-
per River, at or near the present village of Monroe; and there a large number of
us, perhaps some sixty or seventy persons, were some two or three weeks employed
in the erection of a fort, We named it in honor of the patriotic governor, Benja-
min Howard, and between twenty and thirty families were soon safely lodged in
Fort Howard. The fort was an oblong square, north and south, and embraced
about half an acre, wit!) block houses at all the corners except the south-east one.
As the war had now fairly commenced, an act of congress authorized the rais-
ing of six companies of Hangers ; three to be raised on the Missouri side of the
Mississippi, and the other three on the Illinois side. The Missouri companies were
commanded by Daniel M. Boone, Nathan Boone, and David Musick. Ihe commis-
sion of Nathan Boone was dated in June, 1812, to serve a year, as were doubtless
the others.
.The Indians, supplied by their British employers with new rifles, seemed bent
on exterminating the Americans — always, however, excepting the French and
Spaniards, who, from their Indian intermarriages, were regarded as friends and
connections. Their constant attacks and murders, led to offensive measures.
Of the famous Sink Hole battle, fought on the 24th of May, 1814, near Fort How-
ard, I shall be able to give a full account, as I was present and participated in it
Capt. Peter Craig commanded at Fort Howard; he resided with his father-in-law,
Andrew Ramsey, at Cape Girardeau, and did not exceed thirty years of age.
Drakeford Gray was first lieutenant Wilson Able, the second, and Edward Spears,
third lieutenant.
About noon, five of the men went out of the fort to Byrne's deserted house on
the bluff, about a quarter of a mile below the fort, to bring in a grindstone. la
consequence of back water from the Mississippi, they went in a canoe ; and on
their return were fired on by a party supposed to be fifty Indians, who were under
shelter of some brush that grew along at the foot of the bluff, near Byrne's house,
and about fifteen rods distant from the canoe at the time. Three of the whites
were killed, and one mortally wounded; and as the back water, where the canoe
was, was only about knee deep, the Indians ran out and tomahawked their vic-
tims.
MISSOURI. 431
The people in the fort ran out ns quick as possible, and fired across the b:ick
water at the Indians, but as they were nearly a quarter of a mile oft', it was of
course without effect. Capt. Craig with a party of some twenty-five men hastened
in pursuit of the Indians, and ran across a point of the back water, a few inches
deep; while another party, of whom 1 was one, of about twenty -five, ran to the
right of the water, with a view of intercepting the Indiana, who seemed to he mak-
ing toward the bluff or high plain west and north-west of the fort. Tho party with
which 1 had started, and Capt. Craig's soon united.
Immediately on the bluff was the cultivated field and deserted residence of Ben
jamin Allen, the field about forty rods across, beyond which was pretty thick tim-
ber. Here the Indians made a stand, and here the fight commenced. Both parties
treed, and as the firing waxed warm, the Indians slowly retired as the whites ad-
vanced. After this fighting had been going on perhaps some ten minutes, the whites
were reinforced by Capt. David Musick, of Cape au Gris, with about twenty men.
Capt, Musick had been on a scout toward the head of Cuivre Kiver, and had re-
turned, though unknown at Fort Howard, to the Crossing of Cuivre Kiver, about a
mile from the fort, and about a mile and a half from the scene of conflict; and had
stopped with his men to graze their horses, when hearing the firing, they instantly
remounted and dashed toward the place of battle, and dismounting in the edge of
the timber on the bluff, and hitching their horses, they rushed through a part of
the Indian line, and shortly after the enemy fled, a part bearing to the right of the
Sink Hole toward Bob's Creek, but the most of them taking refuge in the Sink
Hole, which was close by where the main fighting had taken place. About the
time the Indians were retreating. Capt. Craig exposed himself about four feet be-
yond his tree, and was shot through the body, and fell dead; James Putney was
killed before Capt. Craig, and perhaps one or two others. Before the Indians re-
tired to the Sink Hole, the fighting had become animated, the loading was done
quick, and shots rapidly exchanged, and when one of our party was killed or
wounded, it was announced aloud.
This Sink Hole was about sixty feet in length, and about twelve to fifteen feet
wide, and ten or twelve feet deep. Near the bottom on the south-east side, was ti
shelving rock, under which perhaps some fifty or sixty persons might have shel-
tered themselves. At the north-east end of the Sink Hole, the descent was quite
gradual, the other end much more abrupt, and the south-east side was nearly per-
pendicular, and the other side about like the steep roof of a house. On the south-
east side, the Indians, as a further protection in case the whites should rush up,
dug under the shelving rock with their knives. On the sides and in the bottom of
the Sink Hole were some bushes, which also served as something of a screen for
the Indians.
Capt. Musick and his men took post on the north-east side of the Sink Hole, and
the others occupied other positions surrounding the enemy. As the trees ap-
proached close to the Sink Hole, these served in part to protect our party. Fin-d-
ing we could not get a good opportunity to dislodge the enemy, ns they were best
protected, those of our men who had families at the fort, gradually went there, not
knowing but a large body of Indians might seize the favorable occasion to attack
the fort, while the men were mostly away, engaged in the exciting contest.
The Indians in the Sink Hole had a drum, made of a skin stretched over a sec-
tion of hollow tree, on which they beat quite constantly; and some Indian would
shake a rattle, called she-shit-qui. probably a dried bladder with pebbles within;
and even, for a moment, would venture to thrust his head in view, with his hand
elevated shaking his rattle, and calling out peash! peash! which was understood to
be a sort of defiance, or as Black Hawk, who was one of the party, says in his ac-
count of that affair, a kind of bravado to come and fight them in the Sink Hole.
When the Indians would creep up and shoot over the rim of the Sink Hole, they
would instantly disappear, and while they sometimes fired effectual shots, they in
turn became occasionally the victims of our rifles. From about one to four o'clock
in the afternoon, the firing was inconstant, our men generally reserving their fire
till an Indian would show his head, and all of us were studying how he could more
effectually attack and dislodge the enemy.
At length Lieut. Spears suggested that a pair of cart wheels, axle and tongue.
MISSOURI.
which were seen at Allen's place, near at hand, be obtained, and a moving battery
constructed. This idea was entertained favorably, and an hour or more consumed
in its construction. Some oak floor puncheons, from seven to eight feet in length,
were made fast to the axle in an upright position, and port-holes made through
them. Finally, the battery was ready for trial, and was sufficiently large to pro-
tect some half a dozen or more men. It was moved forward slowly, and seemed
to attract the particular attention of the Indians, who had evidently heard the
knocking and pounding connected with its manufacture, and who now frequently
popped up their heads to make momentary discoveries ; and it was at length moved
up io within less than ten paces of the brink of the Sink Hole, on the south-east
side. The upright plank did not reach the ground within some eighteen inches,
our men calculating to shoot beneath the lower end of the plank at the Indians;
but the Latter, from their position, had the decided advantage of this neglected
aperture, for the Indians snooting beneath the battery at an upward angle, would
get shots at the whites before the latter could see them. The Indians also watched
the port-holes, and directed some of their shots to them. Lieut. Spears was shot
dead, through the forehead, and his death was much lamented, as he had proved
himself the most active and intrepid officer engaged. John Patterson was wounded
in the thigh, and some others wounded behind the battery. Having failed in the
object for which it was designed, the battery was abandoned after sundown.
Our hope all along had been, that the Indians would emerge from their covert,
and attempt to retreat to where we supposed their canoes were left, some three or
four miles distant, in which case we were firmly determined to rush upon them,
and endeavor to cut them totally off. The men generally evinced the greatest
bravery during the whole engagement. Night now coming on, and having heard
the reports of half a dozen or so of guns in the direction of the fort, by a few In-
dians who rushed out from the woods skirting Bob's Creek, not more than forty
rods from the north end of the fort. This movement on the part of the few Indians
who had escaped when the others took refuge in the Sink Hole, was evidently de-
signed to divert the attention of the whites, and alarm them for the safety of the
fort, and thus effectually relieve the Indians in the Sink Hole. This was the result,
for Capt Musick and men retired to the fort, carrying the dead and wounded, and
made every preparation to repel a night attack. As the Mississippi was quite high,
•with much back water over the low grounds, the approach of the enemy was thus
facilitated, and it was feared a large Indian force was at hand. The people were
always more apprehensive of danger at a time when the river was swollen, than
when at its ordinary stage.
The men in the fort were mostly up all night, ready for resistance, if necessary.
There was no physician at the fort, and much effort was made to set some broken
bones. There was a well in the fort, and provisions and ammunition sufficient to
sustain a pretty formidable attack. The women were greatly alarmed, pressing
their infants to their bosoms, fearing they might not be permitted to behold another
morning's light; but the night passed away without seeing or hearing an Indian.
The next morning a party went to the Sink Hole, and found the Indians gone, who
had carried off all their dead and wounded, except five dead bodies left on the
north-west bank of the Sink Hole ; and by the signs of blood within the Sink Hole,
it was judged that well nigh thirty of the enemy must have been killed and
wounded. Lieut. Drakeford Gray's report of the affair, made eight of our party
killed, one missing, and five wounded — making a total of fourteen ; I had thought
the number was nearer twenty. Our dead were buried near the fort, when Capt
Musick and his men went over to Cape au Gris, where they belonged, and of which
garrison Capt. Musick had the command. We that day sent out scouts, while I
proceeded to St. Charles to procure medical and surgical assistance, and sent for-
ward Drs. Hubbard and Wilson.
St. Charles, the capital of St. Charles county, is on the northern bank of
the Missouri River, 18 miles from its mouth, and about 20 by land from St.
Louis. The first settlement of St. Charles dates back to the year 1764,
MISSOURI. 433
when it was settled by the French, and for a long time was regarded as the
rival of St. Louis. The opening of the North Missouri Railroad has added
much to its prosperity. It is handsomely situated on the first elevation on
the river from its mouth. The rocky bluffs in the vicinity present beautiful
views of both the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. Quarries of limestone,
sandstone, and stone coal have been opened near the town. The village is
upward of a mile long, and has several streets parallel with the river. It
contains the usual county buildings, several steam mills, etc., a Catholic con-
vent, a female academy, and St. Charles College, founded in 1837, under the
patronage of the Methodists. Population about 3,000.
Boonville, a flourishing town, the county seat of Cooper county, is on the
S. bank of Missouri River, 48 miles N.W. from Jefferson City. It has im-
portant commercial advantages, which have drawn to it the principal trade
of S.W. Missouri, of a portion of Arkansas, and the Cherokee Nation. It
has a healthy situation, and is surrounded by a rich farming region. Grapes
are cultivated here to some extent. Iron, lead, stone coal, marble and lime-
stone are abundant in the vicinity. The New Mexico or Santa Fe trade is
said to have first begun at Boonville, or Old Franklin, as early as 1824.
Population about 4,000.
Ironton, the county seat of Iron county, is on the line of the Iron Moun-
tain Railroad, 87 miles from St. Louis. The county abounds in mineral
wealth, iron, marble, copper, and lead, and the town, containing some few
hundred inhabitants, is becoming quite a summer resort from its excellent
medicinal springs.
Potosl is one of the oldest towns in the state, having been settled in 1763,
by Messrs. Renault and Moses. It is near the line of the Iron Mountain
Railroad, 54 miles from St. Louis. It is the county seat of Washington, and
has been long noted as the seat of the richest of lead mines. The town has
about 700 inhabitants.
The famous Mine a Burton, at this place, was the most important and
principal discovery made in Missouri under Spanish authority. It took its>
name from M. Burton, a Frenchman, who, while hunting in this quarter,
found the ore lying on the surface of the ground. This was about the year-
1780. Hon. Thos. H. Benton gives this account of Mr. Burton from per-
sonal knowledge, and published it in the St. Louis Enquirer of October 16,
1818:
He is a Frenchman from the north of France. In the forepart of the last cen-i
tury, he served in the low countries under the orders of Marshal Saxe. He was
at the siege of Bergen-op zoom, and assisted in the assault of that place when it
was assailed by a division of Marshal Saxe's army, under the command of Count
Lowendahl. He has also seen service upon the continent He was at the building
of Fort Chartres, on the American bottom, afterward went to Fort Du Quesne (now
Pittsburg), and was present at Braddock's defeat From the life of a soldier, Bur-
ton passed to that of a hunter, and in that character, about half a century agoy
while pursuing a bear to the west of the Mississippi, he discovered the rich lead
mines which have borne his name ever since. His present age can not be ascer-
tained. He was certainly an old soldier at Fort Chartres, when some of the peo-
ple of the present day were little children at that place. The most moderate corn^
putation will make him one hundred and six. He now lives in the family of Mr.
Michcaux, at the Little Rock ferry, three miles above Ste. Genevieve, and walk* t»
that village almost every Sunday to attend Mass. He is what we call a square built
man, of five feet eight inches high, full chest and forehead; his sense of seeing
and hearing soui< «vhat impaired, but free from disease, and apparently able to hold
out against time for many years to come.
28
434 MISSOURI.
In 1797, Moses Austin, a native of Connecticut who afterward became
identified with the history of Texas, explored the country about Mine" a Bur-
ton, and obtained a grant of a league square from the Spanish government,
in consideration of erecting a reverberating furnace and other works, for the
purpose of prosecuting the mining business at these mines.
"Associated with Mr. Austin, was his son Stephen F. Austin, who, in 1798, com-
menced operations, erected a suitable furnace for smelting the " ashes of lead,"
and sunk the first regular shaft for raising ore. These improvements revived the
mining business, and drew to the country many American families, who settled iu
the neighborhood of the mines. The next year a shot-tower was built on the pin-
nacle of the cliff near Herculaneuin, under the superintendence of Mr. Elias
Bates, and patent shot were made. A manufactory of sheet lead was completed
the same year, and the Spanish arsenals at New Orleans and Havana, received a
considerable part of their supplies for the Spanish navy from these mines."
Hermann, capital of Gasconade county, is on the line of the Pacific Rail-
road, 81 miles from St. Louis. It was first settled in 1837, by the German
Settlement Society, of Philadelphia. The place and vicinity are noted for
the culture of the grape, being second only to Cincinnati. A good year's
growth of the grape will yield over 100,000 gallons of wine, worth from
$1 25 to $2 per gallon.
There are in the state a large number of towns of from 1,000 to 3,000 in-
habitants, beside those described. These are among them: Canton, in Lewis
county, 175 miles N.E. from Jefferson City. Carondolet, on the Iron Moun-
tain Railroad, 6 miles from St. Louis. This is an old town, settled half a
century since, and named from one of its early settlers, Baron De Carondo-
let. Chillicothe, the county seat of Livingston, is 129 miles west of Hanni-
bal, on the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad. Columbia, the county seat
of Boon«, 33 miles N.N.W. from Jefferson City, and is the seat of the State
University and of two colleges. Fulton, county seat of Callaway, is 24 miles
N.E. from Jefferson City. Here is located Westminster College and the
State Lunatic and Deaf and Dumb Asylums. Glasgow is in Howard county,
on the left bank of the Missouri, 60 miles N.W. of Jefferson City. La
Grange is on the Mississippi, in Lewis county, 104 N.N.E. of Jefferson City.
Louisiana is on the left bank of the Mississippi, 82 miles N.E. of Jefferson
City. Palmyra, the county seat of Marion, on the Hannibal and St. Joseph
Railroad, 14 miles from Hannibal, has two colleges and two academies, and
is considered the most beautiful town of northern Missouri. St. Genevieve,
the capital of St. Genevieve county, is situated on the W. bank of the Mis-
sissippi, 72 miles below St. Louis, and 117 S.E. from Jefferson City. St.
Genevieve exports large quantities of copper, lead, limestone, marble, and
white sand; the latter article is of superior quality, being used in the glass
works of Boston and Pittsburg. It is noted as the oldest town in Missouri,
having been settled by a few French families in 1751. Tipton is. in Moniteau
county, 38 miles from Jefferson City. Washington is in Franklin county, OP
the line of the Pacific Railroad, 54 miles from St. Louis. Huntsville, county
seat of Randolph, is on the North Missouri Railroad, 160 miles N.W. from
St. Louis: near it is Mount Pleasant College. Mound City, or Hudson, is
at the junction of the North Missouri and Hannibal and St. Joseph Rail-
roads, 168 miles from St. Louis. Mexico, the county seat of Audrian, is on
the North Missouri Railroad, 50 miles N.E. from Jefferson City.
MISSOURI. 435
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, MISCELLANIES, ETC.
Gen. William Clark was born in Virginia in Aug., 1770, and in 1784 removed,
with his father's family, to the Falls of the Ohio, now the site of Louisville, where
his brother, the distinguished Gen. George Rogers Clark, had a short time previ-
ously established a fort. In 1793, he was appointed by Washington lieutenant of
riflemen. " In 1803 he was tendered by Mr. Jefferson the appointment of captain
of engineers, to assume joint command with Captain Merriwether Lewis, of
the North-western Expedition to the Pacific Ocean. This was accepted, and the
party left St. Louis in March, 1804, for the vast and then unexplored regions be-
tween the Mississippi River and the ocean, under the joint command of himself
and Lewis, they being, by a special regulation to that effect, equal in rank On
this perilous expedition, he was the principal military director, while Lewis, assisted
by himself, was the scientific manager. Gen. Clark then kept and wrote the Jour-
nal, which has since been published, and assisted Lewis in all his celestial obser-
vations, when they were together. On their return to St. Louis from the Pacific
Ocean, in the fall of 1806, Capt. Lewis was appointed governor of the territory
then designated as Upper Louisiana, and the place of lieutenant-colonel of infantry
was offered to Gen. (then Capt.) Clark: but he preferred the place of Indian agent
at St. Louis, having become, by his intercourse with the various tribes on the Mis-
souri, well acquainted with the proper course to be pursued toward them ; and he
remained in this office until he was made brigadier general for the Territory of
Upper Louisiana, under the laws of congress. During the late war with Great
Britain he was applied to by the war department to revise the plan of the campaign
then going on under Gen. Hull, and was offered the appointment of brigadier gen-
eral in the United States army, and the command then held by Hull; these, how-
ever, he refused, being convinced that the operations of this officer were too far
advanced to be successfully remedied. In 1813, President Madison appointed him,
in place of GOV. Howard, resigned, governor of the territory and superintendent
of Indian affairs, after he had twice refused to be nominated to the first office. He
held both these offices until Missouri was admitted into the Union as a state in
1820. Upon her admission, he was nominated against his consent as a candidate
for governor, but was not elected, being in Virginia at the time of election. He
then remained in private life until 1822, when he was appointed by President Mon-
roe, superintendent of I'ndian affairs. As commissioner and superintendent of In-
dian affairs for a long series of years, he made treaties with almost every tribe of
Indians, and exhibited to all of them the feelings of a philanthropist, as well as a
becoming zeal for the rights of the government of his country. He was applied
to, to accept the office of United States senator from Missouri, but declined, be-
lieving that he could more efficiently serve his country, and the cause of humanity,
in the Indian department than in the national halls of legislation. He was the
youngest of six brothers, the four oldest of whom were distinguished officers in
the Revolutionary war. One of them fell in the struggle ; another was killed by
the Indians upon the Wabash, and his brother, Gen. George Rogers Clark, is well
known to the people of the west. The early history of Kentucky is identified with
his, and as long as that noble and proud state maintains her lofty eminence, she
will cherish his name. Gen. Clark WAS a resident of St. Louis for more than thirty
years, and died there in September, 1838, aged 68 years." — Blake's Biog. Diet.
Gov. Benjamin Howard was born in Virginia. From 1807 to 1810, he was a
representative in Congress from Kentucky, when he was appointed governor of
Missouri Territory. In 1813, he resigned the latter office being appointed brigadier
general in the U. S. service. This was the period of the war with Great Britain,
and he was in command of the 8th military department, then embracing all the
territory from the interior of Indiana to the Mexican frontier. He died after two
days illness, at St. Louis, in Sept, 1814. He was a brave and patriotic man, and
his loss was sincerely felt. Several forts in the west have been named from him.
Hon. Lewis F. Linn was born near Louisville, Ky., in 1795, and was educated
to medicine, which he practiced after his removal to Missouri. From 1833 to 1843,
he was a senator in congress from Missouri, and died Oct 3d, in the last named year
436
MISSOURI.
at his residence in St. Genevieve. His congressional career was eminently distin-
guished for ability, and for his identification with the interests of the Mississippi
Valley. His virtues were eulogized by many of the best men in the country.
Hon. Thomas Hart Benton "was born in Hillsborough, North Carolina, March
14, 1782, and educated at Chapel Hill College. He left that institution without re-
ceiving a degree, and forthwith commenced the study of law in William and Mary
College, Virginia, under Mr. St. George Tucker. In 1810, he entered the United
States army, but soon resigned his commission of lieutenant-colonel, and in 1811
was at Nashville, Tenn., where he commenced the practice of the law. He soon
afterward emigrated to St. Louis, Mo., where he connected himself with the press
as the editor of a newspaper, the Missouri Argus. In 1820, he was elected a mem-
ber of the United States senate, serving as chairman of many important com-
mittees, and remained in that body till the session of 1851, at which time he failed
of re-election. As Missouri was not admitted into the Union till August 10, 1821,
more than a year of Mr. Benton's first term of service expired before he took his
seat. He occupied himself during this interval before taking his seat in congress
in acquiring a knowledge of the language and literature of Spain. Immediately
after he appeared in the senate he took a prominent part in the deliberations of
that body, and rapidly rose to eminence and distinction. Few public measures
were discussed between the years 1821 and 1851 that he did not participate in
largely, and the influence he wielded was always felt and confessed by the coun-
try. He was one of the chief props and supporters of the administrations of
Presidents Jackson and Van Buren. The people of Missouri long clung to him as
their apostle and leader; and it required persevering effort to defeat him. But he
had served them during the entire period of thirty years without interruption, and
others, who aspired to honors he enjoyed, became impatient for an opportunity to
supplant him. His defeat was the consequence. Col. Benton was distinguished
for his learning, iron will, practical mind, and strong memory. As a public speaker
he was not interesting or calculated to produce an effect on the passions of an
audience, but his speeches were read with avidity, always producing a decided in-
fluence. He was elected a representative in the thirty-third congress for the dis-
trict of St. Louis, and on his retirement from public life devoted himself to the
preparation of a valuable register of the debates in congress, upon which he
labored until his death, which occurred in Washington on the 10th of April, 1858,
of cancer in the stomach." — Lanman's Diet, of Congress.
EXPULSION OP THE MORMON'S FROM MISSOURI.
[From Perkiijp' Annals of the West.]
From the time of Rigdon's conversion, in October, 1830, the progress of Mor-
monism was wonderfully rapid, he being a man of more than common capacity
and cunning. Kirtland, Ohio, became the chief city for the time being, while
large numbers went to Missouri in consequence of revelations to that effect. In
July, 1833, the number of Mormons in Jackson county, Missouri, was over 1,200.
Their increase having produced some anxiety among the neighboring settlers, a
meeting was held in the month just named, from whence emanated resolutions for-
bidding all Mormons thenceforth to settle in that county, and intimating that all
who did not soon remove of their own will would be forced to do so. Among the
resolutions was one requiring the Mormon newspaper to be stopped, but as this
was not at once complied with the office of the paper was destroyed. Another
large meeting of the citizens being held, the Mormons became alarmed and con-
tracted to remove. Before this contract, however, could be complied with, violent
proceedings were again resorted to; houses were destroyed, men whipped, and at
length some of both parties were killed. The result was a removal of the Mor-
mons across the Missouri into Clay county.
These outrages being communicated to the Prophet at Kirtland, he took steps
to bring about a great gathering of his disciples, with which, marshaled as an
army, in May, 1834, he started for Missouri, which in due time he reached, but
MISSOURI. 437
with no other result than the transfer of a certain portion of his followers as per-
manent settlers to a regjon already too full of them. At first the citizens of (./lay
county were friendly to the persecuted; but ere long trouble grew up, and the
wanderers were once more forced to seek a new home, in order to prevent outrages.
This home they found in Caldwell county, where, by permission of the neighbors
and state legislature, they organized a county government, the country having been
previously unsettled. Soon after this removal, numbers of Mormons nocking in,
settlements were also formed in Davis and Carroll : — the three towns of the new
eeot being Far West in Caldwell; Adam-on-di-ah-mond, called Diahmond or Diah-
man, in Davis; and Dewit, in Carroll. Thus far the Mormon writers and their
enemies pretty well agree in their narratives of the Missouri troubles; but thence-
forth all is contradiction and uncertainty. These contradictions we can not recon-
cile, and we have not room to give both relations; referring our readers, therefore,
to Hunt and Greene, we will, in a few words, state our own impressions of the
causes of the quarrel and the catastrophe.
The Mormons, or Latter-day Saints, held two views which they were fond of
dwelling upon/and which were calculated to alarm and excite the people of the
frontier. One was, that the west was to be their inheritance, and that the uncon-
verted dwellers upon the lands about them were to be destroyed, and the saints to
succeed to their property. The destruction spoken of was to be, as Smith taught,
by the hand of God ; but those who were threatened naturally enough concluded
that the Mormons might think themselves instruments in His hand to work the
change they foretold and desired. They believed also, with or without reason, that
the saints, .anticipating, like many other heirs, the income of their inheritance,
helped themselves to what they needed of food and clothing; or, as the world
called it, were arrant thieves.
The other offensive view was, the descent of the Indians from the Hebrews,
taught by the Book of Mormon, and their ultimate restoration to their share in the
inheritance of the faithful : from this view, the neighbors were easily led to infer
a union of the saints and savages to desolate the frontier. Looking with suspicion
upon the new sect, and believing them to be already rogues and thieves, the in-
habitants of Carroll and Davis counties were of course opposed to their possession
of the chief political influence, such as they already possessed in Caldwell, and
from the fear that they would acquire more, arose the first open quarrel This took
place in August, 1838, at an election in Davis county, where their right of suffrage
was disputed. The affray which ensued being exaggerated, and some severe cuts
and bruises being converted into mortal wounds by the voice of rumor, a number
of the Mormons of Caldwell county went to Diahmond, and after learning the facts,
by force or persuasion induced a magistrate of Davis, known to be a leading oppo-
nent of theirs, to sign a promise not to molest them any more by word or deed.
For this Joe Smith and Lyman Wight were arrested and held to trial. By this
time the prejudices and fears of both parties were fully aroused; each anticipated
violence from the other, and to prevent it each proceeded to violence. The Mor-
mons of Caldwell, legally organized, turned out to preserve the peace; and the
Anti-Mormons of Davis, Carroll and Livingston, acting upon the sacred principle
of self-defense, armed and embodied themselves for the same commendable pur-
pose. Unhappily, in this case, as in many similar ones, the preservation of peace
was ill confided to men moved by mingled fear and hatred ; and instead of it, the
opposing forces produced plundering*, burnings, and bloodshed, which did not
terminate until Governor Hoggs, on the 27th of October, authorized < «en. Clark,
with the full military power of the state, to exterminate or drive from Missouri, if
he thought necessary, the unhappy followers of Joe Smith. Against the army,
3,500 strong, thus brought to annihilate them, and which was evidently not a rnob,
the 1,400 Mormons made no resistance; 300 fled, and the remainder surrendered.
The leaders were examined and held to trial, bail being refused; while the mass
of the unhappy people were stripped of their property to pay the expenses of the
war, and driven, men, women, and children, in mid winter, from the state, naked
and starving. Multitudes of them were forced to encamp without tents, and with
scarce any clothes or food, on the bank of the Mississippi, which was too full of
ice for them to cross. The people of Illinois, however, received the fugitives when
438
MISSOURI.
they reached the eastern shore, with open arms, and the saints entered upon a
new and yet more surprising series of adventures than those they had already
passed through. The Mormons found their way from Missouri into the neighbor-
ing state through the course of the year 1839, and missionaries were sent abroad
to paint their sufferings, arid ask relief for those who were persecuted because of
their religious views; although their religions views appear to have had little or
nothing to do with the opposition experienced by them in Missouri.
PILOT KNOB.
THE IRON MINES OF MISSOURI.
No country on the globe, of the same extent, equals Missouri in the quantity of
iron. "The metalliferous region of Missouri covers an area of at least 20*000
square miles, or about 12,800,000
acres, and the same formation ex-
tends southward into Arkansas and
westward into the .territories. In
this great region is a uniformity of
mineral character as unusal as the
great extent of the deposits. The
whole country is composed of lower
magnesian limestone, and bears
lead throughout its entire extent,
and in numerous localities, iron
mines of great value exist. The
ore is massive, generally found on
or near the surface, and of remark-
able purity. Among the most re-
markable of these iron formations
is the celebrated Iron Mountain, in
St. Francis county, near Potosi, and
about 80 miles south from St. Louis
by the Iron Mountain Railroad,
and 30 west of the Mississippi
River. On account of the difficulty of transportation, and the prevailing impres-
sion that the ore from the Iron Mountain could not be smelted, it remained un-
productive till the formation of the Iron Mountain Company, in 1845. It now
furnishes the chief material for the St. Louis rolling-mill, and is the principal sup
port of the iron manufactures of Missouri.
The mountain is the south-western termination of a ridge of porphyritic rocks.
It is of a conical shape, flattened at the top, and slopes toward the west It is
made up exclusively of specular oxide of iron, the most abundant and valuable
ore in the state, in its purest form, containing no perceptible quantity of other
mineral substances except a little less than one per cent, of silica, which, accord-
ing to Dr. Ditton, who made an analysis of the ore four or five years ago, rather
improves than injures its quality. The quantity of the ore is inexhaustible, and,
for most purposes, its quality requires no improvement.
The area of the Iron Mountain covers an extent of some five hundred acres.
It rises to the bight of two hundred and sixty feet above the general level of the
surrounding country. Its whole top is a solid mass of iron, and one can see noth-
ing but iron lumps as far as the eye can rench. The ore of this mountain is
known as the specular oxide, and usually yields some sixty-eight or seventy per
cent, of pure iron, and so free from injurious substances as to present no obstacle
to working it directly into blooms. The metal is so excellent that much of it is
now used by the manufacturers on the Ohio River, for mixing with the ore found
there. There are in operation at the mountain three blast furnaces, producing
from seven thousand to seven thousand five hundred tuns of metal annually. Be-
sides this immense deposit of ore above the surface, a shaft sunk at the base of
the mountain gives fifteen feet of clay and ore, thirty feet of white sandstone,
thirty-three feet of blue porphyry, and fifty three feet of pure iron ore. This bed
of mineral would be immensely valuable if there was none above tho surface.
MISSOURI. 439
"About six miles south and a little east of the Iron Mountain are deposits of ora
no less rich, and scarcely less extensive. These are chiefly in Pilot Knob and
Shepherd Mountain. The Pilot Knob ore is different from all other ore of the
neighborhood, both in appearance and in, composition. It is of finer grain, and
more compact, and breaks with a gray, steel-like fracture. It contains from ten to
twenty per cent, of silica, which renders it more readily fusible, and better fitted
for some purposes. The Knob is a very striking feature in the landscape. Kising
almost perpendicularly five hundred and eighty-one feet on a base of three hun-
dred and sixty acres, and almost wholly isolated, it has long served as a land-mark
to the pioneers of Missouri. Hence its name. A very large portion of the moun-
tain is pure iron. It is somewhat difficult to estimate the quantity of the ore, on
account of its being interstratified with slate. The rocks about the base of the
mountain are dark gray, silicious and slaty. At a hight of three hundred feet
they show more traces of iron. At a hight of four hundred and forty-one feet
there is a stratum of pure ore, from nineteen to twenty-four feet thick. Beneath
and above this are beds of ore mixed with the silicious rocks. It is estimated that
the amount of ore above the surface is not less than 13,872,773 tuns, and probably
much more. Its igneous origin is not certain, but probable ; and hence it is proba-
ble that it extends downward to an indefinite extent, according to the well-founded
theory of geologists. •
Shepherd Mountain, which is a little more than a mile south-west of Pilot Knob,
rises to a hight of 660 feet on a base of 800 acres. It is penetrated with veins or
dykes of ore, running in different directions, but mostly vertical, and of indefinite
extent.
From the jaine, which is worked at about 500 feet from the top of Pilot Knob,
the ore is carried in cars on a railway running down the side of the mountain, on
a fearfully steep inclined plane. Upon this plane we climbed laboriously to the
mine and thenlascended to the flagstaff, firmly fastened among the rocks, on the
topmost peak, which are so well worn by the feet of strangers that they present
the appearance of pure wrought iron, which is hardly remarkable in view of the
fact that horse-shoes and knives have been repeatedly made from the crude ore,
merely by hammering.
When we state, on the authority of Prof. Swallow, that there is enough ore, of
the very best quality, within a few miles of Pilot Knob and Iron Mountain, above
the surface of the valleys, not reckoning the vast deposits that lie beneath, to fur-
nish one million tuns per annum of manufactured iron for two hundred years,
some estimate may be formed of the vast advantages that must ac_crue to Missouri
from the possession of so rich a store of that indispensable metal, which, greater
in its power even than gold, has always stood pre-eminent in its influence on the
prosperity of nations, seeming, as it were, to communicate to those who own and
manufacture it some of its own hardy and sterling qualities."
The mines of Elba, Sweden, and Norway, all together do not equal these peaks.
The substantial wealth of England and Belgium is drawn from their mines, but
neither of them possess the mineral wealth, the iron, lead, coal, tin and copper of
this single state.
Gen. James Wilkinson was born in Maryland about the year 1757, was educated
to medicine, entered the army of the Revolution, and was breveted brigadier gen-
eral. After the war he settled in Kentucky in commercial business. Again en-
tering the army, he had command of the United States forces in the Mississippi
valley. In the war of 1812, he served on the northern frontier. He died in 1825,
aged 68. He published "Memoirs of My Own Times," 3 vols. 8vo., 1816.
Major Amos Stoddard, the first American governor of Upper Louisiana, was
born in Woodbury, Conn., and was a soldier of the Revolution. He was subse-
quently clerk of the supreme court in Boston, also practiced law at Hallowell,
Maine. In 1799, he entered the army as captain of artillery. About the year
1804, he was appointed first military commandant and civil governor of Upper
Louisiana, his headquarters being St. Louis. He died of lockjaw in 1813, from a
wound received at the siege of Fort Meigs. He was a man of talent, and was the
author of Sketches of Louisiana, a valuable work
KANSAS
KANSAS, prior to 1854, was included within the limits of the " Indian
Territory," lying west of Missouri, and the adjoining states. It was thus
called from the circumstance of its
being the territory on which several
tribes of Indians, mainly from east
of the Mississippi, were located un-
der the direction of the general gov-
ernment. The principal tribes thus
placed within the present limits of
Kansas, were the Delawares, who
were estimated at upward of 800 in
number ; the Kickapoos, at about
900, the Shawnees, at about 1,300:
the Kansas, one of the original
tribes of this region, were located
on the Kansas River, farther west-
ward, and were supposed to number
about 2,000.
The first white man who traversed
the soil of Kansas seems to have
been M. Dutisne, a French officer,
sent in 1719, by Bienville, the gov-
ernor of Louisiana, to explore the territory west of the Mississippi. He
passed up Osage River, a southern tributary of the Missouri, and visited
several Indian villages within the present limits of Kansas.
In 1804, Lewis and Clark, on their celebrated Rocky Mountain expedi-
tion, passed up the Missouri River, on the eastern boundary of Kansas.
The oldest fort on this river is Fort Leavenworth, which was established
in 1827. This, with the missionary establishments among the Indians, were
the first places occupied by the whites.
In 1832, the small pox reduced the Pawnee Indians, in Kansas, one
half. Thus, enfeebled, they entered into a treaty with the United States,
disposing of their Kansas possessions, and agreed to reside wholly north of
the Nebraska River, and west of Missouri. Here, under the patronage of
government, they erected dwellings, shops, etc., and commenced agricultural
improvements. Their young men, however, formed war parties, and com-
mitted depredations upon the tribes around them. They were severely
.441
ARMS or KANSAS.
MOTTO. — Ad Attra per Aiptra.—'Io Prosperity
through Adversity.
442 KANSAS.
chastised by the Comanches and Osages; and the Utahs, from their mountain
fastnesses, avenged themselves of former cruelties. To crown the misery of
the Pawnees, the Blackfeet and Sioux Indians, in the north and west, rav-
aged their fields, burned their houses, and drove away their horses and Battle.
Disheartened, they migrated south, and settled near the Ottoes and Oinahas,
where the remnant now exist.
"The whole Indian population of Kansas," says Mr. Greene, in his" His-
tory of the Kansas region, 1856, "is probably 25, 000. The immigrant tribes are
the Kick#poos, Wyandots, Sacs and Foxes, Munsees, Weasand Plankeshaws,
Peorias and Kaskaskias, Qttawas, Pottowatamies, Chippewas, Pelawares, and
Shawnees; embracing in all a population of about 5, 000, and including within
their reservations, prior to the treaties of 1853 and '54, almost ten millions
of acres. A million of acres were ceded by the Delawares, Weas and Kick-
apoos, in May, 1853, to be sold at auction. The Shawnee Reserve embraces
thirty miles west of the Missouri line and fifteen south of Kansas River.
The Wyandots have thirty sections in the angle formed by the confluence of
the Kansas and Missouri. The Delawares retain a tract ten miles wide and
forty long, extending east from the mouth of Grasshopper Creek. The Pot-
tawatomies own thirty miles square, cut through the middle by Kansas River.
The Kickapoos have a small reserve at the head of the Grasshopper. North
of the river and below Pottawatomie, the Kansas still hold a tract twenty-
two miles long and one wide."
In 1820, on the admission of Missouri into the Union, the congress of
the United States passed the "Missouri Compromise" act, prohibiting slavery
in all territory of the United States north of 36° 30'. Kansas being north
of this line was included within the limits of the prohibition. In 1854, on
the organization of the Territories of Kansas and Nebraska, congress, after
an exciting discussion, passed the ''Kansas and Nebraska 'bill," which in
effect rendered nugatory the Compromise Act of 1820. This at once opened
up a contest between slave-holders and free-soil men for possession. The
richest part of Missouri, that most densely filled with a slave population, lay
adjacent to the soil of Kansas. Were Kansas to become free territory the
people feared that there would be no security in western Missouri for slavery.
Thoy determined, therefore, to introduce and fasten the institution in
Kansas.
The passage of the Kansas Nebraska bill had agitated the whole country,
and widely spread the information of the fine climate and rich soil of Kan-
sas: this excited the desire of multitudes of the citizens of the free states
to emigrate thither, introduce their institutions, open farms on its virgin soil,
and found new homes fors themselves and their children in the beautiful
prairie land. The conflict which ensued between the pro-slavery and the
free-soil parties was inevitable.
Soon as the tidings of the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill reached
western Missouri, some thousands of the people crossed over the borders and
selected farms, and for a while they had the control of the political move-
ments in the territory, ere the van of the free state emigrants could reach it.
Many of the latter came hither in bodies, neighbors joining together for
that purpose, and in Massachusetts, an Emigrant Aid Society was created,
for (it was alleged) pecuniary gain, by the means of organized capital in
forming centers for settlers.* To counteract this, "Blue Lodges" were
*The Emigrant Aid Society WHS originally formed in Massachusetts, May 4, 1854, just
before the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. In the succeeding February a new char-
KANSAS. 443
established in western Missouri to assist pro-slavery emigration. Soon all
emigrants came armed, for events showed that only by a struggle and blood-
shed the question of ascendency would be settled.
A. H. lleeder, the first governor of the territory, and appointed by Presi-
dent Pierce, arrived at Fort Leavenworth, Oct. 6, 1854, and soon after visited
Lawrence, where he was met by the citizens, and was welcomed in an address
by Gen. Pomeroy. The governor stated in his reply that, as far as possible,
he should maintain law and order, and preserve the freedom of speech. The
first election of a delegate to congress took place Nov. 29, 1854. The ter-
ritory was divided into nineteen districts. Gov. Reeder, who resided at
Fort Leavenworth, appointed election judges, and gave instructions to have
the vote properly taken. It appears, however, that an organized body of
Missourians. in some instances, took forcible possession of the polls, and
elected Gen. Whitfield as a delegate. In the election for the territorial leg-
islature, on March 30, 1855, large organized bodies from Missouri controlled
the polls, appointing their own judges, where those previously appointed
would not conform to their wishes. In consequence of this, every district
'with one exception) returned pro-slavery men to the prospective legislature.
The legislature met on the 2d of July, at Pawnee, according to the pro-
clamation of the governor, and was organized by the election of D. S. String-
fellow as speaker. In the course of the first week they passed an act re-
moving the seat of government from Pawnee to the Shawnee Manual Labor
School, to take effect from and after its passage: they also passed" an act
adopting the laws generally of Missouri as the laws of Kansas. On the 6th
of July, the governor vetoed the act removing the seat of government. It
was, however, passed over his veto by a two thirds vote, and the two legis-
lative houses met at the Shawnee Mission on the 16th of July. On July
25, in a joint session, they elected the various county officers for a term of
iix years. Various other extraordinary and unusual acts were passed.* A
resolution was carried declaring the incompetency of the governor, and a
memorial was dispatched to Washington praying for his removal.
Gov. lleeder and Judge Elmer, of the supreme court, having been removed by
the general government, Wilson Shannon, an ex-governor of Ohio, was appointed
governor, and Judge Moore, of Alabama, succeeded Judge Elmer. On Sept. 5,
1855, a free state convention met at Big Springs, which resolved to repudiate
all the acts passed by the legislature held at the Shawnee Mission. On the
ter was obtained, in which the objects of the society were declared to be " For the purposes
of directing emigration westward, and aiding in providing accommodations for the emi-
grants after arriving at their places of destination. The total capital was about $100,000.
The plan was to give fixed centers for emigrants, with mills, schools, and churches, and
thus to benefit the stockholders by the opportunities which the application of associated
capital would give in the rapid rise of the real estate around these centers. Emigrants
updcr it provided their own oxpense.s; but by going in companies had the advantages of
traveling at reduced rates. The great bulk of emigration was not, however, from distant
New England, but from the hardy population of the north-west, familiar with pioneer life
and inured to its hardships.
* "Among their labors were an act to fix the seat of government at Lecompton ; acts mak-
ing it a cnpital offense to assist slaves in escaping either into the territory or out of it, and
felony, punishable with imprisonment at hard labor from two to five years, to conceal or
aid escaping slaves, to circulate anti-slavery publications, or to deny the right to hold slaves
In. tin; territory ; an act giving the right to vote to all persons who had paid a poll tax of
one dollar, whether residents or not; an act requiring all voters, officers, and attorneys, to
take an oath to support the fugitive slave law and the acts of this legislature ; and an act
giving the selection of jurors to the sheriff. They also adopted the Missouri laws in a
heap."
444
KANSAS.
19th of September, a convention assembled at Topeka, in which it was re-
solved to take measures to form a state constitution. On the 9th of Octo-
ber, the free state men held their election, allowing no nonresident to vote :
2,400 votes were cast, nearly all of which were for Gov. Reeder; as delegate
to congress. They also elected delegates to assemble at Topeka, on the
fourth Tuesday of the same month, to form a state constitution. This con-
vention met, and chose Col. James Lane its president: a constitution was
formed in which slavery was prohibited. Immediately after the adjourn-
ment of this convention, the pro-slavery party called a "Law and Order con-
vention," over which Gov. Shannon and Judges Lecompte and Elmer pre-
sided, in which the Topeka convention was denounced as a treasonable
assemblage.
In Nov., one Coleman, in a quarrel about a land claim, killed a Mr. Dow,
a free state settler, at Hickory Point, about 12 miles from Lawrence. Cole-
man then proceeded to Lecompton, to Gov. Shannon, and swore a complaint
against Branson, at whose house Dow had lodged, that Branson had threat-
ened his (Coleman's) life. Branson was thereupon arrested by Sheriff Jones,
but was rescued by his neighbors, and took refuge in Lawrence. These
transactions caused great excitement. The people of Lawrence armed as
an attack was threatened. Gov. Shannon issued his proclamation, stat-
ing an open rebellion had commenced, and calling for assistance to carry out
the laws : this was circulated through the border counties of Missouri, vol-
unteer companies were raised, and nearly 1,800 men crossed over from Mis-
souri, having with them seven pieces of cannon, obtained from the U. S.
arsenal near Liberty, Mo. This formidable array encamped at Wakerusa, over
against Lawrence, which was now threatened with destruction. Gov. Shan-
non, Chief Justice Lecompte and David R. Atchison accompanied the troops.
For more than a week the invading force continued encamped, and a deadly
conflict seemed imminent. Fortunately for the peace of the country, a direct
conflict was avoided by an amicable arrangement. The invading army re-
tired from Lawrence, Dec. 9, 1855.
In Dec., 1855, the Topeka constitution was adopted by a vote of the peo-
ple, and state officers were appointed. On Jan. 4, 1856, in a message, Gov.
Shannon indorsed the pro-slavery legislature and code, and represented tha
formation of the Topeka constitution as equivalent to an act of rebellion
This was followed by a proclamation, on Feb. 4th, directed against the free
state men, and on the strength of it, indictments for treason were found
against Charles Robinson, Geo. W. Brown, ex-Gov. Reeder, Gen. Lane, Geo.
W. Deitzler, and others, connected with the formation of the free state gov-
ernment. Robinson, Brown, Deitzler, and many others, were arrested and
imprisoned at Lecompton during the entire summer, guarded by the United
States' dragoons.
In March, 1856, the house of representatives, at Washington, having un-
der consideration the conflicting claims of Gov. Reeder and Gov. Whitfield
to represent Kansas in congress, appointed a commission to investigate the
fact. This committee consisted of Howard, of Michigan, Sherman, of Ohio,
and Oliver, of Missouri, who, being directed to proceed to Kansas, arrived
at Lawrence on the 17th of April. While in Kansas this "congressional
committee of investigation" collected a large mass of testimony which went
to prove that frauds had been perpetrated by the pro-slavery party at the
ballot box, also that many outrages had been committed, in which the free
state settlers were principally the sufferers.
KANSAS. 445
Early in April, 1856, two or three hundred pro-slavery men, from Georgia
and the Carolinas, arrived in the territory, under the command of Maj. Bu-
fprd, of Georgia. On the 24th of April, Sheriff Jones entered Lawrence
and arrested several free state men. On the 8th of May, Gov. Robinson,
while descending the Missouri on his way east, was seized and detained at
Lexington, Mo., and afterward sent back to Kansas on the charge of treason.
Gov. Reeder and Gen. Lane, being indicted on the same charge, succeeded
in making their escape out of the territory. On the 21st of May, Sheriff
Jones, with a posse of some four or five hundred men, proceeded to Lawrence,
ostensibly for the purpose of executing the process of the courts. Several
pieces of artillery and about 200 of Sharp's rifles were taken, two printing
presses, with a large quantity of material, were destroyed, and the Free
State Hptel and Dr. Robinson's mansion were burnt as nuisances. On the
26th, a skirmish occurred at Ossawatomie, in which three free state and five
pro-slavery men were killed. The free state men now began to make a con-
certed and armed resistance to the pro-slavery bands which were spread over
the country. Parties of free state emigrants coming up the Missouri, were
turned back, and forbid entering the territory, so that their only ingress into
Kansas was overland through Iowa. For months civil war prevailed, and
the settlers were distressed by robberies, murders, house burnings, the de-
struction of crops, and other atrocities.
The free state legislature, according to the time fixed, met at Topeka, July
4, 1856. As they were about organizing for business. Col. Sumner (who
was accompanied by a body of U. S. dragoons), went into the hall, and claim-
ing to act under the authority of the president of the United States', dispersed
the assemblage. On the 5th of Aug., a body of men from Lawrence marched
against a post, near Ossawatomie, occupied by a company of marauders, said
to be Georgians. After a conflict of three hours, the post, a large block-
house, was carried with a loss of one or two killed, and several wounded on
both sides. Other conflicts took place in other places, attended with loss of
life. Gov. Shannon was removed early in August, and acting Gov. Wood-
son, on the 25th of that month, issued a proclamation declaring the territory
in a state of rebellion.
Gov. Geary, the successor of Gov. Shannon, arrived in the territory about
the 1st of Sept., and by proclamation ordered all the volunteer militia to be
discharged, and all bodies of men acting without the authority of govern-
ment, instantly to disband or quit the territory. After this the outrages and
skirmishes rapidly diminished, and order was gradually restored.
The next season, the pro-slavery party, at a convention held at Lecomp-
ton, formed a state constitution, familiarly known as the Lecompton Constitu-
tion, and in the session of 1857-8, applied to congress for admission into the
Union. Great opposition was made to it on the ground that the convention
which formed it was fraudulently elected, and did not represent the will of
the people, as it was favorable to slavery. After a long and memorable
struggle, the instrument was referred to the people of Kansas, on the 4th of
Aug., 1858. They rejected it by a vote of more than six to one — 11,300
against to 1,788 votes in favor.
To this period the party lines in Kansas had been divided between the
pro-slavery and the free state men. Soon after, these distinctions gave place
to the Democratic and Republican parties. The next territorial legislature
met in Jan., 1859, and the Republicans, having the majority, took measures
by which a convention met at Wyandot, in the succeeding July, and formed
446
KANSAS
a state constitution, known as the Wyandot Constitution, which prohibited
slavery. This constitution, on reference to the people, was adopted by a
large majority. The lower house of congress, in the succeeding session,
1859-60, passed the bill, but the senate failed to act upon it. so it was lost.
Kansas, therefore, remained in a territorial condition until January 30th,
1861, when it was admitted as a free state of the Union. The severe
contest in regard to the institutions of Kansas was thus closed, only, how-
ever, to give place to a more terrible struggle, involving the whole nation.
Kansas is bounded N. by Nebraska, E. by Missouri, S. by the Indian Ter-
ritory, and W. by Colorado Territory. It extends between the parallels of
37° 30' and 40° N. Lat., and 94° 30' and 102° W. Long.
South view of Fort Leavenworth.
The view is taken from a point near the residence of the Chaplain. The block -house, whicn appears
near the central part, is the oldest building standing in Kansas. It is pierced for musketry and cannon ;
the lower part is constructed of brick, the upper of logs, etc. The barrack buildings appear beyond ; the
Quartermaster's building is seen on the right.
The eastern part of Kansas is one of the most beautiful and fertile sections
of country found in the United States. It consists, for the most part, of
rolling prairies, having a deep, rich and fertile soil. The smooth and grace-
ful hills, covered with dense vegetation, extend westward from the Missouri
about 200 miles, having, in many places, the appearance of a vast sea of
grass and flowers. The timber is principally in the vicinity of the rivers and
streams, but a remarkable provision exists in the abundance of limestone
found on the crest of all the elevations, just" cropping out from the surface,
hardly interfering with vegetation. This is admirably adapted for buildings
and fences. Numerous coal beds are said to abound.
The Kansas or Kaw is the only stream of importance passing into the in-
terior. The climate is healthy, the air being pure and dry. The winters are
usually mild and open, with little snow. Kansas possesses very superior ad-
vantages for the raising of cattle. Almost all kinds of grain and fruits can
be produced in great abundance. In March, 1855, the population was esti-
mated, in round numbers, at 8,000; a year later it was estimated at 60,000 ;
in 1860, it was 107,110.
FORT LEAVENWORTH, formerly the most important military post in the
United States, is situated on the west side of the Missouri River, 31 milea
KANSAS.
447
above the mouth of Kansas River, and 4 miles below Weston, Mo. This is
the oldest fort on the Missouri, having been established in 1827 : it re-
ceived its name from Col. Leavenworth, an officer of distinction in the
Niagara campaign. It is the great frontier depot for other military posts on
the Santa Fe, Utah and Oregon routes, and the general rendezvous for troops
proceeding to the western forts. The fort stands on an elevation of about
150 feet, and about 150 yards back from the steamboat landing. Several
thousand acres of fine land in the vicinity are reserved for the use of the force
at this point.
South-eastern view of Leacenworth City.
The view shows the ayipearance of the city as seen from the Missouri side of the river. The Market
House and Theater building, surmounted by a flag, is shown on the left; and the Planters' House, the
Steamboat and Steam Ferry Landings on the right.
On some occasions, as many as 1,000 laborers and artisans have been em-
ployed here in the government service at one time. The buildings consist
of the barracks, magazines, the officers' houses, hospital, the quartermaster's
building, and others. General Persifer F. Smith, the commander of the
Utah expedition, died here on Sunday evening, May 16, 1858: his remains
were taken east for burial. The government has a small chapel here, in
which the Rev. Leander Ker, of Scotch descent, officiates as chaplain of the
post. Mr. Ker likewise has the charge of a school of 30 or 40 children, the
books, stationery, etc., being furnished by the government.
During the difficulties with Utah, in 1858, the transportation establish-
ment of the army, under Russell & Waddell, the contractors, between the
fort and the city, was the great feature of this vicinity, with its acres of
wagons, herds of oxen, and regiments of drivers and other employees. This
firm had millions of dollars invested in the business, employed six thousand
teamsters, and worked forty-five thousand oxen.
LEAVENWORTH CITY, on the W. bank of Missouri River, the largest town
and commercial metropolis of Kansas, is 3 miles below the fort, 37 N.E
from Lawrence. 70 S. from St. Joseph, Mo., and by the Missouri River 495
448 KANSAS.
from St. l.x>uis. Several daily and weekly newspapers are published here.
Leavenworth city was founded in the autumn of 1854. Previous to this it
was covered with a heavy growth of forest trees, the hunting ground for the
officers of Fort Leavenworth, traversed by wolves, wildcats, wild turkeys,
and deer. The first building was a frame shanty, erected in 1834, near
which is an elm tree, under which the first number of the " Kansas Weekly
Herald " was printed, in September, 1854. The first printer was General
Lucius Eastin, of Kentucky. The first public house was the Leavenworth
Hotel : the Planters' House was erected in 1856. Rev. Mr. Martin, O. S.
Presbyterian, was among the first clergymen who preached in the place.
Population about 15,000.
Wyandot is situated on the west bank of the Missouri, at the mouth of
Kansas River, 37 miles below Leavenworth City, and 35 miles east of Law-
rence. It is a new, beautiful and flourishing place, regularly laid out on
ground rising gracefully from the water. Being built on the curve of the
river, it is in full view of Kansas City, in Missouri, from which by water it
is about a mile distant, and two miles by land ; a steam ferry-boat plies be-
tween the two places. It is a busy town, and the outlet between southern
Kansas and the Missouri River. At Wyandot commences the great Pa-
cific Railroad. Population about 3,000.
Atchison, 46 miles above Leavenworth, on the Missouri River, is, next to
Leavenworth, the largest town in Kansas, with a population estimated in
1865 at 8,000. Here daily start the overland stages for the Rocky Moun-
tains. A railroad has been commenced, leading hence to connect with the
South Pacific on the Republican Fork. When the grass starts up in the
spring, the place is so thronged with the teams of overland emigrants one
can scarcely cross the streets.
LAWRENCE, the county seat of Douglas county, is beautifully situated on
the right bank of Kansas River. 45 miles W. from Kansas City, Mo., and 12
from Lecompton. The Eldridge House, 100 by 117 feet, is at this time by
far the finest building in Kansas. Mount Oread is> about half a mile S.W.
of the Eldridge House. On this elevation it is in contemplation to build a
college : the view from this location, embracing a space of from 50 to 70
miles in circumference, is exceedingly beautiful. Population about 5,000.
Lawrence received its name from Amos A. Lawrence, of Boston, Mass.
In July, 1854, a company of 24 persons, principally from New England,
came up the Missouri River to Kansas City, and from thence traveling by
land, located themselves on the site of Lawrence, the spot having been selected
by Chas. H. Branscomb, agent of the Massachusetts Aid Society. In Sep-
tember following, a second company of about 70 persons arrived. These
two companies of pioneers held their first regular meeting Sept. 16, 1854,
being called to order by Dr. Robinson. A. H. Mallory was chosen presi-
dent, C. S. Pratt, secretary, and a committee of six to manage the affairs of
the company, viz: J. Doy, J. F. Morgan, A. H. Mallory, J. N. Nace, G. L. Os-
borne and L. P. Lfncoln. On Sept. 20, 1854, at a meeting of the "Law-
rence Association," the following persons were chosen officers, viz: Dr. Chas.
Robinson, president; Ferd. Fuller, vice president; Caleb S. Pratt, secretary;
Levi Gates, jr., treasurer; Erastus D. Ladd, register; A. D. Searl, surveyor;
John Mailley, Owen Taylor, John Bruce, jr., arbitrators; and Joel Grover,
marshal.
KANSAS.
Very soon after their arrival, the settlers were visited by a body of 150
Missouri borderers, ordered to strike their tents, and leave the territory to
return no more. But this the people declining, the borderers left, and com-
menced the organization of "Blue Lodges," to foster pro-slavery emigration.
( Northern view of Lawrence.
The view shosvs the appearance of Lawrence as seen from the opposite bank of Kansas River, having
the eye slightly elevated. The Eldridge Hotel, on Massachusetts-street, is seen on the right. A log
cabin, the first structure in Lawrenre, is shown near the bank. The passage down the bank to the ferry,
with the Whitney and Waverly Houses above, appear on the left.
Lawrence and Leavenworth were the first towns located in Kansas. Some
time in the summer of 1854, Clark Stearns, of Missouri, squatted at this
place and erected a log cabin, the first structure built here (still standing at
the head of Massachusetts-street). It is stated that the Lawrence Company
intended to have passed on to the Big Blue River, at Manhattan, some GO
miles above. Having arrived near this spot, some of the company rode
their horses to the summit of Mount Oread, to find a suitable place to en-
camp during the night. Discovering Stearns' cabin, and being charmed with
the appearance of the country, they determined to stop here, and accord-
ingly encamped on the present site of the Eldridge Hotel.
The first meeting for public worship was held in a building constructed
of long poles united at the top, intertwined with sticks, twigs, hay, etc., and
then sodded over. This was on the first Sunday after the arrival of the com-
pnny. Erastus D. Ladd, of New England origin, read a sermon' on the
occasion. The first school was kept by Edward P. Fitch, of Massachusetts.
The first framed building was erected by l\ev. S. Y. Lum, of New Jersey,
the first regular preacher and agent of the Home Missionary Society. The
Free State Hotel (afterward burnt), the first in the place, was built by the
29
450
KANSAS.
Emigrant Aid Society, and was kept by Col. Eldridge. The first newspaper,
"The Herald of Freedom" was issued in the fall of 1854, by G. "W. Brown,
from Pennsylvania. The first merchants' shops were opened by C. L. Pratt
and Norman Allen, on Massachusetts -street. The first ferryman was Wm.
N. Baldwin.
Lawrence will ever be a memorable spot as having been the head-quarters
of the free state settlers during the "Kansas War:" it was particularly ob-
noxious to the contrary party, on account of the free soil sentiments of the
inhabitants. On the llth of May, 1856, Marshal Donaldson, in order to
arrest several obnoxious free state men, summoned a posse, took the Georgia
emigrants, under Maj. Buford, under pay, together with several hundred
others. Having proceeded to Lawrence, he announced his determination to
make arrests. The citizens, in a public meeting, denied the charge of hav-
ing resisted the authorities of the territory. On the morning of the 21st of
May, a body of about 500 men came from the camp, near Lecompton, and
halted on Mount Oread, in Lawrence, near the residence of Gov. Robinson.
They were headed by the U. S. Marshal Donaldson, who claimed the assem-
bled force as his posse, they having responded to his late proclamation. They
formed in line facing the north-east, and planted two cannon in range with
the Free State Hotel and other large buildings in Massachusetts-street.
About noon, the marshal, with a posse of ten men, arrested Gr. W. Deitzler,
Col. Jenkins, Judge Smith, and some others, taking them as prisoners to
their camp. About 3 o'clock, P. M., Sheriff Jones, accompanied by about
twenty-five armed horsemen, rode up to the door of the Free State Hotel and
stopped. Gen.. Pomeroy, and several others, went out to meet him. The
sheriff demanded that all the arms be given up to him, and said he would
give them one hour for this purpose. Pomeroy then, after some consultation
with the committee, delivered up several pieces of artillery. The U. S. Mar-
shal Donaldson having dismissed his posse, they moved their two field pieces
into Massachusetts-street, and were immediately summoned to the spot to act
as the sheriff's posse. The sheriff then gave information that the Free State
Hotel had been presented by the grand jury of Douglas county as a nuisance,
together with the two newspapers, the Herald of Freedom and Free State,
and that Judge Lecompte wished them removed. A lone star flag having
for a motto "Southern Rights" was thereupon raised over these offices, the
presses destroyed, and the type thrown into the river. An attempt was next
made to batter down the hotel by cannon shot, but not succeeding, it was set
on fire and reduced to ashes. "After this, several private houses were robbed,
and money, clothing, and other articles were pillaged. During the night fol-
lowing, the house of Gov. Robinson, on Mount Oread, having a valuable
library, was set on fire and consumed. The total damage to property in
Lawrence was estimated at $150,000.
During the summer, until late in the fall, civil war raged in the territory,
many murders and other atrocities being committed. On the 14th of Sept.,
an army of 2,500 Missourians, arranged in three regiments, with five pieces
of artillery, appeared before Lawrence, with threats of destruction to the
town. The people threw up breastworks, and made hasty preparations for
defense, but they must have been overwhelmed in case of attack. This was
averted by the interference of Gov. Geary, with a body of U. S. dragoons,
who threw himself between the conflicting parties, and prevailed upon the
Missourians to retire to their homes.
KANSAS.
451
LECOMPTON is a village of about 600 inhabitants : it has a Methodist
church and several land offices, and is some twelve miles westward of Law-
rence, and 35 from Leavenworth. The capital was located here in August,
1855, by the territorial legislature. A fine capitol building has been com-
menced, the foundations laid and part of the first story reared, but owing to
the failure of obtaining the necessary appropriations, the building has been
suspended.
Northern view at Lecompton.
• The long building seen in the central part of the view is the Masoni.i Hall, in the upper story of which
the noted Lecompton Constitution was formed. The lower story, and most of the oth :r buildings repre-
sented, are used for land offices.
The site of this place was taken up by Thomas Simmons and his son Wil-
liam, in the fall of 1854; in the spring of 1855, it was purchased of them
by a company, consisting of Judge Lecompte, of Maryland, Daniel Wood-
son, secretary, from Virginia, C. B. Donaldson, from Illinois, John A. Haider-
man, from Kentucky, private secretary of Gov. Reeder, Samuel J. Jones,
sheriff, from Virginia, and Dr. Aristedes Rodrique, from Pennsylvania. The
town was then laid out, on the grounds rising from the river, covered with
forest trees, many of which still remain.
The first structure erected here was Simmons' log cabin, still standing
about one fourth of a mile back from the river; the next was a log cabin
built on the river bank, under the direction of Sheriff Jones. The first
framed house here was put up by Samuel J. Cramer, from Virginia. Rev.
Mr. Prichard, of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, delivered the first
sermon in this place, over a grocery store, while, it is said, a company were
playing cards below. Dr. Rodrique was the first physician. The first house
of entertainment was kept on the bank of the river by a Mrs. Sipes. Part
of the building now fitted up as a hotel, by Maj. Barnes, was used as a place
of confinement for the free state prisoners arrested after the battle of Hick-
ory Point, in the fall of 1856, by the United States dragoons. One hundred
and one of these were confined here nearly three months, guarded by two
companies of militia, under Col. Titus, being occasionally relieved by the U.
452 KANSAS.
S. troops. Of these prisoners, 33 were from states east of Ohio; (5 from
Missouri ; and 77 from the free states of the north-west. Twenty of them
were convicted, in Judge Lecompte's court, of manslaughter. They were
subsequently removed to Tecumseh, and after a tedious confinement in prison
liberated.
The first legislative assembly, in accordance with the proclamation of Gov.
Reeder, met at Pawnee, near Fort Riley, but having to camp out, they ad-
journed to the Shawnee Mission. This act was vetoed by the governor, but
the assembly passed it over his head. The next legislative assembly met in
the Masonic Hall, in Lecompton, and it was in this building that the cele-
brated Lecompton Constitution, the subject of so much political discussion,
was formed. The council sat in the building later occupied by Gov. Denver,
on the opposite side of the street.
TOPEKA, for a time the free state capital of Kansas, is on the S. side of
Kansas River, 25 miles westward from Lawrence, and 55 in a direct line
from Leavenworth City. It contains two or three churches, the Constitu-
tional Hall, etc., and about 1,000 inhabitants. A bridge was built, at an ex-
pense of about $15,000, over the Kansas River, at this place, and finished in
May, 1858. It was, however, soon after swept down by the great freshet of
that year.
"Topeka" is an Indian word, signifying " wild potato" or "potato bottojn,"
the place where they grow. This root, which is about as large as a man's
thumb, is found along the bottom lands of Kansas River, and is used by the
Indians as food. The foundation of Topeka was laid Dec. 4, 1854, by a num-
ber of settlers, who came here from Lawrence. The company consisted of
C. K. Halliday, from Pennsylvania; M. C. Dickey, New Hampshire; Enoch
Chase, Jacob B. Chase and Geo. Davis, from Massachusetts; L. G. Cleve-
land, from Iowa; Frye W. Giles, from Illinois; D. H. Home and S. A.
Clark. Having formed themselves into the "Topeka Association," C. K.
Halliday was chosen president.
The first building raised here was a log cabin now standing near the ferry
or bridge, 13 by 11 feet inside. The earth inside was covered by prairie
'grass or hay, when twenty-four persons lodged within, lying on the ground:
while the twenty-fifth man stretched himself on a load of hay on the
outside. The first building was burnt on the first evening of its occu-
pancy. The company, during the winter of 1854-5, slept in their clothes,
boots, etc. Their'food was principally mush, on which they were kept in a
healthy condition. Rev. S. Y. Lum, a congregationalist minister, preached
the first sermon in Topeka, in the log cabin. The second place of public
worship was in a small building constructed of clapboards, now standing on
the premises of Col. Halliday. The first school was under Miss Harlan, now
Mrs. J. F. Cummings, in a "shake" building, a few yards from Col. Halli-
day's house. The first regular house of entertainment was kept by Mrs. A.
W. Moore, near the first log cabin. In Nov., 1855, W. W. Ross, of Ohio,
established the first newspaper here, called the " Kansas Tribune," some 30
numbers of which had been previously issued in Lawrence.
On the 4th of July, 1856, the state assembly, under the Topeka constitu-
tion, consisting of representatives from all parts of the territory, met at the
Constitutional Hall, in Topeka. Free state men, to the number of some
1,000 or 1,500,. assembled here at the time, and were encamped about the
KANSAS.
453
town. Some 600 or 800 were considered as regular militia volunteers, and
were under the command of Col. C. K. Halliday. At this period, such was
the state of the times, that most of the settlers went armed, even about
their daily avocations. The U. S. force at this time, under the command
of Colonel Sumner, consisted of some seven hundred dragoons and flying
artillery, from Forts Leavenworth and Klley. In addition to this, it is stated
that about 2,000 armed men, ostensibly gathered in various places to cele-
brate the 4th of July, were ready to march and "wipe out" Topeka, should
there be any resistance made to the United S;ates authorities.
Northern view of the Bridge, etc., at Topeka.
The view was taken a short time after the completion of the bridge, the first ever built over Kansas Iliver.
Part of the village of Topeka is seen in the Uistauce ou the right. The log cabin near the bridge is th«
first building erected in the place.
The state assembly met at 12 o'clock at noon, at the Constitutional Hall,
the lower story of which was occupied by the house of representatives, the
upper by the senate. Col. Sumner, with a body of about 200 dragoons and
a company of artillery, now came into the place, and having planted two
cannon at the head of the avenue, with lighted matches in hand, rode up to
the hall, arranging his troops in a semi-circular line in front. At this time
a company of free state volunteers were assembled, and were in the act of
receiving a silk banner from a collection of young ladies, one of whom was
then standing at the door of the Constitutional Hall, making the presenta-
tion address. The dragoons having rather overridden the volunteers, the
assemblage was broken up.* Col. Sumner, dismounting, entering the repre-
sentative hall, accompanied by Marshal Donaldson. At this time, the speaker
being temporarily absent, S. F. Tappan, the clerk, was calling the roll. Col.
Sumner advanced, took possession of the speaker's chair, and stated that he
was obliged to perform the most painful duty of his life, that he had rather
spend the whole of it in opposing the enemies of his country, than to per-
form that single act, which was, " by authority vested in him by the presi-
*Col. S. afterward made an apology to the company assembled on the occasion.
454 KANSAS.
dent of the United States, now to command the body here assembled, calling
itself the legislature of Kansas, to disperse." Judge Schuyler, addressing
the colonel, asked, "Are we to understand that we are to be driven out at
the point of the bayonet?" "I give you to understand," replied Sumner,
" that all the force under my command will be put under requisition to carry
out my orders; I again command you to disperse." The house then dispersed.
As Sumner was passing out, he was informed that the senate was in session
in the chamber above. Just as he entered, the chair was taken by Thomas
G. Thornton, president pro tern., with the view of calling the senate to order.
Col. S. then informed them of what he had done below, and that he wished
to know their intentions. Mr. Thornton replied that the senate not being
organized, he could give no answer, but if he would wait until they were so,
one would be given. Col. S. rejoined, that his object was to prevent an or-
ganization. After some desultory conversation, the assemblage dispersed.
Ossawatomie is on the Osage, at its confluence with Pottawatomie Creek,
42 miles S.E. from Lawrence, and 28 from the Missouri line. The most
severe conflict in the Kansas War took place here, on the 31st of August,
1856. About 300 pro-slavery men, under Capt. Reid, of Missouri, marched
with a field piece upon the town, their line extending, in battle order, from
river to river, across the prairie westward of the place. The inhabitants
mustered about 40 men in defense, under Capt. John Brown, who took to
the timber, and fighting Indian fashion, from the shelter of the trees, kept
their enemy on the open plain for some time at bay, until their ammunition
failing, most of them effected their retreat across the river. Their women
and children escaped to the woods on the south. Their village, consisting
of about 30 houses, was plundered and then laid in ashes, being the second
time it had been thus destroyed by the pro-slavery forces. "Old Brown,"
the free soil leader, sometimes called "Ossawatomie Brown," lost one of his
sons on this occasion. Becoming fanatical on the subject of slavery, he after
this engaged in running off slaves from Missouri to Canada, and finally be-
came a historical character by a conviction for treason, and a termination of
his career on the gallows, at Harpers Ferry.
Grasshopper Falh is about 30 miles N.W. of Lawrence. It has several
mills and the best water power north of Kansas River. Fort Riley is a mil-
itary post at the junction of the two main branches of the Kansas, which, in
high water, is navigable for small steamers to this point. Manhattan and
Waultonsee are two thriving towns in that vicinity. The latter was colonized
from New Haven, Conn.; and by the identical party to whom Sharp's rifles
were subscribed at a meeting in a church. One of them was a deacon in
the church, and among the donors were clergymen, professors of science,
lady principals of female seminaries, and others of quiet callings and anti-
pugnacious tendencies.
St. Marys, on Kansas River, 51 miles below Fort Riley, is an important
and flourishing Catholic missionary establishment among the Pottawatomies,
and the mission buildings, the trading houses, with the Indian improvements,
give it quite the appearance of a town.
The Catholic Osage Mission, on the Neosho River, 45 miles from Fort
Scott, is one of the largest missions and schools in Kansas. It was corn-
KANSAS.
455
menced in 1847 ; Rev. John Schoenmaker was the first superior of this mis-
sion. Sermons are preached in Osage and English. Attached to this mis-
sion is a manual labor school for boys, under the direction of the fathers.
There are ten missionary stations at as many Indian villages, within sixty
miles, attended mostly from this mission. In 1853, the Quapaw school, by
the direction of the U. S. government, was transferred to this mission.
The Shawnee Mission, under the direction of the Methodist Episcopal
Church South, is about 8 miles from the mouth of Kansas River, and 3 from
Westport, Mo. It has very superior bnildings, and a manual labor school.
The Friends' Shawnee Labor School is 3 miles W. from the Methodist mis-
sion. It has been in operation more than fifty years, including the period
before their arrival. The Baptist Shawnee Mission is 2 miles N.W. from the
Methodist School. The Kickapoo Mission is on Missouri River, 4 miles
above Fort Leavenworth; the Iowa and Sac Mission School is just south of
the northern line of Kansas, about 26 miles N.W. of St. Joseph. It is said
to have been established as early as 1837.
Council Grove is a noted stopping place on the Santa Fe road, S. from Fort
Riley, containing several trading houses and shops, and a missionary estab-
lishment and school.
Council City, a tract nine miles square, recently laid out on a branch of
the Osage, is in a S.W. course from Lawrence.
MISCELLANIES.
The following narrative of a visit to the Kansas Indians, is from the work
of P. J. De
Smet, a Catho-
lic missionary,
who was sent
by the bishop
of St. Louis, in
1840, on an ex-
ploring expedi-
t i o n to the
Rocky Moun-
tains, to ascer-
tain the spirit-
u a 1 condition
of the Indians,
etc.:
W e started
from Westport
on the 10th of May, and after having passed by the lands of the Shawpees and
Delaware?, where we saw nothing remarkable but the college of the Methodists,
built, it is easy to divine for what, where the soil is richest; we arrived after five
days' march on the banks of the Kansas River, where we found those of our com-
panions, who had traveled by water, with a part of our baggage. Two of the rela-
tives of the grand chief had come twenty miles from that place to meet us, one of
whom helped our horses to pass the river in safety, by swimming before them, and
the other announced our arrival to the principal men of the tribe who waited for
us on the opposite bank. Our baggage, wagons and men crossed in a pirogue,
which, at a distance, looked like one of those gondolas that glide through th»
KANSAS VII.LAOK.
Engraved from a view in De Smet's Sketches.
456 KANSAS
streets of Venice. As soon as the Kansas understood that we were going to en-
camp on the banks of the Soldier's River, which is only six miles from the village,
they galloped rapidly away from our caravan, disappearing in a cloud of dust, so
that we had scarcely pitched our tents when the great chief presented himself,
with six of his bravest warriors, to bid us welcome. After having made rno sit
down on a mat spread on the ground, he, with much solemnity, took from his pocket
a portfolio containing the honorable titles that gave him a right to our friendship,
and placed them in my hands. I read them, and having, with the tact of a man
accustomed to the etiquette of savage life, furnished him with the means of smok-
ing the calumet, he made us accept for our guard the two braves who had come
to meet us. Both were armed like warriors, one carrying a lance and a buckler,
and the other a bow and arrows, with a naked sword and a collar made of the
claws of four bears which he had killed with his own hand. These two braves re-
mained faithful at their post during the three days and three nights that wre had to
wait the coming up of the stragglers of the caravan. A small present, which wo
made them at our departure, secured us their friendship.
On the 19th we continued our journey to the number of seventy souls, fifty of
whom were capable of managing the rifle — a force more than sufficient to under-
take with prudence the long march we had to make. Whilst the rest of our com-
pany inclined to the west, Father Point, a young Englishman and mj'self turned
to the left, to visit the nearest village of our hosts. At the first sight of their wig-
wams, we were struck at the resemblance they bore to the large stacks of wheat
which cover our fields in harvest time. There were of these in all no more than
about twenty, grouped together without order, but each covering a space of about
one hundred and twenty feet in circumference, and sufficient to shelter from thirty
to forty persons. The entire village appe:ired to us to consist of from seven to
eight hundred souls — an approximation which is justified by the fact that the total
population of the tribe is confined to two villages, together numbering 1,900 in-
habitants. These cabins, however humble they may appear, are solidly built, and
convenient. From the top of the wall, which is about six feet in night, rise in-
clined poles, which terminate round an opening above, serving at once for chimney
and window. The door of the edih'ce consists of an undressed hide on the most
sheltered side, the hearth occupies the center and is in the midst of four upright
posts destined to support the rotunda; the beds are ranged around the wall and the
space between the beds and the hearth is occupied by the members of the family,
sinne sianding, others sitting or lying on skins, or yellow colored mats. It would
seem that this last named article is regarded as an extra piece of finery, for the
lodge assigned to us had one of them.
As for dress, manners, religion, modes of making war, etc., the Kansas are like
t!ie savages of their neighborhood, with whom they have preserved peaceful and
friendly relations from time immemorial. In stature, they are generally tall and
well made. Their physiognomy is manlv, their language is guttural, and remarka-
ble for the length and strong accentation of the final syllables. Their style of
singing is monotonous, whence it may be inferred that the enchanting music heard
on the rivers of Paraguay, never cheers the voyager on the otherwise beautiful
streams of the country of the Kansas.
The Kansas, like all the Indian tribes, never speak upon the subject of religion
without becoming solemnity. The more they are observed, the more evident does
it become that the religious sentiment is deeply implanted in their souls, and is, of
all others, that .which is most frequently expressed by their words and actions.
ThuH, foHnstance, they never take the calumet without first rendering some homage
to the Great Spirit. In the midst of their most infuriate passions they address
him certain prayers, and even in assassinating a defenseless child, or a woman,
they invoke the Master of Life. To be enabled to take many a scalp from their
enemies, or to rob them of many horses, becomes the object of their most fervid
prayers, to which thoy sometimes add fasts, macerations and sacrifices. What did
they not do last spring, to render the heavens propitious ? And for what? To ob-
tain the power, in the absence of their warriors, to massacre all the women and
children of the Pawnees ! And in effect they carried off the scalps of ninety vic-
tims, and made prisoners of all whom they did not think proper to kill. In their
KANSAS.
457
eyes, revenue, far from being a horrible vice, is the first of virtues, the distinctive
mark of great souls, and a complete vindication of the most atrocious cruelty. If,
would be time lost to attempt to persuade them that there can be neither merit, nor
glory, in the murder of a disarmed and helpless foe. There is but one exception
to this barbarous code ; it is when an enemy voluntarily seeks a refuge* in one of
their villages. As long as he remains in it, his asylum is inviolable — his life in
more safe than it would be in his own wigwam. But wo to him if he attempt to
fly — scarcely has he taken a single step, before he restores to his hosts all the im-
aginary rights which the spirit of vengeance had given them to his life ! However
cruel they may be to their foes, the Kansas are no strangers to the tenderest sen-
timents of piety, friendship and compassion. They are often inconsolable for the
death of their relations, and leave nothing undone to give proof of their sorrow.
Then only do they suffer their hair to grow — long hair being a sign of long mourn-
ing. The principal chief apologized for the length of his hair, informing us, of
what we could have divined from the sadness of his countenance, that he had lost
his son. I wish I could represent to you the respect, astonishment and compas-
sion, expressed on the countenances of three others, when they visited our little
chapel for the first time. When we showed them an "Ecce Homo" and a statue
of our Lady of the seven Dolours, and the interpreter explained to them that that
head crowned with thorns, and that countenance defiled with insults, were the true
and real image of a God who had died for the love of us, and that the heart they
saw pierced with seven swords, was the heart of his mother, we beheld an affecting
illustration of the beautiful thought of Tertullian, that the soul of man is naturally
Christian ! On such occasions, it is surely not difficult, after a short instruction on
true faith and the love of God, to excite feelings of pity for their fellow creatures
in the most ferocious bosoms.
THE SHAWNEES IN KANSAS.
Henry Harvey, late superintendent of the Friends Mission among the Shawnees,
in Kansas, gives, in his work on the history of that tribe, an account of their con-
dition in Kansas, at the time of the passege of the Kansas-Nebraska bill. Origin-
ally the Shawnees. resided in the Ohio country: the tribe was one of the most pow-
erful there, and has numbered among its chiefs, Tecumseh, Cornstalk, and other
men of extraordinary talent and nobility of soul. Mr. Harvey says :
"The Shawnees, in the year 1854, numbered about nine hundred souls, includ-
ing the white men who have intermarried into the nation, and are thereby adopted as
Indians. This number is perhaps not more than twenty.
This tribe owns about one million six hundred thousand acres of land, or, about
1,700 acres each. Many of them have good dwelling-houses, well provided with
useful and respectable furniture, which is kept in good order by the females, and
they live in the same manner as the whites do, and live well too. They have
smoke-houses, stables, corn-cribs, and other out buildings. They have a good sup-
ply of horses, cattle, hogs, and some sheep. They have many farm wagons and
work oxen — some carriages and buggies, and are generally well supplied with farm-
ing implements, and know how to use them. They raise abundance of corn and
oats, and some wheat. Their houses are generally very neat; built of hewn logs,
with shingled roofs, stone chimneys, and the inside work very well finished off, and
mostly done by themselves, as there are a number of very good mechanics among
the younger class. Their fencing is very good, and, taken altogether, their settle-
ments make a very respectable appearance, and would lose no credit by a compari-
son with those of their white neighbors in the state adjoining them, leaving out
now and then, a farm where slaves do the labor, and thus carry on farming on a
large scale.
The Shawnees have a large and commodious meeting-house, where they hold a
religious meeting on the first day of each week. They have, also a graveyard at-
tached to the meeting-house lot. They hold religious meetings often at their own
houses during the week, generally at night. They hold their camp-meetings and
their other large meetings, in their meeting-house, as well as their public councils,
and also their temperance meetings ; for they, in imitation of their white brethren,
458 KANSAS.
and as a means of arresting the worst evil which ever overtook the Indians, organ-
ized a society on this subject, and have their own lecturers, in which they arc
assisted by some of the missionaries. The younger cLass of them ara most inter-
ested in this work, which is doing much good among them. Many of them have
united themselves to religious societies, and appear to be very zealous observers of
the forms and ceremonies of religion, and notwithstanding many of them, like too
many of their white brethren, appear to have the form of godliness but not the
power, yet it is apparent, that there are those among them who are endeavoring to
walk in the just man's path, which, to one who has been acquainted with them for
a number of years, even when in their wild and savage state, affords great satisfac-
tion.
As regards the settlements of the Shawnees in their present situation, they are
all located on about thirty miles of the east end of their tract; their settlements
of course, reaching a little short of one third of the distance back from the Mis-
souri state line.
In passing along the California and Santa Fe roads, which run on the divide be-
tween the streams of the Blue and Osage Rivers, and the Kansas River — in cast-
ing the eye on either side, a handsome view is presented on both hands, of good
dwellings, handsome farms, bordering on the forest, and fine herds of cattle and
horses grazing in the rich prairies, as we pass, and beautiful fields of grain sown,
planted and cultivated by the Indians themselves; and should the weary traveler
see proper to call, and spend a night with these people, and manifest that interest
for them, which he will be very sure to do, in viewing them in their present con-
dition, and comparing it with what it once was, he will be well cared for. The
Shawnees generally sow a large amount of grain, and often spare a large surplus
after supplying their own wants.
There are now in the Shawnee nation four Missions, one under the care of the
Methodist Church South, one under the care of the Northern Methodist Church,
one under the care of the Baptist Church, and the other under,the care of the So-
ciety of Friends. They are all conducted on the manual labor system ; about one
hundred and forty children are generally in attendance at those schools. At the
first named mission there are large and commodious buildings of brick, and other
out-buildings, and five or six hundred acres under cultivation; at the other Metho-
dist Mission, a farm of about one hundred acres is under cultivation, and comfort-
able log buildings are erected. At the Baptist Mission are good comfortable build-
ings, and, I suppose, near one hundred acres adjoining to, and at some distance
from, the farm, where the school is kept ; and at the Friends' Mission are a large
frame house and barn, and other out-buildings, and about two hundred acres under
cultivation,"
CALIFORNIA,
CALIFORNIA is said, by some writers, to signify in English, hot furnace,
and to be derived from two Spanish words, caliente fornalla, or homo : but
this is doubtful. If true, however,
it is properly .applied, as the sun
pours down into the valleys through
a dry atmosphere with great power.
Under the 5lexicans, California was
in two divisions. Lower California
was, as now, the peninsula. Upper
or New California comprised all of
Mexico north of that point and the
Gila River, and east of the Rocky
Mountains, containing nearly 400,000
square miles. The greater part of
New Mexico, and of Utah, and all of
the state of California, comprised the
original Upper California.
" California was discovered in 1548,
by Cabiillo, a Spanish navigator. In
1758, Sir Francis Drake visited its
northern coast, and named the coun-
try New Albion. The original settlements in California were mission estab-
lishments, founded by Catholic priests for the conversion of the natives. In
1769, the mission of San Diego was founded by Padre Junipero Serra.
The mission establishments were made of adobe, or sun burnt bricks, and
contained commodious habitations for the priests, store -houses, offices, me-
chanic shops, granaries, horse and cattle pens, and apartments for the instruc-
tion of Indian youth. Around and attached to each, were, varying in dif-
ferent missions, from a few hundred to several thousand Indians, who gen-
erally resided in conical-shaped huts in the vicinity, their place of dwelling
being generally called the rancheria. Attached to each mission were a few
soldiers, for protection against hostilities from the Indians.
The missions extended their possessions from one extreme of the territory
to that of the other, and bounded the limits of one mission by that of the
next, and so on. Though they did not require so much land for agriculture,
459
ARMS OF CALIFORNIA.
MOTTO — Eureka — I have found It.
460
CALIFORNIA.
and the maintenance of their stock, they appropriated the whole ; always
strongly opposing any individual who might wish to settle on any land be-
tween them.
All the missions were under the charge of the priests of the order of San Fran-
cisco. Each mission was under one of the fathers, who had despotic authority.
The general products of the missions were large cattle, sheep, horses, Indian corn,
beans and peas. Those in the southern part of California, produced also the grape
and olive in abundance. The most lucrative product was the large cattle, their
hides and tallow affording an active commerce with foreign vessels, and being, in-
deed, the main support of the inhabitants of the territory.
From 1800 to 1830, the missions were in the hight of their prosperity. Then,
each mission was a little principality, with its hundred thousand acres and its
twenty thousand head of cattle. All the Indian population, except the " Gentiles "
of the mountains, were the subjects of the padres, cultivating for them their broad
lands, and reverencing them with devout faith.
The wealth and power in possession of the missions, excited the jealousy of the
Mexican authorities. In 1833,;the government commenced a series of decrees,
which eventually ruined them. In 1845, the obliteration of the missions was com-
pleted by their sale at auction, and otherwise.
Aside from the missions, in California, the inhabitants were nearly all gathered
in the presidios, or forts, and in the villages, called lLos Pueblos.' The presidios,
or fortresses, were occupied by a few troops under the command of a military pre-
fect or governor. The Padre President, or Bishop, was the supreme civil, military
and religious ruler of the province. There were four presidios in California, each
of which had under its protection several missions. They were respectively, San
Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and San Francisco.
Within four or five leagues of the presidios, were certain farms, called ranchios,
which were assigned for the use of the garrisons, and as depositories of the cattle
and grain which were furnished as taxes from the missions.
Los Pueblos, or towns, grew up near the missions. Their first inhabitants con-
sisted of retired soldiers and attaches of the army, many of whom married Indian
women. Of the villages of this description, there were but three, viz : Los Ange-
los, San Jose, and Branciforte. In later times, the American emigrants established
one on the Bay of San Francisco, called Yerba Buena, i. e. good herb, which be-
came the nucleus of the flourishing city of San Francisco. Another was estab-
lished by Capt. Sutter, on the Sacramento, called New Helvetia. The larger pue-
blos were under the government of an alcalde, or judge, in connection with other
municipal officers.
The policy of the Catholic priests, who held absolute sway in California, until
1833, was to discourage emigration. Hence, up to about the year 1840, the villages
named comprised all in California, independent of those at the missions; and'at
that time, the free whites and half-breed inhabitants in California numbered lesa
than six thousand souls. The emigration from the United States first commenced
in 1838; this had so increased from year to year, that, in 1846, Col. Fremont had
but little difficulty in calling to his aid some five hundred fighting men. Some few
resided in the towns, but a majority were upon the Sacramento, where they had
immense droves of cattle and horses, and fine farms, in the working of which they
were aided by the Indians. They were eminently an enterprising and courageous
body of people, as none other at that time would brave the perils of an overland
journey across the mountains. In the ensuing hostilities they rendered important
services.
At that period, the trade carried on at the different towns was quite extensive,
and all kinds of dry goods, groceries and hardware, owing to the heavy duties,
ranged about five hundred per cent, above the prices in the United States, Me-
chanics and ordinary hands received from two to five dollars per day. The com-
merce was quite extensive, fifteen or twenty vessels not unfrequently being seen
in the various ports at the same time. Most of the merchant vessels were from
the United States, which arrived in the spring, and engaged in the coasting trade
until about the beginning of winter, when they departed with cargoes of hides,
•
CALIFORNIA. 461.
t
tallow or furs, which had been collected during the previous year. Whale ships
also touched at the ports for supplies and to trade, and vessels from various parts
of Europe, the Sandwich Islands, the Russian settlements, asd China."
From 1826 to 1846, the date of the conquest of California by the United States,
there had been numerous civil revolutions in California; but Mexican authority
was generally paramount. Of its conquest we give a brief account.
In July, 1846, at the beginning of the Mexican war, an American naval force,
under Commodore Sloat, took Monterey and San Francisco. Sloat then dispatched
a party to the mission of St. John, who there found that the American flag had
been raised by Fremont This officer, on his third exploring expedition, had arrived
near Monterey in the preceding January, some months prior to the commencement
of the war. Learning that Gen. De Castro, the military commandant at that place,
intended to drive him from the country, he took a strong position in the mountains
with 'his small party of 62 men, raised the American flag, and prepared for resist-
ance. De Castro relinquished his design, but later prepared an expedition for So-
noma, to expel all the American settlers from the country. Fremont, on learning
1;his, took Sonoma on the 15th of June by surprise, captured Gen. Vallejo and other
officers, 9 cannon, 250 muskets, and a quantity of military stores. On the 4th of
July, Fremont assembled the American settlers at Sonoma, and by his advice they
raised the revolutionary flay, and prepared to fight for their independence. A few
days later they learned, through the operations of Commodore Sloat, of the exist-
ence of war, and the star spangled banner was substituted for the standard of
revolt.
Soon after, Fremont united his force of 160 men to the marines of Commodore
Stockton, and they sailed to San Diego. From thence they marched up and took
Los Angelos, the seat of government. Stockton established a civil government,
and proclaimed himself governor. In September, Los Angelos being left with a
small garrison, under Capt. Gillespie, was taken by a superior Mexican force led by
Gens. Flores and Pico.
In November, the army of Gen. Kearney, having conquered New Mexico, arrived
in their overland march across the continent, on the southern borders of Califor-
nia. On the 6th of December, an advance party of 12 dragoons and 30 volunteers
had a battle with 160 mounted Mexicans near San Pasqual. The Americans were
victorious. Gen. Kearney was twice wounded, Capts. Johnson and Moore, Lieut
Hammond and most of the other officers, together with nineteen of the men, were
either killed or wounded.
On the 29th of December, Kearney took command of five hundred marines, with the
land forces, and moved toward Angelos, to co-operate with Col. Fremont in quelling the
revolt, now backed by a Mexican nrmy of six hundred men, under Gens. Flores and Pico.
These forces he met and defeated at San Gabriel on the 8th of January. The next day,
he again fought and routed them at Mesa. The Mexicans then marched twelve miles
past Angelos to Cowenga, where they capitulated to Col. Fremont, who had, after a
tedious, wintry march from the north, of four hundred mile?, arrived at that place.
On the 16th of January, Com. Stockton commissioned Fremont as governor, the duties
of which he had discharged about six weeks, when Gen. Kearney, according to orders re-
ceived from government, assumed the office and title of governor of California. Com.
Shubrick, who was now the naval commander, co-operated with Kearney, whose forces
were augmented about the last of January, by the arrival of Col. Cooke with the Mor-
mon battalion, which had marched from Council Bluffs to Santa Fe.
Gen. Kearney, by direction of government, placing Col. Mason in the office of governor,
on the 16th of June took his way homeward across the northern part of California, and
from thence crossed the Rocky Mountains through the South Pass.
Before the news of peace was received in California, a new era commenced in the dis-
covery of the gold mines. The peculiar state of affair* brought about by this, with the
great rush of population., was such that the people were in a measure compelled to form a
constitution of state government. The convention, for this purpose, met at Monterey in
1849, and on the 12th of October, formed the constitution, which was adopted by the peo-
ple. After much delay, California was admitted into the Union by action of congress, in
September, 1850.
The first officers elected under the state constitution were, Peter H. Burnett, governor;
John McDougal, licut. governor; John C. Fremont, Wm. M. Gwin, U. S. senators; Geo.
W. Wright, Edward Gilbert, U. S. representatives: Wm. Van Vorhies, secretary of state;
462 CALIFORNIA.
Richard Roman, treasurer; J. S. Houston, comptroller; Ed. J. C. Kewen, attorney gen-
eral; Chas. J. Whiting, surveyor general; S. C. Hastings, chief justice; and J. A. Lyon
and Nathaniel Beunett, associates.
California, one of the Pacific states, is about 750 miles long, with an
average breadth of about 200 miles, giving an area of 150,000 square
miles. Its southern boundary approximates in latitude to that of Charles-
ton, South Carolina: its northern to that of Boston, Massachusetts. This,
with its variation of surface, gives it a diversity of climate, and consequently
of productions. Geographically, its position is one of the best in the world,
lying on the Pacific fronting Asia.
<l California is a country of mountains and valleys. The principal mountains are
the Sierra Nevada, i. e. snowy mountains. This sierra is part of the great moun-
tain range, which, under different names, extends from the peninsula of California
to Russian America. Rising singly, like pyramids, from heavily timbered plateaux,
to the hight of fourteen and seventeen thousand feet above the ocean, these snowy
peaks constitute the characterizing feature of the range, and distinguish it from
the Rocky Mountains and all others on our part of the continent. The Sierra Ne-
vada is the grandest feature of the scenery of California, and must be well under-
stood before the structure of the country and the character of its different divis-
ions can be comprehended. Stretching along the coast, and at the general dis-
tance of one hundred and fifty miles from it, this great mountain wall receives the
warm winds, charged with vapor, which sweep across the Pacific Ocean, precipi-
tates their accumulated moisture in fertilizing rains and snows upon its western
flank, and leaves cold and dry winds to pass on to the east. The region east of the
sierra is comparatively barren and cold, and the climates are distinct. Thus, while
in December the eastern side is winter, the ground being covered with snow and
the rivers frozen, on the west it is spring, the air being soft, and the grass fresh
and green. West of the Sierra ^Nevada is the inhabitable part of California.
North and south, this region extends about ten degrees of latitude, from Oregon to
the peninsula of California. East and west it averages, in the middle part, one
hundred and fifty, and in the northern part, two hundred miles, giving an area of
about 100,000 square miles. Looking westward from the summit, the main feature
presented is the long, low, broad valley of the Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers —
the two valleys forming one, five hundred miles long and fifty broad, lying along
the base of the sierra, and bounded on the west by the low coast range of
mountains, which separates it from the sea. Side ranges, parallel to the sierra
and the coast, make the structure of the remainder of California, and break it
into a surface of valleys and mountains — the valleys a few hundred, and the moun-
tains two or three thousand feet above the sea. These form great masses, and at
the north become more elevated, where some peaks, as the Shaste — which rises
fourteen thousand feet, nearly to the hight of Mont Blanc — enter the region of
perpetual snow. The two rivers, San Joaquin and Sacramento, rising at opposite
ends of the same great valley, receive their numerous streams, many of them bold
rivers, unite half way, and enter the Bay of San Francisco together."
Greeley, in his letters written in 1859, .gives a clear view of the resources
of California. We here copy from, them in an abridged form. The first
quoted from was written at San Jose.
The state of California may be roughly characterized as two ranges of moun-
tains— a large and a small one — with a great valley between .them, and a narrow,
irregular counterpart separating the smaller from the Pacific Ocean. If we add
to these a small strip of arid, but fertile coast, and a broad sandy desert behind it,
lying south-west of California proper, and likely one day to be politically severed
from it, we have a sufficiently accurate outline of the topography of the Golden
State.
Such a region, stretching from N. lat 32 deg. 30 min. up to lat. 42 deg., and
rising from the Pacific Ocean up to perpetually snow-covered peaks 15,000 feet
CALIFORNIA. 4gc
high, can hardly be said to have a climate. Aside from the Alpine crests of thf
sierra, and the sultry deserts below the Mohave and Santa Barbara, California em
bodies almost every gradation of climate, from the semi-arctic to the semi-tropical
There are green, fertile fields in the sierra which only begin to be well grassed
when the herbage of the great valley is drying up, and from which the cattle are
driven by snows as early as the 1st of October — long before grass begins to starl
afresh on the banks of the Sacramento. There are other valleys upon and neai
the sea-coast, wherein frost and snow are strangers, rarely seen, and vanishing with
the night that gave them being. Generally, however, we may say of the state thai
it has a mild, dry, breezy, healthy climate, better than that of Italy, in that the sultry,
scorching blasts from African deserts have here no counterpart. Save in the
higher mountains, or in the extreme north-east, snow never lies, the earth never
freezes, and winter is but a milder, greener, longer spring, throughout which cattle
pick up their own living far more easily and safely than in summer.
The climate of the valleys may be said to be created, as that of the mountains
is modified, by the influence of the Pacific Ocean. Sea breezes from the south-
west in winter, from the north-west in summer, maintain an equilibrium of tem-
perature amazing to New Englanders. San Francisco — situated on the great bay
formed by the passage of the blended waters of the Sacramento and the San Joaquin
— the former draining the western slope of the Sierra Nevada from the north, as
the latter does from the south — is thus, as it were, in the throat of the bellows
through which the damp gales from the Pacific are constantly rushing to cool the
parched slopes or warm the snow-clad bights of the interior. I presume there was
never a day without a breeze at San Francisco — generally a pretty stiff one. This
sea breeze is always damp, often chilly, and rolls up clouds which hide the sun for
a part, at least, of most days. Though ice seldom forms, and snow never lies in
her streets, San Francisco must be regarded as a cold place by most of her visiterg
and unaccliinated summer denizens. I presume a hot day was never known there,
and no night in which a pair of good woolen blankets were not esteemed a shelter
and a comfort by all but extremely hot-blooded people. Thick flannels and warm
woolen outer garments are worn throughout the year by all who have or can get
them. In short, San Francisco is in climate what London would be with her sum-
mer rains transformed into stiff and almost constant breezes.
The soil of California is almost uniformly good. The valleys and ravines re-
joice in a generous depth of dark vegetable mold, usually mingled with or resting
on clay ; while the less precipitous hill sides are covered with a light reddish clayey
loam of good quality, asking only adequate moisture to render it amply productive.
Bring a stream of water almost anywhere, save on the naked granite, and you in-
cite a luxuriant vegetation.
Yet the traveler who first looks down on the valleys and lower hill-sides of Cali-
fornia in midsummer is generally disappointed by the all but universal deadness.
Some hardy weeds, a little sour, coarse grass along the few still living water courses,
some small, far-between gardens and orchards rendered green and thrifty by irri-
gation, form striking exceptions to the general paralysis of all annual manifesta-
tions of vegetable life.
.... These slopes, these vales, now so dead and cheerless, are but resting from
their annual and ever successful efforts to contribute bountifully to the sustenance
and comfort of man. Summer is their season of torpor, as winter is ours. Dead
as these wheat fields now appear, the stubble is thick and stout, and its indications
are more than justified by the harvest they have this year yielded.
Cattle-growing was the chief employment of the Californians of other days, and
cattle-growing, next after mining, is the chief business of the Californians of 1859.
There are comparatively few farms yet established, while ranches abound on every
side. A corral, into which to drive his wild herd when use or security is in ques-
tion, and a field or two in which to pasture his milch cows and working cattle, are
often all of the ranchethat is inclosed; the herd is simply branded with the owner's
mark and turned out to range where they will, being looked after occasionally by
a mounted ranchero, whose horse is trained to dexterity in running among or
around them.
Fruit, however, is destined to be the ultimate glory of California. Nowhere else
464 CALIFORNIA.
on earth is it produced so readily or so bountifully. Such pears, peaches, apricots,
nectarines, etc., as load the trees of nearly every valley in the state which has had
any chance to produce them, would stagger the faith of nine tenths of ntj readers.
Peach trees only six years set, which have borne four large burdens of fruit while
growing luxuriantly each year, are quite common. Apple trees, but three years
set, yet showing at least a bushel of large, fair fruit, are abundant. I have seen
peach trees four or five years from the states which have all the fruit, they can
stagger under, yet have grown three feet of new wood over this load during the
current season. Dwarf pears, just stuck into the black loam, and nowise fertilized
or cultivated, but covered with fruit the year after they were set, and thenccfor-
-ward bearing larger and larger yields with each succeeding summer, are seen in
almost every tolerably cared-for fruit patch. I can not discover an instance in
which any fruit-tree, having borne largely one year, consults its dignity or its ease
by standing still or growing wood only the next year, as is common our way. ]
have seen green gages and other plum-trees so thickly set with fruit that 1 am suro
the plums would far outweigh the trees, leaves and all. And not one borer, curcu-
lio, caterpillar, apple-worm, or other nuisance of that large and undelightful family,
appears to be known in all this region. Under a hundred fruit-trees, you will not
see one bulb which has prematurely fallen — a victim to this destructive brood.
That California is the richest of all the American states in timber, as well as in
minerals, I consider certain, though the forests of Oregon are doubtless stately and
vast. Even the Coast Range between San Jose valley and Santa Cruz on the south-
west, is covered by magnificent redwood — some of the trees sixteen feet through,
and fifty in circumference. In soil, I can not consider her equal to Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, or Minnesota, though the ready markets afforded by her mines to her farms
probably render this one of the most inviting states to the enterprising, energetic
husbandman. But it must be considered that not half the soil of California can
ever be deemed arable; the larger area being covered by mountains, ravines,
deserts, etc.
The persistent summer drouth is not an unmixed evil. It is a guaranty against
many insects, and against rust, even in the heaviest grain. Grain and hay are got
in at far less cost and in much better average condition heie than they can be
where the summers are not cloudless nor rainless. Weeds are far less persistent
and pestilent here than at the east; while the air is so uniformly dry and bracing,
and the days so generally tempered by a fresh breeze, that the human frame main-
tains its elasticity in spite of severe and continued exertion. I was never before
in a region where so much could be accomplished to the hand in summer as just
here.
Irrigation is exceptional, even here. All the grains are grown here without irri-
gation; but the small grains are hurried up quite sharply by drouth, and in some
instances blighted by it, and at best are doubtless much lighter than they would
be with a good, soaking rain early in June; while Indian corn and most roots and
vegetables can only in favored localities be grown to perfection without artificial
watering. I estimate that, if all the arable land in the state, fertile as it undoubt-
edly is, were seasonably planted to corn and fairly cultivated, without irrigation,
the average yield would fall below ten bushels per acre. Hence every garden
throughout the state, save a part of those near the coast and within the immediate
influence of the damp sea breeze, must have its stream of water or it comes to
nothing, and various devices are employed to procure the needful fluid. Of those
] like Artesian wells far best; and they are already numerous, especially in this
valley. But ordinary wells, surmounted by windmills which press every casual
breeze into the service and are often pumping up a good stream of water while the
owner and all hands are asleep, are much more common, and are found to answer
very well; while some keep their little gardens in fair condition by simply draw-
ing water, bucket after bucket, in the old, hard way.
In a subsequent letter, written from Marysville, the chief town of north-
ern California, at the junction of the Yuba and Feather Rivers. Mr. Gree-
ley gives a description of what he saw of the agricultural riches of that
fertile region. We again quote :
CALIFORNIA. 465
The edifice erected by the public spirit of Marysville for the fairs which are to
be held here annually, and at which all northern California is invited to compete
for very liberal premiums, is quite spacious and admirably adapted to its purpose ;
and herein is collected the finest show of fruits and vegetables 1 ever saw at any-
thing but a state fair. Indian corn not less than twenty feet high; squashes like
brass kettles and water-melons of the size of buckets, are but average samples of
the wonderful productiveness of the Sacramento and Yuba valleys, while the
peaches, plums, pears, grapes, apples, etc., could hardly be surpassed anywhere.
The show of animals is not extensive, but is very fine in the departments of horses
and horned cattle. The most interesting feature of this show was its young stock
— calves and colts scarcely more than a year old, equal in weight and size, wlnle
far superior in form and symmetry, to average horses and bulls of ripe maturity.
With generous fare and usage, I am confident that steers and heifers two years
old in California will equal in size and development those a year older in our north-
ern states, and California colts of three years be fully equal to eastern colts of like
blood and breeding a good year older — an immense advantage to the breeder on
the Pacific. 1 am reliably assured that steers a year old, never fed but on wild
grass, and never sheltered, have here dressed six hundred pounds of fine beef.
Undoubtedly, California is one of the cheapest and best stock growing countries in
the world — and will be, after these great, slovenly ranches shall have been broken
up into neat, modest farms, and when the cattle shall be fed at least three months
in each year on roots, hay and sorghum, or other green fodder.
The valleys of the Yuba and Feather Rivers are exceedingly deep and fertile,
and their productiveness in this vicinity almost surpasses belief. 1 visited this
morning, in the suburbs, gardens, vineyards, orchards, of rarely equaled fruitful-
ness. The orchard of Mr. Briggs, for example, covers 160 acres, all in young fruit,
probably one half peaches. He has had a squad of thirty or forty men picking
and boxing peaches for the last month, yet his fruit by the cartload ripens and rots
ungathered. The wagons whi«h convey it to the mines have their regular stations
and relays of horses like mail stages, and are thus pulled sixty miles up rough
mountain passes, per day, where twenty-five miles would be a heavy day's work for
any one team. Hut he is not sending to the mines only, but by steamboat to Sac-
ramento and San Francisco as well. His sales last year, I am told, amounted to
$90,000; his net income was not less than §40,000. And this was realized mainly
from peaches, apricots and nectarines; his apples and pears have barely begun to
bear; his cherries will yield their first crop next year. There are of course heavier
fruit growers in California than Mr. Briggs, but he may be taken as a fair sample
of the class. Their sales will doubtless be made at lower and still lower prices;
they are now a little higher than those realized for similar fruit grown in New
•Jersey; they were once many times higher than now; but, though their prices
steadily decrease their incomes do not, because their harvests continued to be aug-
mented by at least twenty five per cent, per annum.
Let me give one other instance of successful fruit growing in another district:
Mr. Fallon, the mayor of San Jose, has a fine garden, in which are some ten or
tAvelve old pear trees — relics of the Spanish era and of the Jesuit missions. The
trees being thrifty but the fruit indifferent, Mr. F. had them pretty thoroughly
grafted with the Bartlett variety, and the second year thereafter gathered from one
tree one thousand pounds of Bartlett pears, which he sold for $200, or twenty cents-
per pound. The other trees similarly treated bore him six to seven hundred pounds
each of that large, delicious fruit, which he sold at the same price. And", every
year since, these trees have borne large yields of these capital pears.
Just a word now on grain. California is still a young state, whose industry and
enterprise are largely devoted to mining; yet she grows the bread of her half a
million well-fed inhabitants on less than a fortieth part of her arable soil, and will
this year have some to spare. I am confident her wheat crop of 1859, is-over four
millions of bushels, and I think it exceeds twenty-five bushels for each akre sown.
To day, its price in San Francisco is below a dollar a bushel, and it is not likely
to rise very soon. Though grown, harvested and threshed by the help of labor
which costs her farmers from thirty to forty dollars per month, beside board, it is
Btiil mainly grown at a profit; and so of a very large breadth, of barley, grown-
30
466 CALIFORNIA.
here instead of oats as food for working horses and cattle. Thougn wheat is prob-
ably the fullest, 1 judge that barley is the surest of any grain crop grown in the
state. It has never failed to any serious extent.
Indian corn is not extensively grown ; only the Russian River and one or two
other small valleys are generally supposed well adapted to it. And yet, I never
saw larger or better corn growing than stands to-day right here on the Yuba — not
a few acres merely, but hundreds of acres in a body. I judge that nearly all the
intervales throughout the state would produce good corn, if well treated. On the
hill-sides, irrigation may be necessary, but not in the valleys. None has been re-
sorted to here, yet the yield of shelled grain will range between 75 and 100 bush-
els per acre. And this is no solitary instance. Back of Oakland, across the bay
from San Francisco, Mr. Hobart, a good farmer from Massachusetts, showed me
acres-of heavy corn which he planted last May, after the rains had ceased and the
dry season fairly set in, since which no hoe nor plow had been put into the field ;
yet the soil remains light and porous, while there are very few weeds. Not one
drop of water has been applied to this farm; yet here are not only corn, but pota-
toes, beets, etc., with any number of young fruit trees, all green and thriving, by
virtue of subsoiling and repeated plowings last spring. The ground (sward) was
broken up early in the winter, and cross-plowed whenever weeds showed their
heads, until planting time ; and this discipline, aided by the drouth, has prevented
their starting during the summer. Such thorough preparation for a crop costs
something; but, this once made, the crop needs here only to be planted and har-
vested. Such farming pays.
The fig tree grows in these valleys side by side with the apple ; ripe figs are now
gathered daily from nearly all the old Mexican gardens. The olive grows finely
in southern California, and I believe the orange and lemon as well. But the grape
bids fair to become a staple throughout the state. Almost every farmer who feels
sure of his foothold on the land he cultivates either has his vineyard already
planted, or is preparing to plant one, while most of those who have planted are ex-
tending from year to year. I have looked through many of these vineyards, with-
out finding one that is not thrifty — one that, if two years planted, is not now loaded
with fruit. The profusion and weight of the clusters is marvelous to the fresh be-
holder. I will not attempt to give figures; but it is my deliberate judgment thit
grapes may be grown here as cheaply as wheat or corn, pound for pound, and that
wine will ultimately be made hero at a cost per gallon not exceeding that of whisky
in Illinois or Ohio. Wine will doubtless constitute a heavy export of California
within a very few years. So, I think, will choice timber, should the wages of labor
ever fall here so as to approximate our eastern standards.
T can not conclude this survey without alluding once more to the deplorable con-
fusion and uncertainty of land titles which has been and still is the master scourge
of this state. The vicious Spanish-Mexican system of granting lands by the mere
will of some provincial governor or municipal chief, without limitation as to area
or precise delineation of boundaries, here developes and matures its most perni-
cious fruits. Your title may be ever so good, and yet your farm be taken from
under you by a new survey, proving that said title does not cover your tract, 01
covers it but partially. Hence many refuse or neglect to improve the lands they
occupy, lest some title adverse to theirs be established, and they legally ousted or
compelled to pay heavily for their own improvements. And, in addition to the
fenuine Spanish or Mexican grants, which the government and courts must con-
rm and uphold, there are fictitious and fraudulent grants — some of them only
trumped up to be bought off, and often operating to create anarchy and protract
litigation between settlers and the real owners. Then there ar£ doubtless squat-
ters who refuse to recognize and respect valid titles, and waste in futile litigation
the money that mio;ht make the lands they occupy indisputably their own. Were
the titles to lands in California to-day as clear as in Ohio or Iowa, nothing could
check the impetus with which California would bound forward in a career of un
paralleled thrift and growth. It were far better for the state and her people that
those titles were wrongly settled than that they should remain as now. I met to
day an intelligent farmer who has had three different farms in this state, and has
lost them successively by adjudications adverse to his title. The present cost of
CALIFORNIA.
litigation, enormous as it is, is among the lesser evil consequences of this general
anarchy as to land titles.
Should these ever be settled, it will be probably found advisable to legislate for
the speedy breaking up and distribution of the great estates now held under good
titles by a few individuals. There will never be good common schools on or about
these great domains, which will mainly be inhabited by needy and thriftless ten-
ants or dependents of the landlords. An annual tax of a few cents per acre, the
proceeds to be devoted to the erection of school houses and the opening of roads
through these princely estates, would go far to effect the desired end. But, whether
by this or some other means, the beneficent end of making the cultivators of the
soil their own landlords must somehow be attained — the sooner the better, so that
it be done justly and legally. In the course of several hundred miles' travel
through the best settled portions of this state, I remember having seen but two
school houses outside of the cities and villages, while the churches are still more
uniformly restricted to the centers of population. Whenever the land titles shall
have been settled and the arable lands have become legally and fairly the property
of their cultivators, all this will be speedily and happily changed.
There are two seasons in California, the dry and the rainy, the latter ex-
tending from the 1st of November to the 1st of April. During the rainy
season are intervals of fine weather, in which all the plowing and sowing is
done.
" The mining interests of California are vast and inexhaustible. The state
abounds in mineral wealth, and in great varieties, and there is no knowing
to what extent these riches may be developed. The gold region embraces a
district of country extending from the Oregon line on -the north to Kern
Kiver in the south, a distance of nearly five hundred miles in length, and
from ten to one hundred and fifty miles in width. Mining is successfully
carried en in some twenty-five counties, and not more than one fifth of this
gold region is occupied by miners at the present time." From 1849 to 1860,
it was estimated that gold to the value of 600 millions of dollars had been
taken out of the mines of California and sent abroad.
"In a few years California will become a vast empire within herself. The peo-
ple have the use of all the mineral lands without any cost whatever, except the
tax on their personal property, but no mining claim is taxed. Every vacant piece
of land in the mines is subject to location by any one who may wish to settle on
it, and as long as he remains his possessory right is as good a title as he wants.
The mineral lands are expressly reserved from sale by act of congress, and the
legislation of the state, so far, has been to let them alone, yet recognizing the rules
of each mining camp as the law under which the miners hold their different kind
of claims.
The pre-emption laws of the United States have been extended to California, and
patsons settling upon the public land can have the benefit of them. Of the sur-
veyed lands the state is entitled to the sixteenth and thirty-sixth sections of each
township, for school purposes. She was granted 500,000 acres by congress for in-
ternal improvements, but a provision in her constitution diverts them to educa-
tional purposes. Thus California has over 6,000,000 acres out of which to build
up her school system.
She has also 5,000,000 of acres of swamp land, donated her by congress. This
land if? destined to become the most valuable in the state. It is all alluvial and of
inexhaustible richness. By an act of the state legislature, any person can locate
640 acres of this at one dollar an acre, by paying one fifth down and the balance
in five years. She is thus the absolute owner of over eleven millions of acres, and
constituting a basis of prosperity and usefulness of which perhaps no other stato
can boast."
The population of California, January 1, 1849, was estimated at 26,000,
viz: natives of the country, not including Indians, 13,000; United States
Americans, 8,000; and Europeans, 5,000. The whole number of Indians
468 CALIFORNIA.
was probably then about 40,000. In 1852, a state census gave the population
as 2(34,435. The census of 1860 gave a population of 384,770. A very large
proportion of the inhabitants are males and of mixed nationalities. A Cal-
ifornia writer thus estimates the number of the various classes of the popu-
lation in 1859:
"There may now be 125,000 voters in the state, certainly not more. Of alien
men, there are about 15,000 Frenchmen, 7,000 Spanish Americans, 8.000 Britona
and Irishmen, 4,000 Italians, 5,000 Germans, and 6,000 miscellaneous Europeans—
40,000 alien white men in all. We have thus 170,000 white men. There are
50,000 Chinamen,* as ascertained from the custom house books. This figure is
more exact than the census returns will be. Thus we have 220,000 men, of whom
about 88,000 (two fifths reside in the farming districts, including the cities, and
three fifths in the mining districts. In the former there are, on an average, two
men to a woman ; in the latter, five men to a woman; so that, in the farming dis-
tricts, there will be of men and women, 132,000, and in the mining districts,
158,400, or 70,400 women in the state. Add 90,000 minors, including school chil-
dren, and we have 380,400. To these add 5,000 negroes and 9,600 Indians, and we
have 395,000 as the total population of the state. The mining districts have a
large majority of the Chinamen and aliens; the farming districts have a majority
of the citizens, and a large majority of the women and children. Of the nativity
of the 125,000 voters, I make the following estimate, viz : 40,000 native Americans
from the free states, 30,000 Americans from the slave states, 25,000 Irishmen,
20,000 Germans, and lO,000 miscellaneous persons of foreign birth, including
British, Hungarians, Spaniards, etc. If this estimate be correct, you will perceive
that our population is very much mixed. But the English language prevails every-
where, and in another generation it will be the mother tongue of all the children
born of parents now in the state."
SAN FRANCISCO, the commercial capital of California, is in the same lati-
tude with Lisbon, and also with Richmond, Virginia, and distant on an air
line from the latter 2,500 miles. Its latitude is 37° 48' and longitude 122°
25' "W. from Greenwich. Her trade is immense, being the fourth commer-
cial city in the Union. Her situation is unrivaled, fronting the Pacific at
the head of the magnificent Bay of San Francisco, which has no- equal for a
line of thousands of miles of coast. " The connection of San Francisco
with the great interior valley of the state being the only water communication
with it, together with its easy communication with Asia, gives it vast com-
mercial advantages. Approaching it from the sea, the coast presents a bold
mountainous outline. The bay is entered by a strait running east and west,
about a mile broad at its narrowest part, and fire miles long from the ocean,
when it opens to the north and south, in each direction more than thirty
miles. It is divided by straits and projecting points, into three separate
bays, the two northern being called San Pablo and Suisun, and the south-
ern, San Francisco. The strait is called the 'Golden Gate,' on the same prin-
ciple that the harbor of Constantinople was called the 'Golden Horn,' viz:
its advantages for commerce."
*" Of all this number of 50,000 Chinamen, by the laws of California, not one is allowed
to vote, not one to give evidence in a court of justice, but kept virtually outlawed, and
liable to all manner of unlimited abuse, robbery, or personal cruelty, with no possibility of
redress, except some European happens to be an eye-witness. If some renegade Celt or
Saxon wishes to plunder a Chinaman, knowing the law and the poor man's defenselessness
he has but to choose a time when none but Chinese eyes are looking on ! A hundred Chi-
nese may witness a deed of violence, but their united testimony is worthless and inadinis
sible against a European or American evil-doer within the limits of the state."
CALIFORNIA.
469
San Francisco, as a town, is of very recent origin: but the immediate vi-
cinity has a history dating back to the year. 1776. Then the Mission of San
Francisco was founded, which stood two and a half miles south-west of the
cove of Yerba Buena; at the same time was erected a presidio and a fort
Harbor of San Francisco.
7
along the margin of the Golden Gate. In 1835,' the first habitation was
reared on the site of San Francisco, by Capt. W. A. Richardson, who, being
appointed harbor master, erected a tent of a ship's foresail, and supported it
by four redwood posts. His business was to manage two schooners, which
brought produce from the various missions and farms to the sea going ves-
sels that came into the cove. In May, 1836, Mr. Jacob Primer Leese arrived
in the cove, with the intention of establishing a mercantile business in con-
nection with partners at Monterey. He erected the first frame house, which
was 60 by 25 feet, placing it alongside of the tent of Richardson, and on the
470 CALIFORNIA.
site of the St. Francis Hotel, corner of Clay and Dupont-streets. The man-
sion was finished on the 4th of July, and the day was celebrated by a grand
banquet. The guests, numbering about 60, consisted of the principal Mex-
ican families of the neighborhood, together with the officers of two Ameri-
can and one Mexican vessel in port. Outside of the building the American
and Mexican flags waved together in amicable proximity, within, toasts were
drank and good cheer prevailed : half a dozen instruments added their en-
livening strains to the general enjoyment, two six 'pounders hard-by occa-
sionally opened their throats and barked forth with an emphasis proper to
the occasion. Mr. Lecse subsequently married a sister of General Vallejo,
one of his guests on this occasion, and on the 15th of April, 1838, was born
llosalia Lcese, the first born of Yerba Buena, as the place was then called
from the wild mint growing on the hills.
A few other houses were soon after built, and the Hudson's Bay Company be-
came interested in the place ; their agents and people came to form nearly the en-
tire settlement. Late as 1 844, Yerba Buena contained only about a dozen houses.
In 1846, this company disposed of their property and removed from the place,
when the progress of the Mexican war threw it into American hands, and it then
advanced with wonderful rapidity. By the end of April 1848, the era of the gold
discovery, the town contained 200 dwellings and 1,000 inhabitants, comprised
almost entirely of American and European emigrants.
The church, tavern and printing office are an indispensable adjunct to all Amer-
ican settlements. In January, 1847, appeared the first newspaper, the California
Star, published by Samuel Brannan, and edited by Dr. E. P. Jones. In the first
month of its issue was printed an ordinance, from the alcalde, Mr. Bartlett, chang-
ing the name of the place from Yerba Buena to San Francisco.
The first alcalde of San Francisco, under the American flag, was Washington A.
Bartlett, a lieutenant of the navy, who, being ordered to his ship, was succeeded
on the 22d of February, 1847, by Edwin Bryant. Under Mexican laws an alcalde
has entire control of municipal affairs, and administers justice in ordinary matters
according to his own ideas of right, without regard to written law. On the Amer-
icans taking possession of the country, they temporarily made use of the existing
machinery of local government, everywhere appointed alcaldes, and instructed
them to dispense justice with a general regard to the Mexican laws and the pro-
vincial customs of California.
In December, 1847, occurred the event which was so suddenly to trans-
form California from a wilderness into a great state, and San Francisco from
a petty village into a great commercial metropolis — the discovery of gold.
"Early in 1848, the news spread to the four quarters of the globe, and imme-
diately adventurers from every land came thronging to this new El Dorado.
The magnificent harbor of San Francisco made this port the great rendez-
vous for the arriving vessels, and from this period dates the extraordinary
increase and prosperity of the Californian metropolis. In the first four
months of the golden age, the quantity of precious dust brought to San
Francisco was estimated at $850,000. In February, 1849, the population of
the town was about 2,000 ; in August it was estimated at 5,000. From April
12, 1849, to the 29th of January, 1850, there arrived by sea 39,888 emi-
grants, of whom 1,421 only were females. In the year ending April 15,
1850, there arrived 62,000 passengers. In the first part of 1850, San Fran-
cisco became a city, with a population of 15,000 to 20,000; and in 1860, it
had 56,805, together with the largest trade of any city on the Pacific side
of the American continent.
The magical effect upon San Francisco of the discovery of gold, is thus
described in the Annals of the city :
Early in the spring of this year (1848), occasional intelligence had been received
CALIFORNIA. 471
of the finding of gold in large quantities among the foot hills of the Sierra Nevada.
Small parcels of the precious uietal had also been forwarded to San Francisco,
while visitors from the mines, and some actual diggers arrived, to tell the wonders
of the region and the golden gains of those engaged in exploring and working it
In consequence of such representations, the inhabitants began gradually, in bands
and singly, to desert their previous occupations, and betake themselves to the
American River and other auriferous parts of the great Sacramento valley. Labor,
from the deficiency of hands, rose rapidly in value, and soon all business and work,
except the most urgent, was forced to be stopped. Seamen deserted from their
ships in the bay and soldiers from the barracks. Over all the country the excite-
ment was the same. Neither threats, punishment nor money could keep men to
their most solemn engagements. Gold was the irresistible magnet that drew hu-
man souls to the place where it lay, rudely snapping asunder the feebler ties of
affection and duty. Avarice and the overweening desire to be suddenly rich, from
whence sprang the hope and moral certainty of being so, grew into a disease, and
the infection spread on all sides, and led to a general migration of every class of
the community to the golden quarters. The daily laborer, who had worked for the
good and at the command of another, for one or two dollars a day, could not be re-
strained from flying to the happy spot where he could earn six or ten times the amount,
and might possibly gain a hundred or even a thousand times the sum in one Jueky
day's chance. Then the life, at worst, promised to be one of continual adventure
and excitement, and the miner was his own master. While this was the case with
the common laborer, his employer, wanting his services, suddenly found his occu-
pation at an end; while shopkeepers and the like, dependent on both, discovered
themselves in the same predicament The glowing tales of the successful miners
all the while reached their ears, and threw their own steady and large gains com-
paratively in the shade. They therefore could do no better, in a pecuniary sense
even, for themselves, than to hasten after their old servants, and share in their new
labor and its extraordinary gains, or pack up their former business stock, and trav-
eling with it to the mines, open their new shops and stores and stalls, and dispose
of their old articles to the fortunate diggers, at a rise of five hundred or a thousand
per cent
In the month of May it was computed that at least one hundred and fifty people
had left San Francisco, and every day since was adding to their number. Some
were occasionally returning from the auriferous quarter; but they had little time
to stop and expatiate upon what they had seen. They had hastily come back, as
they had hastily gone away at first, leaving their household and business to waste
and ruin, now to fasten more properly their houses, and remove goods, family and
all, at once to the gold region. Their hurried movements, more even than the
words they uttered, excited the curiosity and then the eager desire of others to
accompany them. And so it was. Day after day the bay was covered with
launches, filled with the inhabitants and their goods, hastening up the Sacramento.
This state of matters soon came to a head ; and master and man alike hurried to
the placeres, leaving San Francisco, like a place where the plague reigns, forsaken
by its old inhabitants, a melancholy solitude.
On the 29th of May, the " Californian " published a fly-sheet, apologizing for the
future non-issue of the paper, until better days came, when they might expect to
retain their servants for some amount of remuneration, which at present was im-
possible, as all, from the "subs" to the "devil," had indignantly rejected every
offer, and gone off to the diggings. "The whole country," said the last editorial
of the paper, " from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and from the sea shore to the
base of the Sierra Nevada, resounds with the sordid cry of gold ! GOLD ! ! GOLD ! ! !
— while the field is left half planted, the house half built, and everything neglected
but the manufacture of shovels and pick-axes, and the means of transportation to
the spot where one man obtained one hundred and twenty-eight dollars' worth of
the real stuff in one day's washing, and the average for all concerned is twenty dol-
lars per diem I''
Within the first eight weeks after the "diggings" had been fairly known, two
hundred and fifty thousand dollars had reached San Francisco in gold dust, and
within the next eight weeks, six hundred thousand more. These sums were all to
472 CALIFORNIA.
purchase, at any price, additional supplies for the mines. Coin grew scarce, anti
all that was in the country was insufficient to satisfy the increased wants of com-
merce in one town alone. Gold dust, therefore, soon became a circulating medium,
and after some little demur at first, was readily received by all classes at sixteen
dollars an ounce. The authorities, however, would only accept it in payment of
duties at ten dollars per ounce, with the privilege of redemption, by payment of
coin, within a limited time.
When subsequently immigrants began to arrive in numerous bands, any amount
of labor could be obtained, provided always a most unusually high price was paid
for it. .Returned diggers, and those who cautiously had never went to the mines,
were then also glad enoughHo work for rates varying from twelve to thirty dollars
a day; at which terms capitalists were somewhat afraid *o commence any heavy
undertaking. The hesitation was only for an instant. Soon all the labor that
could possibly be procured, was in ample request at whatever rates were demanded.
The population of a great state was suddenly flocking in upon them, and no prepa-
rations had hitherto been made for its reception. Building lots had to be surveyed,
and streets graded and planked — hills leveled — hollows, lagoons, and the bay itself
piled, capped, filled up and planked — lumber, bricks, and all other building mate-
rials, provided at most extraordinarily high prices — houses built, finished and fur-
nishe-d — great warehouses and stores erected — wharves run far out into the sea —
numberless tuns of goods removed from shipboard, and delivered and shipped anew
everywhere — and ten thousand other things had all to be done without a moment'*!
unnecessary delay. Long before these things were completed, the sand hills and
barren ground around the town were overspread with a multitude of canvas,
blyiket and bough-covered tents — the bay was alive with shipping and small craft
carrying passengers and goods backward and forward — the unplanked, ungraded,
unformed streets (at one time moving heaps of dry sand and dust; at another, miry
abysses, whose treacherous depths sucked, in horse and dray, and occasionally man
himself), were crowded with human beings from every corner of the universe and
of every tongue — all excited and busy, plotting, speaking, working, buying and
selling town lots, and beach and water lots, shiploads of every kind of assorted
merchandise, the ships themselves, if they could — though that was not often — gold
dust in hundred weights, ranches square leagues in extent, with their thousands
of cattle — allotments in hundreds of contemplated towns, already prettily designed
and laid out — on paper — and, in short, speculating and gambling in every branch
of modern commerce, and in many strange things peculiar to the time and place.
And everybody made money, and was suddenly growing rich.*
The loud voices of the eager seller and as eager buyer — the laugh of reckless
joy — the bold accents of successful speculation — the stir and hum of active, hur-
ried labor, as man and brute, horse and bullock, arid their guides, struggled and
managed through heaps of loose rubbish, over hills of sand, and among deceiving
deep mud pools and swamps, filled the amazed newly arrived immigrant with an
almost appalling sense of the exuberant life, energy and enterprise of the place,
He breathed quick and faintly — his limbs grew weak as water — and his heart sunk
within him as he thought of the dreadful conflict, when he approached and mingled
among that confused and terrible business battle.
Gambling saloons, glittering like fairy palaces, like them suddenly sprang into
existence, studding nearly all sides of the plaza, and every street in its neighbor*
hood. As if intoxicating drinks from the well plenished and splendid bar thej
each contained were insufficient to gild the scene, music added its loudest, if not
*Johnson, in his "Sights in the Gold Region," states " Lumber sold as high as $600 per
thousand feet. The merest necessaries of life commanded the most extravagant prioes.
Laundresses received $8 per dozen, and cooks $150 per month ; and it was nearly impossi-
ble to obtain either. The prices of houses and lots were from $10,000 to $75,000, each. A
lot purchased two years ago for a barrel of aguardiente was sold recently for $18,000. One
new three story frame hotel, about forty by sixty feet, cost $180,000, and rented for an in-
terest of more than twenty per cent, per annum ; small rooms for gambling purposes rent-
ing for $400 per month. Yet, notwithstanding these enormous incomes, speculation so
raged that as high as twenty-five per cent, was actually paid for the use of money for ont
week,"
CALIFORNIA
473
its sweetest charms ; and all was mad, feverish mirth, where fortunes were lost
and won, upon the green cloth, in the twinkling of an eye. All classes gambled
in those days, from the starchiest white neck-clothed professor to the veriest black
rascal that earned a dollar for blacking massa's boots. Nobody had leisure to
think even for a moment of his occupation, and how it was viewed in Christian
lands. The heated brain was never allowed to get cool while a bit of coin or dust
was left. These saloons, therefore, were crowded, night and day, by impatient
revelers who never could satiate themselves with excitement, nor get rid too soon
of their golden heaps.
The very thought of that wondrous time is an electric spark that fires into one
great flame all our fancies, passions and experiences of the fall of that eventful
year, 1849. The world had perhaps never before afforded such a spectacle; and
probably nothing of the kind will be witnessed for generations to come. A city
of twenty or thirty thousand inhabitants improvised — the people nearly all adult
males, strong in person, clever, bold, sanguine, reetless and reckless."
The proceedings of the famous "Vigilance Committee" of San Francisco
at the time excited the surprise of the outside. world. It was, however, an
organization thafr arose from the necessities of the community: its acts were
justified by the great body of the citizens, while its members comprised the
first men in business and social standing in the city.
Up to the beginning of 1851, the emigration to California had been im-
mense. Nearly a quarter of a million of men, strangers from various pacts
of the world, had been suddenly thrown into this new land, and scattered
among the newly established towns and over the different mining districts.
The institutions of law, in but a forming state, failed to give adequate pro-
tection. Among the inhabitants were a large number of criminals and vile
men from various countries. The most numerous and daring class of des-
peradoes were the convicted felons of the English penal colonies, who. having
" served their time," early contrived to sail for California. These " Sydney
coves," as they were called, renped a rich harvest in California, and for a
while it seemed impossible to check their crimes.
Around Clark's Point and vicinity, in San Francisco, was the rendezvous of
these villains. "Low drinking and dancing houses, lodging and gambling housea
of the same mean class, the constant scenes of lewdness, drunkenness and strife,
abounded in the quarter mentioned. The daily and nightly occupants of these
vile abodes had every one, more or less, been addicted to crime ; and many of them
were at all times ready, for the most trifling consideration, to kill a man or fire a
town. During the early hours of night, when the Alsatia was in revel, it was dan-
gerous in the highest degree for a single person to venture within its bounds. Even
the police hardly dared to enter there; and if they attempted to apprehend some
known individuals, it was always in a numerous, strongly-armed company. Seldom,
however, were arrests made. The lawless inhabitants of the place united to save
their luckless brothers, and generally managed to drive the assailants away. When
the different fires took place in San Francisco, bands of plunderers issued from
this great haunt of dissipation, to help themselves to whatever money or valuables
lay in their way, or which they could possibly secure. With these they retreated
to their dens, and defied detection or apprehension. Fire, however, was only one
means of attaining their ends. The most daring burglaries were committed, and
houses and persons rifled of their valuables. Where resistance was made, the
bowie-knife or the revolver settled matters, and left the robber unmolested. Midnight
assaults, ending in murder, were common. And not only were these deeds perpe-
trated under the shade of night; but even in daylight, in the highways and byways
of the country, in the streets of the town, in crowded bars, gambling saloons and
lodging houses, crimes of an equally glaring character were of constant occurrence
People at that period generally carried during all hours, and wherever they hap-
474
CALIFORNIA.
j>ened to be, loaded firearms about their persons ; but these weapons availed noth
m» against the sudden stroke of the ' slung shot,' the plunge and rip of the knife,
or the secret aiming of the pistol Xo decent man was in safety to walk the streets
after dark : while at all hours, both of night and day, his prope'rty was jeopardized
by incendiarism and burglary.
All this while, the law, whose supposed 'majesty' is so awful in other countries,
was here only a matter for ridicule. The police were few in number, and poorly
as well as irregularly paid.
Some of them were in league
with the criminals themselves,
and assisted these at all times
to elude justice. Subsequent
confessions of criminals on the
eve of execution, implicated a
considerable number of people
in various high and low de-
partments of the executive.
Bail was readily accepted in
the most serious cases, where
the security tendered was ab-
solutely worthless ; and where,
whenever necessary, both prin-
cipal and cautioner quietly dis-
appeared. The prisons like-
wise were small and insecure ;
and though filled to overflow-
ing, could no longer contain
the crowds of apprehended
offenders. When these were
ultimately brought to trial, sel-
dom could a conviction be ob-
tained. From technical errors
on the part of the prosecutors,
laws ill understood and worse
applied, false swearing of the
witnesses for the prisoners, ab-
sence often of the chief evi-
dence for the prosecution, dis-
honesty of jurors, incapacity,
weakness, or venality of the
judge, and from many other
causes, the cases generally
broke down and the prisoners
were freed. Not one criminal
His«n(« or VHITT*EEK ASTD
By the San Traaeiaco YigOaace Committee.
bid yet been executed. Yet it was notorious, that, at this period, at least one hun
dred murders had been committed within the space of a few months; while innu-
merable were the instances of arson, and of theft, robbery, burglary, and assault
with intent to kill It was evident that the offenders defied and laughed at all the
pony efforts of the authorities to control them. The tedious processes of legal
tribunals had no terrors for them. As yet everything had been pleasant and safe,
and they saw no reason why it should not alwavs be so. San Francisco had just
been destroyed, a fifth time", by conflagration. The cities of Stockton and Nevada
had likewise shared the same fate. That part of it was the doing of incendiaries
no one doubted ; and too, no one doubteu but that this terrible state of things
would continue, and grow worse until a new and very different executive from the
legally -constituted one should rise up in vengeance against those pests that worried
and preyed upon the vitals of society. It was at this fearful time that the Vigil-
ance Committee was organized."
This was in June, 1851, at which time the association organized '' for the protection
of the lire* and property of the citizens and residents of the city of ton Frs.n-
CALIFORNIA. 475
cisco." They formed a constitution and •elected a room in which to hold their
meetings, which were entirely secret The first person they arrested was John
Jenkins, a notorious "Sydney cove." He was seized for stealing a safe on the 10th.
of Jane. About 10 o'clock that night, the signal for calling the members wm*
given — the tolling of the bell of the Monumental Engine Company. Shortly after-
ward about 80 members of the committee hurried to the appointed pace, and giv-
ing die secret password were admitted. For two long hoars the committee closely
examined the evidence and found him guilty. "At midnight the bell waa tolled, as
sentence of death by hanging was passed" upon the wretched man. The i
sounds at that unusual hour filled the anxious* crowds with awe. The <
at this time was asked if he bad anything to say for himself, when he
' Xo, I hare nothing to say, only I wish to hare a cigar." This was handed to
him. and afterward, at his "request, a little brandy and water. He was perfectly
cool, and seemingly careless, confidently expecting, it was befiered, a rescue, up to
the last moment
A little before one o'clock, Mr. S. Brannan came out of die committee rooms,
and ascending a mound of sand to die east of die Basse tte House, addressed the
people He had been deputed, he said, by die committee, to inform diem that die
prisoner's ease had been fairly tried, that he had been proved guilty, and was con-
demned to be hanged: and that die sentence would be executed within one hour
upon die plaza. He then asked die people if diey approved of die action of die
committee, when great shouts of Ay ! Ay I burst forth, mingled with a few cries
of Xo ! In die interval a clergyman had been sent for, who administered die last
consolations of religion to die condemned.
Shortly before two o'clock, die committee issued from die building; hearing die
prisoner (who had his arms tightly pinioned) along with diem. The committee
were all armed, and closely clustered around die culprit to prevent any possible
chance of rescue A procession was formed : and die whole party, followed by
the crowd, proceeded to die plaza, to die south end of die adobe building, which
then stood on die north-west corner. The opposite end of the rope which was
already about the neck of die victim was hastily dirown over a projecting beam.
Some of the authorities attempted at difs stage of affairs to interfere, but their
effort? were unavailing. They were civilly desired to stand back, and not demy
what was still to be done The crowd, which numbered upward of a thousand,
were perfectly quiescent or only applauded by look, gesture, and subdued voice
die action of the committee Before die prisoner had reached die building, a score
of persons seized die loose end of die rope and ran backward, dragging die wretch
along die ground and raising him to die beam. Thus diey held him till he was
dead. Xor did diey let die body go until same hours afterward, new volunteers
relieving those who* were tired holding die rope Little noise or confusion took
place. Muttered whispers among die spectators guided their movements or be-
trayed their feelings. The prisoner had not spoken a word, eidier upon die
or daring the rapid preparations for his execution. At die end he was pi
strung up almost before he was aware of what was so immediately coming.
was a strong-built, healthy man, and his struggles, when hanging, were very vio-
lent for a few minutes."
The next execution which took place was about a month later, that of James
Stuart He was an Englishman, who had been transported to Australia for fwgeii.
On leaving it he wandered in various parts of die Pacific until he reached Cali-
fornia, where he was supposed to have committed more murders and other desper-
ate crimes than any other villain in die country. Before his death be acknowl-
edged the justice of his punishment He was hung July lldi. from a derrick at
the end of Market-street wharf, in die presence of assembled thouainnV
One more month rolled round, and the committee again exercised dieir duties
upon the persons of Samuel Whittaker and Robert McKenzie, who were guilty of
robbery, murder and arson, and on trial confessed these crimes. The sheriff and
his posse with a writ of kafoeu rorptu, took these men from die hands of die
mittee and confined diem in jail The latter, fearful that die rascals
through die quibbles of die law. prepared for die rescue
it half past two o'clock," says die Aanab of San Francisco, "on the
476 CALIFORNIA.
noon of Sunday, the 24th of August, an armed party, consisting of thirty-six
members of the Vigilance Committee, forcibly broke irito the jail, at a time when
the Rev. Mr. Williams happened to be engaged at devotional exercises w>th the
prisoners, among whom were "Whittaker and McKenzie. The slight defense of
the jailers and guards was of no avail. The persons named were seized, and
hurried to and placed within a coach, that had been kept in readiness a few steps
from the prison. The carriage instantly was driven off at full speed, and nearly
at the same moment the ominous bell of the J'onumental Engine Company rapidly
and loudly tolled for the immediate assemblage of the committee and the knell
itself of the doomed. The whole population leaped with excitement at the sound ;
and immense crowds from the remotest quarter hurried to Battery-street. There
blocks, with the necessary tackle, had been hastily fastened to two beams which
projected over the windows of the great hall of the committee. Within seventeen
minutes after the arrival of the prisoners, they were both dangling by the neck
from these beams. The loose extremities of the halters being taken within the
building itself and forcibly held by members of the committee. Full six thousand
people were present, who kept an awful silence during the short time these prepa-
rations lasted. But so soon as the wretches were swung off, one tremendous shout
of satisfaction burst from the excited multitude; and then there was silence
again.
This was the last time, for years, that the committee took or found occasion to
exercise their functions. Henceforward the administration of justice might be
safely left in the hands of the usual officials. The city now was pretty well
cleansed of crime. The fate of Jenkins, Stuart, Whittaker and McKenzie showed
that rogues and roguery, of whatever kind, could no longer expect to find a safe
lurking-place in San Francisco. Many of the suspected, and such as were warned
off by the committee, had departed, and gone, some to other lands, and some into
the mining regions and towns of the interior. Those, however, who still clung to
California, found no refuge anywhere in the state. Previously, different cases of
lynch law had occurred in the gold districts, but these were solitary instances
•which had been caused by the atrocity of particular crimes. When, however, the
Vigilance Committee of San Francisco had started up, fully organized, and began
their great work, Sacramento, Stockton, San Jose, as well as other towns and the
more thickly peopled mining quarters, likewise formed their committees of vigil-
ance and safety, and pounced upon all the rascals within their bounds. These
associations interchanged information with each other as to the movements of the
suspected; and all, with the hundred eyes of an Argus and the hundred arms of
a Briareus, watched, pursued, harassed, and finally caught the worst desperadoes
of the country. Like Cain, a murderer and wanderer, as most of them were, they
bore a mark" on the brow, by which they were known. Some were hanged at
various places, some were lashed and branded, but the greater number were simply
ordered to leave the country, within a limited time, under penalty of immediate
death if found after a stated period within its limits. Justice was no longer blind
or leaden-heeled. With the perseverance and speed of a bloodhound, she tracked
criminals to their lair, and smote them where they lay. Fora long time afterward,
the whole of California remained comparatively free from outrages against person
and property.
From all the evidence that can be obtained, it is not supposed that a single in-
stance occurred in which a really innocent man suffered the extreme penalty of
death. Those who were executed generally confessed their guilt, and admitted
the punishment to have been merited."
San Francisco, in common •with all of the American cities in California,
has suffered terribly from tremendous conflagrations. The towns when first
founded were composed mostly of frail wooden tenements, intermingled with
tents, which in the dry season became like tinder, so that when a fire broke out
and got headway it was impossible to arrest it. San Francisco. Sacramento
City, Stockton, and other places were several times successively destroyed.
CALIFORNIA. 477
No sooner, however, was the work of destruction completed, than the inhab-
itants rushed forth like so many bees, and dashing aside the smoking embers,
went to work to build new habitations; when lo ! in a twinkling, a fairer
city would arise, as it were by magic, on the ashes of the old, called forth
by the matchless energy and fertility of invention of the most extraordinary,
wonder-working body of men that had ever been gathered to found a state —
the adventurous and enterprising of every clime, self-exiles, driven thither
by the eager thirst for gold.
Beforfe midsummer of 1851, San Francisco had been visited by six "great'
fires, most of them the work of incendiaries. By them nearly all the old land
marks and buildings of Yerba Buena had been obliterated, and the total value of
property destroyed amounted to about twenty millions. The most destructive was
that of the 4th May, 1851, when, in the short space of ten hours, nearly 2,000
houses were destroyed, many lives, and property to the amount of from ten to
twelve millions.
"A considerable number of buildings, which were supposed fire-proof, had been
erected in the course of the preceding year, the solid walls of which, it was thought,
would afford protection from the indefinite spreading of the flames, when fire
should unhappily break out in any particular building. But all calculations and
hopes on this subject were mocked and broken. The brick walls that had been so
confidently relied upon, crumbled in pieces before the furious flames; the thick
iron shutters grew red hot and warped, and only increased the danger and insured
final destruction to everything within them. Men went for shelter into these
fancied fire-proof brick and iron bound structures, and when they sought to come
forth again, to escape the heated air that was destroying them as by a close fire,
they found, O horror ! that the metal shutters and doors had expanded by the heat,
and could not be opened! So, in these huge, sealed furnaces, several perished
miserably San Francisco had never before suffered so severe a blow,
and doubts were entertained by the ignorant that she could possibly recover from
its effects. Such doubts were vain. The bay was still there, and the people were
also there ; the placers of the state were not yet exhausted, and its soil was as
fertile and inviting as ever. The frightful calamity, no doubt, would retard the
triumphant progress of the city — but only for a time. The citizens of San Fran-
cisco were content only to <»rse and vow vengeance on the incendiaries that
kindled the fire, and resolved to be better prepared in future to resist its spreading
ravages. After the first short burst of sorrow, the ruined inhabitants, many of
whom had been burnt out tinae after time by the successive fires, began again, like
the often persecuted spider with its new web, to create still another town and
another fortune."
The city of San Francisco being at first a city of strangers, the post-office,
on the arrival of the monthly steamer from the Atlantic states was*the
scene of exhibitions of an interesting character from the assembled multi-
tudes that gathered for letters, most from loved ones at home, thousands of
miles away.
At a distance they looked like a mob; but, on approaching, one would find that
though closely packed together, the people were all in six strings, the head of each •
being at a delivery window, from whence the lines twisted up and down in all di-
rections, extending along the streets to a great distance, the n<L\v comers being at
the end of the line. So anxious were many to receive their epistles that they
posted themselves in the evening of one day to be early at the window on the
morning of the next, standing all night in the mud, often with a heavy rain pour-
ing on their heads. "Hours always elapsed before one's turn came. To save such
delay, sometimes people would employ and handsomely pay others to preserve places
for them, which they would occupy, in room of their assistants, when they wero
approaching the loop-holes where the delivery clerks stood. Ten and twenty dol-
lars were often paid for accommodation in this way. Some of these eager appli-
cants had not heard from their far distant homes for many long months, arid their
478 CALIFORNIA.
anxious solicitude was even painful. It was therein exceedingly distressing to
mark the despondency with which many would turn a\riy upon hearing from the
delivery clerks the oft-repeated and much-dreaded sentence, ' there is nothing here
for you.' On the other hand, it was equally pleasing to observe the cheerful and
triumphant smile, not unfrequently accompanied with a loud exclamation of joy,
that would light up the countenance of the successful applicant, who hastens from
the window, and as soon as he can force a passage through the crowd, tears open
and commences to read the more than welcome letter, every word of which awakena
in his mind some tender reminiscence."
SACRAMENTO CITY is the second city in commerce and population in Cal-
ifornia. It is on the left bank of the Sacramento, a little below the mouth
of the American, in the midst of a level and fertile country : distance, by
water, 140 miles N.E. of San Francisco. It has great advantages as a cen-
ter of commerce, being accessible for sailing vessels and steamers of a large
size at all seasons : both the Sacramento and its important branch, the
Feather River, is navigable for small steamers far above into the interior of
the country. It is the natural trading depot for all the great mining region
of the north Sacramento valley. The site being low, the city has suffered
in its early history by disastrous floods in the rainy season : it is now pro-
tected by levees. Population about 30.000.
The site of Sacramento City was originally in possession of Capt. John
A. Sutter, a Swiss gentleman, who established himself in the country in
1839. and soon after built " Suiter's Fort," taking possession of the surround-
ing country under a Mexican grant, giving to it the name of New Helvetia.
"From this point he cut a road to the junction of Sacramento and Ameri-
can Eivers, where he established an embarcadero (quay, or landing place),
on the site of which has since been built the City of Sacramento. Here he
reir ained for several years, his settlement being the head-quarters of the
immigrants, who, following his example, poured into the country from the
American states." «
Coloma is about 50 miles N.E. of Sacramento City, on the left bank of the
South Fork of American River. It contains some 4,000 inhabitants.
In the winter of 1847-'48, Capt. Sutter contracted with Mr. James W.
Marshall, an emigrant from New Jersey, to erect a saw mill on the river near
the site of Coloma. This accidentally led to the discovery of gold, which at
once changed the history of California. " Marshall one day in January,
having allowed the whole body of water to rush through the tail-race of the
mill for the purpose of making some alterations in it, observed, while walk-
ing along the banks of the stream early the next morning, numerous glisten-
ing particles among the sand and gravel, which had been carried off by the
force of the increased body of water. For a while he paid no particular at-
tention to them, but seeing one larger and brighter than the rest, he was in-
duced to examine it, and found it to be a scale of gold. Collecting several,
he immediately hurried to Sutter, and began his tale in such a hurried man-
ner, and accompanied it with such extravagant promises of unbounded wealth,
that the captain thought him demented, and looked to his rifle for protec-
tion ; but when Marshall threw his gold upon the table, he was forced into
the delightful conviction. They determined to keep the discovery a secret,
but were observed while examining the river, and soon had immense armies
around them."
The neighborhood literally over-flowed with the busy gold hunters, and
CALIFORNIA.
479
from thence they rapidly extended to the different gold districts, so that by
midsummer they amounted to many thousands. At first the general gains
of the miners, though great, were nothing to what was shortly after col-
lected. The average was usually from ten to fifteen dollars per day. Some
met with extraordinary success.
"Well authenticated accounts described many known persons as averaging from
one to two hundred dollars a day for a long period. Numerous others were said
to be earning from five to
_^~_ _----•=-- eight hundred dollars a day.
=^- — - Apiece of four pounds in
^^ =1 , ._ weight was early found.
If, indeed, in many cases,
a man with a pick and pan
did not easily gather some
thirty or forty dollars worth
of dust in a single day, he
just moved off to some
other place which he sup-
posed might be richer.
When the miners knew a
little better about the busi-
ness and the mode of turn-
ing their labor to the most
profitable account, the re-
turns were correspondingly
increased. At what were
called the ' dry diggings '
particularly, the yield of
gold was enormous. One
piece of pure metal was
found of thirteen pounds
weight. The common in-
strument at first made use
of Avas a simple butcher's
knife ; and as everything
was valuable in proportion
to the demand and supply,
butchers' knives suddenly
went up to twenty and
thirty dollars apiece. But
afterward the pick and
ehovel were employed. The auriferous earth, dug out of ravines and holes in the
sides of the mountains, was packed on horses, and carried one, two, or three miles,
to the nearest water, to be washed. An average price of this washing dirt was, at
this period, so much as four hundred dollars a cart load. In one instance, five
loads of such earth sold for seven hundred and fifty-two dollars, which yielded,
after washing, sixteen thousand dollars. Cases occurred where men carried the
earth in sacks on their backs to the watering places, and collected eight to fifteen
hundred dollars in a day, as the proceeds of their labor. Individuals made their
five thousand, ten thousand, and fifteen thousand dollars in the space of only a
few weeks. One man dug out twelve thousand dollars in six days. Three others
obtained eight thousand dollars in a single day. But these, of course, were ex-
treme cases. Still it was undoubtedly true, that a large proportion of the miners
were earning such sums as they had never even seen in their lives before, and
which, six months earlier, would have appeared a downright fable.
The story has a shady as well as a bright side, and would be incomplete unless
both were shown. There happened to be a 'sickly season' in the autumn at the
mines; many of the miners sank under fever and diseases of the bowels. A severe
kind of labor, to which most had been unaccustomed, a complete change of diet
SUTTEE'S MILL.
Where Gold was first discovered.
480
CALIFORNIA.
and habits, insufficient shelter, continued mental exciiemcnt, and the excesses in
personal amusement and dissipation which golden gains induced, added to the nat-
ural unhealthiness that might have existed in the district at different periods of
the year, soon introduced sore bodily troubles upon many of the mining popula-
tion. No gaihs could compensate a dying
man for the fatal sickness engendered by
his own avaricious exertions. In the
wild race for riches, the invalid was neg-
lected by old comrades still in rude health
and the riotous enjoyment of all the
pleasures that gold and the hope of con-
' tinually adding to their store could be-
* stow. When that Avas the case with old
companions, it could not be expected that
strangers should care whether the sick
man lived or died. Who forsooth among
the busy throng would trouble himself
with the feeble miner that had miscalcu-
lated his energies, and lay dying on the
earthen fiooi;of his tent or under the pro-
tecting branch of a tree ? Many, not so
a far reduced, were compelled to return to
-1 their old homes, the living spectres of
\ their former selves, broken in constitu-
3 tion and wearied in spirit; thoroughly
« satisfied that the diggings were not n't
\ abiding places for them.
The implements at first used in the
* process of gold seeking, were only the
' common pick and shovel, and a tin pan
5 or wooden bowl. The auriferous earth
* when dug out was put into the last, and
I water'being mixed with it, the contents
I were violently stirred. A peculiar shake
of the hand or wrist, best understood and
learned by practice, threw occasionally
over the edge of the pan or bowl the
muddv water and earthy particles, while
the metal, being heavier, sunk to the bot-
tom. Repented washings of this nature,
assisted by breaking the hard pieces of
earth with the hand or a trowel, soon ex-
tricated the gold from its covering and
carried away all the dirt. But if even
these simple implements were not to be
had, a sailor's or butcher's knife, or even
a sharpened hard-pointed stick could pu-k
out the larger specimens — the pepitas,
chunks, or nuggets, of different miners —
while the finer scales of gold could be
washed from the covering earth in Indian
willow-woven baskets, clay cups, old hats, or any rude apology for a dish; or the
dried sand could be exposed on canvas to the wind, or diligently blown by the
breath, until nothing was left but the particles of pure gold that were too heavy to
be carried away by these operations. Afterward the rocker or cradle nnd Long
Tom were introduced, which required several hands to iVod and work them: and
the returns by which were correspondingly great, Every machine, however, was
worked on the same principle, by rocking or washing, of separating by the me-
chanical means of gravitation, the h euvier particles — the g'.-M from atones, and the
lighter ones of earth.
CALIFORNIA.
481
Provisions and necessaries, as might have been expected, soon rose in price
enormously. At first the rise was moderate indeed, four hundred per cent, for flour,
five hundred for beef catile, while other things were in proportion. But these
were trifles. The time soon came when eggs were* sold at one, two, and three dol-
lars apiece ; inferior sugar, tea, and coffee, at four dollars a pound in small quan-
tities, or three or four hundred dollars a barrel; medicines — say, for laudanum, a
dollar a drop (actually forty dollars were paid for a dose of that quantity), and ten.
dollars a pill or purge, without advice, or with it, from thirty, up, aye, to one hun-
dred dollars. Spirits were sold at various prices, from ten to forty dollars a quart;
and wines at about as much per bottle."
Among the modes of mining early adopted was one termed " cayoteing," or drift-
ing. The word is derived from coyote, the name applied to the prairie wolf, and
as used, means burrowing, after the manne'r of that animal. Cayoeting was only
necessary in those cases where the gold by its superior weight had sunk through
the surface earth, until it had reached the layer of clay on the bed rock, often
many fathoms from the top. Having reached by a shaft the "hard pan," the miner
then ran passages horizontally in search of the gold, taking care to prop up the
roofs of these passages. Often, however, these have slowly yielded under the im-
mense masses above, and buried the gold hunter beyond all human resurrection.
Cayoteing has been superseded by tunneling. Tunnels are run into the sides of
mountains, following the uneven surface of the bed rock. Some of these are a
quarter of a mile or more in length and involve an immense labor and expense.
From them the "pay dirt" is carried out of the mine in carts drawn by mules over
railroads.
The old mining localities of California, the flats and bars of rivers, are now
pretty much exhausted, and there is very little of the old modes of mining fol-
lowed, excepting by the Chinese, who, content with small earnings, take up the
abandoned claims. Tunneling, quarts, sluice, and hydraulic mining are now the
means by which the larger part of the gold is obtained. Through the improvements
in machinery and contrivances for saving the gold, the yield is constantly aug-
menting, and as the gold region of California comprises a tract about as large as
all ^ew England, it is presumed that the state for 100 years to come will continue
to yield at least as much as since the first discovery — viz: fifty millions per
annum.
The most efficient mode of operation is hydraulic mining. A heavy current of
water is poured from a hose and pipe, precisely on the principle of a fire engine,
npon a side hill. For instance, " at North San Juan, near the middle fork of the
Tuba, streams at least three inches in diameter, and probably containing twenty
measured inches of water, are directed against the remaining half of a high hill,
which they strike with such force that bowlders of the size of cannon balls are
started from their beds and hurled five to ten feet in the air. By this process, one
man will wash away a bank of earth like a haystack sooner than a hundred men
could do it by old-fashioned sluicing. Earth yielding a bare cent's worth to the
pan may be profitably washed by this process, paying a reasonable price for the
water. As much as $100 per day is profitably paiS for the water thrown through
one pipe. The stream thus thrown will knock a man as lifeless as though it were
a grape-shot As the bank, over a hundred feet high, is undermined by this bat-
tery, it frequently caves from the top downward, reaching and burying the careless
operator. Very long sluices — as long as may be — conduct the discharged water
away ; and it is no matter how thick with earth the water may run, provided the
sluice be long enough. It is of course so arranged as to present riffles, crevices,
etc., to arrest the gold at first borne along by the turbid flood. There are compa-
nies operating by this method whose gross receipts from a single sluice have
reached a thousand dollars per day."
" In California the whole art of placer mining was revolutionized by this hy-
draulic process, and the production of gold received a fresli and lasting impulse.
Square miles of surface on the hills, rich in gold, which have lain untouched, now
yield up their treasure to the hydraulic miner. In that region, where labor can
scarcely be obtained, and is so costly, water becomes the great substitute for it,
and, as we have seen, is more effective and economical in its action that the labor
31
482
CALIFORNIA,.
MINIM;.
of men. Every inch of water which can be brought to bear upon a placer is valued
as the representative, or producer, of a certain amount of gold. Wherever it falls
upon the auriferous earth it liberates the precious metal, and if the gold is uni-
formly distributed through the earth, the amount produced is directly as the
quantity of water used. As a la-
bor saving process, the results (. f
this method compare favorably
with those obtained by machinery
in the various departments of hu-
man industry, where manual la-
bor has been superseded.
It is stated that at the close of
k the year 1858 there were 5,726
ft miles of artificial water-courses
for mining purposes in the state
of California, constructed at a
cost of over 13 millions of dollars.
This estimate is exclusive of sev-
eral hundred miles of new canals
in course of construction, and of
the many subordinate branches
of the canals, the aggregate length
of which is estimated at over one
thousand miles. Most of the canals
have been constructed by individ-
uals, or small companies of from
three to ten persons, but the works
compare in their magnitude and
cost with the most important pub-
lic works.
A vast deal of this canaling is over the most wild, rocky, and precipitous coun-
try ; jumping over awful chasms, and plunging down fearful abysses; trestle work,
story piled upon story, and wooden fluming zigzagged at every angle (rough as yet;
truly, but with strength adequate to its purpose), may be seen winding for miles
and miles its tortuous course, leading mountain streams faraway from their native
channels, and giving to the driest diggings water superabundant. The waterfall
at the end is generally very great, and it is turned to curious account.
Next to the hydraulic process of hose-washing, the most important application
of water in placer mining is in sluicing. The sluice is a long channel or raceway,
cut either in the surface of the bed rock or made of boards. The former is known
as the ground-sluice, and the latter as the board-sluice. The ground sluice is cut
in the softened surface or outcrop of the bed-rocks, which are generally of slate,
presenting upturned edges like the leaves of a book. In the softened mica slates
this resemblance is very great, and the surface is highly favorable to the retention
of particles of gold. It is easily cleaned up, as one or two inches in depth of the
surface may usually be scraped off with the shovel. The board-sluice is generally
twelve or fifteen inches in width, and from eight to ten inches deep, and is made in
convenient lengths, so that one can be added to another, until a length of two or
three hundred feet or more is obtained. False bottoms of boards are often used
to facilitate the retention of the gold, while the stones and gravel are swept away
by the rapid flow of the water. Long bars or rifflers are generally preferred to
cross cleats or holes. The fall or rate of descent of the bottom of the sluice is
varied according to circumstances, being arranged to suit the size of the gold and
the nature of the drift. One or two feet in a rod, or one foot in twelve, is a com-
mon inclination, and with a good supply of water will cause stones several inches
in diameter to roll from one end of the sluice to the other. The earth, stones and
gold as they enter these sluices with the water, are all mingled together, but the
current soon effects a separation; the lighter portions are swept on in advance, and
the gold remains behind, moving slowly forward on the bottom until it drops dowa
between the cleats or bars. The larger atones and coarse gravel are swept on by
CALIFORNIA.
483
the current, and after traversing the whole length of the sluice, are thrown out at
the lower end. The operation, as in the hydraulic or hose process, with which the
sluice is always combined, is » continuous one, and requires comparatively little
labor or attention, except to keep the sluice from clogging. In some localities,
where the depth of the auriferous gravel and overlying clay and soil is not great,
water may be used to as great ad-
vantage in the sluice as under
pressure. It has this advantage,
that the auriferous earth may be
washed as high up as the source
of supply. The process is a close
imitation of the operations of na-
ture in concentrating gold in the
deposits along the streams."
Quartz mining is the reduc-
tion to powder of the vein
stone, which contains the
gold, which is extracted from the
powder by means of water, quick-
silver, etc. There are so many
practical difficulties in the way
that it is very rarely attended with
success, as the expenses eat up
the profits, the gold not^isually
averaging more than one cent in
a pound of rock. The quartz
works at Allison's Kanche, in
Grass Valley, and those at Fre-
mont's Ranche, in Bear Valley,
are worked to great profit. Col.
Fremont's mines produce gold to
the value of several hundred thousand dollars per annum, though at an immense
outlay-for mills, waterworks, etc. His great mine, it is supposed, contains 10 mil-
lions of dollars worth of gold above the water level of the Merced, from near
which it rises up a pyramid of gold-bearing quartz, inclosed in a mountain of
slate.
FREMONT'S RANCHE.
MarysviUe, the chief town of northern California, is located at the junc-
tion of the Yuba and Feather Rivers, just above their union with the Sacra-
mento, about 40 miles north of Sacramento City. It is a well built town,
principally of brick, and at the head of navigation in the direction of the
northern mines. The country around it is of great fertility, and the town
itself rapidly growing. Population about 16,000.
In the vicinity of MarysviUe, and easterly, toward the slopes of the Sierra
Nevada, are the important mining towns of Nevada, Grass Valley, Auburn,
PlaccrviUe, Diamond, Mera Springs. North of it, near the north line of the
state, are the little thriving towns of Shasta City and Yreka, the former de-
riving its name from Mount Shasta, in its vicinity, at the head of Sacramento
valley, the highest mountain in California, a vast cone of snow rising to the
hight of 15,000 feet into the blue above.
Stockton disputes with Marysville the reputation of being the third city in.
importance in the state: and is the depot for the southern mines. It is sit-
uated on a bayou of San Joaquin, at the head of regular steamboat naviga-
tion, and is 48 miles south of Sacramento City, and by water 125 miles east
of San Francisco. The channel is navigable for steamboats and vessels- o£
CALIFORXIA.
400 tuns, affording at all seasons ready communication with the Pacific, and
the town has an extensive carrying trade. Here is the State Insane Asylum,
a cabinet of natural history, and an Artesian \fell of 1,000 feet in depth.
Stockton has some fine fruit gardens^ and the foliage of these, together with
an abundance of wide spreading oaks, gives the place a grateful aspect.
Population about 16,000.
Sonora, the most important mining town in the southern mines, lies 130
miles east of San Francisco, and about 60 east of Stockton, and contains
some 4,000 inhabitants. North-westerly from it are the "mining towns of
Molcelumne Hill, Columbia, and Murpheys. At the former is a noted mining
canal of 40 miles in length. Within 15 miles of the latter, 86 from Stock-
ton, and 213 from San Francisco, is the famous "Mammoth Tree Grove."
A late visitor gives this description:
The " Big Tree Grove " occupies a space of about fifty acres, other evergreen trees
being interspersed among them. The ground is " claimed " by the owners of the
hotel, to whom it will prove a pretty fortune. It occupies a level plateau in the
Sierra Mountains, and is elevated 4,500 feet above tide water. The mammoth trees
are of a species unknown except in California.
The bark is very porous, so that it is used for pincushions. It is on some of the
trees nearly two feet thick! The foliage is of a deep green, like that of the arbor
vitae, and the seeds are contained in a small cone. The wood is of a red color, like
the cedar, and somewhat like the redwood of California, Still the tree differs from,
all these essentially. It is estimated by calculations based on the rings or layers
which indicate the annual growth, that the largest of these trees are more than
three thousand years old ! A correspondent of the London Times made one, of the
wood and bark of which he had a specimen, six thousand four hundred and eight
years old. They are no doubt " the oldest inhabitants " of the state. A path has
been made through the grove, leading by the most notable specimens, and each has
been named, and has a label of wood or tin attached, on which is inscribed its
name and size. In several cases, beautiful white marble tablets, with raised let-
ters, have been let into the bark. There are, in all, ninety four of these monster
trees, with multitudes of others from a foot high and upward.
Near the house is the stump of a tree that was felled in 1853 by the vandals.
The stump is seven feet high, and measures in diameter, at the top, thirty feet. I
paced it, and counted thirty paces across it. A canvas house has been erected over
and around it, and a floor laid on the same level adjoining, and here dances are
often had upon the stump, whose top has been smoothed for the purpose. Four
quadrilles have been performed at once upon it, and the Alleghanians once gave a
concert to about fifty persons here, performers and audience all occupying the
stump. A portion of the trunk lies on the ground, divested of bark, and steps,
twenty-six in number, have been erected, as nearly perpendicular as possible, by
which visitors ascend its side as it lies upon the ground. The vandals had a hard
job when they cut down this giant. It was accomplished by boring a series of
holes with a large auger to the center and completely round it, the holes being of
course fifteen feet deep each. Five men worked steadily for 25 days ; and then
so plumb was the tree that it would not fall. After trying various means to topple
it over, at length they cut a large tree near it so that it should fall against it, but
still it stood. A second attempt with another tree was successful, and it was forced
over, and fell with a crash which made everything tremble, and which reverberated
far and near through the mountains and forests. The solid trunk snapped in sev-
eral places like a pipe-stem. The top of the stump is as large as the space length-
wise between the wall* of two parlors, with folding doors, of fifteen feet each.
Imagine the side walls spread apart to double their width, and then the stump
would fill all the space ! But at the roots', seven feet lower, it is much larger.
" Hercules" is the largest perfect standing tree, and it has been computed to
contain seven hundred and twenty-five thousand feet of lumber, or enough to load
a large clipper ship. It leans remarkably toward one side, so that the top is from
CALIFORNIA.
485
forty to fifty feet out of the perpendicular. Tt should have been named "The
Leaning Tower." It is thirty-three feet between two roots that enter the ground
near opposite sides of the trunk.
Mammoth Tree Grove, in the Valley of the Calaveras.
The trees are evergreens and ninety -four of them are yet standing, many of which rise to morn thnr.
300 fc«-t in higiit. One, which lias blown down, measured 110 feet in circumference, and was -I/SO high
Another, which, had fallen and is hollow, is ridden through on horseback for 75 feet. Some of them are
estimated to be more than 3,000 years old. The bark is nearly two feet thick, and being porous is used for
pincushions.
" The Husband and Wife" seem very affectionate, leaning toward each other on
that their tops touch. They are two hundred and fifty feet high, and sixty each in
circumference. "The Family Group" consists of two very large trees, the father
and mother, with a family of groicn-up children, twenty-four in number, around
them, all large enough to be of age and to speak for themselves ! The father blt-w
down many years ago, having become feeble from old age. The trunk is hollow aa
it lies upon the ground, and would accommodate half a regiment with quarters.
486 CALIFORNIA.
The circumference is one hundred and ten feet, or upward of thirty-three diame-
ter! Its hight was four hundred and fifty feet, as great as that of the dome of !St.
Peter's at Home ! Near what was the base of the trunk, and within the cavity,
there is now a never-failing pond of water, fed by a spring. Nearly half the trunk
is embedded in the ground. The mother still stands amid her children and little
grandchildren. She 327 feet high, 91 feet in circumference — a stately old dame !
" The Horseback Ride " is an old hollow tree fallen and broken in two. I rode through
the trunk a distance of 75 feet on horseback, with a good sized horse, as did my wife also.
" Uncle Tom's Cabin " is hollow for some distance above the base, and 25 persons can
seat themselves in the space. .
" The Mother of the Forest " is 90 feet round, and 328 feet high. To the hight of 1 1 6
feet the bark has been taken off by some speculators, who carried it in sections to Paris,
for exhibition. The staging on which they worked is still standing around the trunk. But
so immense was the size indicated, that the Parisians would not believe it was all from
one tree, and charged the exhibitor with Yankee trickery, and branded the whole thing a
humbug, and as the result he lost considerable money in his speculation. The tree is now
dead.
In one place we saw a small part of the trunk of what was an enormous tree, which had
fallen probably centuries ago, and become imbedded in the earth, and so long ago did this
happen, that three very large trees had grown up over its butt so as to inclose it with their
roots completely. It was ludicrous to see as we did in one place, near one of the largest
' trees, a little one, about two feet high, growing from -the seed of the large one, and evi-
dently starting with high hopes and youthful ambition in the race of life. What a job,
thought I, l.as that little fellow before him to work himself up 800 or 400 feet to reach the
altitude of his father and uncles and aunts. But we bid him God speed, and I doubt not,
if he perseveres, he will one day stand as proudly erect as his ancestors, lw»d three thous-
and years hence he will be an object of as great curiosity and reverence to thtite-ivlio shall
come after us as " Hercules " is now to us! What will be the condition and popW»tion
of California and of the United States then?
But, seriously, I think I never was inspired with greater awe by an object on which I
looked, than I felt when I walked about among these noble and ancient "sons of the for-
est," or rather patriarchs of the wood. To think that I stood beside and looked up toward
the towering bends of trees that were standing, or at least had begun tbeir growth, wheu
Solomon's Temple was commenced; that were more than a thousand years old when the
Savior of men trod the soil of Palestine; ».were ancients at the period of the Crusades!
One sees in Europe old castles, and looks with reverence upon them as he thinks of their
hoary antiquity, but these trees were between one thousand and two thousand years old
when the foundations of the oldest building now standing in Europe were laid. I can
think of but one thing more awe inspiring, and that is the group of Egyptian pyramids.
One must actually look upon these objects, however, to realize the impression they
make. He must study their proportions, calculate their altitude, compare them with other
liirge trees or lofty objects, and he must do this repeatedly before he can take in the idea-
It is a universal remark of visitors that the conception of the reality grows upon them
every time they examine them, and that,, at first sight, as in the case of Niagara Falls, '
there is a feeling of disappointment.
Seeds have been sent to Europe, and scattered over our Union, and trees are growing
from them in some parts of the United States, but it is doubtful whether in any other soil
or climiite than that of California, they will ever make such u growth as is seen here.
One thing is remarkable about these trees, viz: that although of such an immense age,
many of them, yet where they have been unmolested by man and unscathed by fire, they
still scorn sound to the core and vigorous, the foliage is bright and constantly growing, and
one can not see why they may not live one thousand or two thousand years more. The
spot where they stand is beautiful. " We enter a dell," says Dr. Bushnell, " quietly lapped
in the mountains, where the majestic vegetable minarets are crowded, as in some city of
pilgrimage, there to look up, for the first time, in silent awe of the mere life principle."
There is another grove as remarkable in Mariposa county, and smaller collections of the
same species elsewhere, but they are not common all over the state.
Dr. Bushiiell's theory of the enormous growths of California, is that the secret lies in
;hese things — " First, u soil too deep and rich for any growth to measure it; second, a
natural under-supply of water or artificial irrigation; next, the settings of fruit are limited.
A nd then, :ts no time is lost in cloudings and rain, and the sun drives on his work unim-
peded, month by month, the growth is pushed to its utmost limit. But these [enormous
occ:i;-ioi)al specimens] are freaks or extravagances of nature — only such as can be equaled
uo where else. The big trees depend, in part, on these same contingencies, and partly on
ilie remarkuble longevity of their species. A tree that is watered without rain, having a
CALIFORNIA. 437
deep vegetable mold in which to stand, and not so much as one hour's umbrella of cloud
to fence off the sun for the whole warm season, and a capacity to live withal for two
thousand years or more, may as well grow three hundred and fifty or four hundred feet
high and twenty-five feet in diameter, and show the very center point or pith still sound
at the age of thirteen hundred [or three thousand] years, as to make any smaller figure."
Coultersville and Mariposa are mining towns, south-easterly from Stockton.
Near Mariposa is Fremont's Vein, and 45 miles east of Coultersville is the
celebrated "Valley of the Yo-hamite," which is pronounced by travelers one
of the greatest of curiosities. It is a vast gorge in the Sierra, through which
flows the Merced, a beautiful crystal stream, which rises high up in the
mountains.
. . . "Picture to yourself a perpendicular wall of bare granite nearly or
quite a mile high ! Yet there are some dozen or score of peaks in all, ranging
from 3,000 to 5,000 feet above the valley, and a biscuit tossed from any of them
would strike very near its base, and its fragments go bounding and falling still
further No single wonder of Nature on earth can claim a superiority
Over the Yo-hamite. Just dream yourself for one hour in a chasm nearly ten
iailes long, with egress for birds and water out at either extremity, and none else-
where save at these points, up the face of precipices from 3,000 to 4,000 feet high,
lie chasm scarcely more than a mile wide at any point, and tapering to a mere
^orge or canon at either end, with walls of mainly naked and perpendicular white
granite, from 3,000 to 5,000 feet high, so that looking up to the sky from it is like
looking out of an unfathomable profound — and you will have some conception of
the Yo-hamite."
The highest known cataract on the globe is in this valley, the Yo-hamite Fall,
which tumbles over a perpendicular ledge, 1,800 feet at one plunge, then taking a
second plunge of 400, ends by a third leap of 600, making in all 2,800 feet, or over
half a mile in descent The stream being small looks, in the distance, more like
a white ribbon than a cascade. The Merced enters the valley by more imposing
cataracts of nearly 1,000 feet fall How many other wonders exist in this strange
locality remains for farther exploration to unfold. " The valley varies from a quar-
ter to a mile in width, the bottom level and covered with a luxuriant growth of
vegetation, grass interspersed with beautiful flowers, and the finest of pines and
evergreen shrubs, and the pure, clear, sparkling Merced River winding its ways,
' at its own sweet will,' through the midst With its two points of egress guarded,
09 human being, once placed here within its rocky mountain walls, could ever hope
to escape."
Beside the mountain ranges, with their summits clad with everlasting
snow, and the beautiful scenery rendered more attractive by the wonderful
purity of the atmosphere, California possesses many natural curiosities,
among which are "The Geysers," or hot sulphur springs, of Napa county,
and the "natural bridges," of Calaveras.
"The Geysers are from one to nine feet in diameter, and constantly in a boiling
state, ejecting water to hights of 10 to 15 feet Hundreds of fissures in the side
of the mountain emit strong currents of heated gas, with a noise resembling that
of vapor escaping from ocean steamers. We condense the following from Silli-
man's Journal, of Nov., 1851, by Professor Forest Shepard : 'From a high peak we
saw on the \V. the Pacific, on the S. Mount Diablo and San Francisco Bay, on the
FJ. the Sierra Nevada, and on the N. opened at our feet an immense chasm, from
which, at the distance of four or five miles, we distinctly saw dense columns of
eteatn rising. Descending, we discovered within half a mile square from 100 to
200 openings, whence issued dense columns of vapor, to the hight of from 150 to
200 feet, accompanied by a roar which could be heard for a mile or more. Many
acted spasmodically, throwing up jets of hot, scalding water to the hight of 20 or
30 feet. Beneath your footsteps you hear the lashing and foaming gyrations; and
on cutting through the surface, are disclosed streams of angry, boiling water.'
488 CALIFORNIA.
Near Vallecita, on Cayote creek, in Calaveras county, is a striking display of
volcanic action, in the shape of what are called the natural bridges : two immense
arches, thrown over the above-named creek, and covered with imitations of clus-
ters of fruits and flowers, doubtless formed when the mass was first upheaved in
a molten state. In the same vicinity is ' Cayote Cave,' a deep, semicircular chasm,
entered by a perpendicular descent of 100 feet, aud then proceeding by a gradual
slope till it reaches a depth of nearly 200 feet below the surface, where you come
to a chamber called "The Cathedral," from its containing two stones resembling
bells, which, when struck, produce a chiming sound. Proceeding 100 feet farther,
always on the descent, a lake is reached of great depth, and apparently covering
many acres ; but the exploration has not yet been carried beyond this point The
roof of the cave is studded with stalactites, assuming various fantastic forms."
Benecia is 30 miles from San Francisco, on the Straits of Carquinez.
Vessels of the largest class can reach this point, and here the steamers of
the Pacific Mail Steamship Line are refitted. Vallejo is a few miles nearer
San Francisco, on the north side of the same straits. Benecia, Vallejo and
San Jose have been by turns the seat of government of California. San
Jose is at the head of the San Francisco Bay, some 50 miles from San Fran-
cisco. It is at the entrance of a most beautiful and fertile valley, and was
long the headquarters of the native Californians. many of whom owned im-
mense estates and herds of wild cattle. The celebrated New Almaden quick-
silver mine is 12 miles south of the town.
On the Pacific coast,south of San Francisco, the first important place is
Monterey, 90 miles distant. It was, under Mexican rule, the principal com-
mercial point in, and capital of California. Next in order on the coast are
Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Diego, the latter 490 miles from San
Francisco, the southernmost port in the state, and the termination of the
branch from Texas of the trverland mail route. In the rear of Los An-
geles, at the distance of 80 -miles inland, the snow-capped peak of Mount
St. Bernardino is seen. It wiarks the site of the beautiful valley in which
is the Mormon settlement of Bernardino.
On the Pacific coast, north of San Francisco, the points of interest are
Humboldt City, Trinidad, Klamath, and Crescent City. The latter is the
sea-port of the south part oi" Oregon, being distant only a few miles from
the southern boundary line of that state.
Fort Yttma is at the south-eastern angle of the state, at the junction qf
the Colorado and Gila Rivers. It was built about the year 1851, by Major
S. P. Heintzelman, U.S.A.
NEVADA.
NEVADA was formed into a territory in February, 1861, and was
taken from Western Utah. It was admitted into the Ujiion as a State
in October, 1864. Estimated area eighty thousand square miles. The
eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains, inclusive of the famous
Carson Valley, is within it. Originally it was called "Washoe, from
Mt. Washoe, a peak over nine thousand feet high, in the vicinity of
Virginia City.
Lying along the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada range, the
country has a very different climate from that of California. "The
gigantic wall of the Sierra Nevada, on the California side, receives the
hot winds that blow from the Pacific Ocean, and fall there in rain
and snow, leaving the opposite or eastern declivity exposed to droughts
and freezing blasts. Consequently you may find, at the same time,
in the same latitude, and at the same hight, mildness of climate, fer-
tility, vegetable riches, in fact, summer rejoicing on one side, while
sterrility, cold and winter exist, with more or less intensity, on the
opposite slope of these mountains, whose sublime beauty is perhaps
unequaled throughout the world."
"With the exception of Carson valley and a few small valleys, the whole country
for hundreds of miles, north, south and east, is, like most mineral regions, a bar-
ren desert, and of no value but for its minerals. There is a great scarcity of
wood and water. Aside from the timber on the slope of the Sierra Nevada range,
the only wood of the country is a species of scrub pine, fit only for fuel and to
feed the Pi-Ute Indians, for it bears very nutritious nuts, which constitutes their
principal staple article of food. This nut pine makes excellent fuel for steam
works, being exceedingly hard and full of pitch. The whole face of the country
is mostly covered with sage brush, like garden sage. Greasewood, another shrub,
is also common.
Carson Valley was pronounced by Mr. Greeley, who was here in
1859, as one of the most beautiful he had ever seen. He said:
This valley, originally a grand meadow, the home of the deer and the antelope,
is nearly inclosed by high mountains, down which, especially from the north and
west, come innumerable rivulets, leaping and dancing on their way to join the
Carson. Easily arrested and controlled, because of the extreme shallowness of
their beds, these streams have been made to irrigate a large portion of the upper
valley, producing an abundance of the sweetest grass, and insuring bounteous
^harvests also of vegetables, barley, oats, etc. Wheat seems to do fairly here; corn
489
490 NEVADA.
not so well ; in fact, the nights are too cold for it if the water were not. For this
spring water, leaping suddenly down from its mountain sources, is too cold, too
pure, to be well adapted to irrigation ; could it be held back even a week, and ex-
posed in shallow ponds or basins to the hot sunshine, it would be vastly more use-
ful. When the whole river shall have been made available, twenty to forty miles
below, it will prove far more nutritious and fertilizing.
If the new gold mines in this valley shall ultimately justify their present prom-
ise, a very large demand for vegetable food will speedily spring up, here, which
can only be satisfied by domestic production. The vast deserts eastward can not
meet it, the arable region about Salt Lake is at once too restricted and too distant^
inland California is a dear country, and the transportation of bulky staples over
the Sierra a costly operation. The time will ultimately come — it may or may not
be in our day — when two or three great dams over the Carson will render the
irrigation of these broad, arid plains on its banks perfectly feasible; and then
this will be one of the most productive regions on earth. The vegetable food of
one million people can easily be grown here, while their cattle may be reared and
fed in the mountain vales north and south of this valley. And when the best
works shall have been constructed, and all the lights of science and experience
brought to bear on the subject, it will be found that nearly everything that con-
tributes to human or brute sustenance can be grown actually cheaper by the aid
of irrigation than without it. As yet we know little or nothing of the application
of water to land and crops, and our ignorance causes deplorable waste and blun-
dering. Every year henceforth will make us wiser on this head.
Previous to the discovery of the Washoe silver mines, in the sum-
mer of 1859, there were not one- thousand white inhabitants in all of
Nevada. Virginia City at once sprung up at that point, which is
about two hundred miles easterly, in an air line from San Francisco.
' The circumstances, as told of its discovery, are somewhat romantic:
''The Washoe silver mines were first discovered by Mr. Patrick McLaughlin,
an ' honest miner,' who was working for gold in a gulch or ravine, and where he
was making $100 a day to the hand. As he and his companions followed up the
gulch, it paid even better, until, on arriving at a .certain point, it gave out alto-
gether, and they struck a vein of pure stdptraret of silver, which they at first s.up-
posed to be coal, but observing that it was very heavy, they concluded it must be
Tataaljle, and sent one of their number to San Francisco with some of the black
ore to ascertain its value. It was given to a Mr. Killaley, an old Mexican miner,
to assay. Killaley took the ore home and assayed it The result was so astound-
ing that the old man got terribly excited. The next morning poor Killaley was
found dead in his bed. He had long been in bad health, and the excitement
killed him.
Immediate search was made for the original deposit, which resulted in the
since famous Comstock lode. Where first found, this lode has no outcropping or
other indication to denote its presence. The first assay of the rock taken from
the lode when first struck gave a return of $265 of gold and silver, there being a
larger proportion of gold than silver. Subsequent assays of ore taken from the
vein, as it was sunk upon, showed a rapid increase in richness, until the enormoua
return was made of $7,000 to the. tun— $4,000 in gold and $3,000 in silver. Still
later assays of choice pieces of ore have given a return of $15,000 to the tun." Jn
this case these ounce assays did not mislead, but a vast difference is to be observed
between rich ore and a rich mine. A poor mine often yields specimens of rich
ore, which, through the ounce assay, serves but to delude. The true test of the
value of a silver mine is the quantity of the ore, and the average yield of the ore
in bulk after the establishment of reduction works.
The changes that grew from this discovery almost vied in the won-
derful with the transformations of Aladdin and his lamp. The next
year Virginia City contained over one thousand houses, of brick, stono
land cloth, and a population of four thousand. In 1864, Virginia City,
NEVADA. • 491
next to San Francisco, had become the largest and most important
city on the Pacific coast, and Nevada was a State of the American
Union, with" an estimated population of sixty thousand. Her esti-
mated mineral production that year was $30,000,000. Her patriotism
was illustrated by her sending to the Sanitary Commission silver bricks
to the value of §51,500. This she could afford, for a single one of
her silver mines, the Gould & Curry, upon the Comstock lode, in 1864
produced $5,000,000 in silver, and netted her stockholders the enor-
mous amount of one million and four hundred and forty thousand
dollars! A citizen, at the beginning of 1865, gives this glowing
description of his town, which then contained a population of twen-
ty-five thousand, American, Mexican, European and Chinamen:
Virginia City is situated on the eastern slope of Mount Davidson,
the site being a sort of shelving tract of table-land, is six thousand two
hundred and five feet above the level of sea, being am^ng the highest
cities on the globe. When a stranger arrives in Virginia City, and
observes a city containing a population of twenty-five thousand peo-
ple of both sexes, long blocks and squares of brick and granite struc-
tures with whole ranges of frame buildings, and ascertains further
that immense suras are daily being paid for real estate, he naturally
wonders whether growth in this ratio is likely to continue, and if so,
whether the mines of Nevada will be sufficient ultimately to pay for
it all. But if he steps into the leading banking houses in the city,
and takes a view of the silver " bricks" generally to be seen there, he
begins to imagine there is something tangible in Washoe after all.
And if he will next ascertain how many quartz-mills are running in
the vicinity of Virginia City, Gold Hill and Silver City, and how
-jnuch bullion each returns on an average weekly, he will unquestion-
ably "btHed-to the conclusion — which others have come to before him —
that the rapid growth -^f Virginia City is only the outward evidence
of a profitable development of the'uiinuti
The streets are Macadamized, well lit with gas, water lifliudui'wi
through pipes, and it boasts of three theaters, devoted to dramatic en-
tertainments, an opera-house, which seats in its auditorium some two
thousand people, and where Italian and other operas of the best com-
posers are produced by artists equal to any which appear before the
audiences of much older communities. The large amount of wealth
which the earth so bountifully produces enables the population of the
State to provide themselves with every comfort and luxury of civilized
life. Stores of every character, well supplied with merchandise of all
descriptions, hotels, and fine market-houses, filled with an abundance
of game, meats and vegetables, attract the eye on every side. The
churches of various denominations, and school-houses, attended daily
by nearly a thousand children, will compare favorably with those in
the Atlantic States. An excellent volunteer fire department, police
force, and the working of a good municipal government, are 'no less
attractive features of the new city which has so suddenly sprung into
existence within the short space of five years. The country around
is cut up with mines, mills, farms and gardens, while in every section
the topography is dotted with smiling villages, and even palatial
private residences give unmistakable indications of the thrift and
wonderful enterprise of its hardy and industrious population. There
492 . NEVADA.
has been no difficulty as yet experienced in obtaining labor for mining
operations. The supply is fully equal to the demand at any and all
times. Good mining hands receive usually four dollars per diem,
while the tariff of prices for ordinary laboring men is fixed at from
three to three and a half dollars per day, payable in gold ; amalga-
mators and engineers of mills receive from five to eight dollars.
Wood for milling and hoisting purposes is worth twelve dollars, in
summer, a cord, and fifteen in winter. Lumber for "timbering" and
"shoring" up mines, and building purposes, may be obtained at from
forty to fifty dollars per thousand feet, in any quantity that may be
desired for all practical purposes. Fresh meats of the best quality
can be had from twelve to eighteen cents a pound; butter, milk, eggs,,
cheese and fruits and vegetables of all kinds raised in the State, are
as reasonable in price as the same may be procured in the city of
New York on a specie-paying basis.
The elevation of Virginia City, on the east slope of Mount David-
son, is about six thousand feet above the level of the sea. There are
no extremes of heat or cold experienced at any season of the year ;
but for the reason that the air at this elevation becomes rarefied,
many people at first find some difficulty in breathing as freely as they
could in a lower atmosphere. Persons afflicted with asthmatic and
lung complaints find great relief in inhaling the rarefied air of Mount
Davidson. In the vallej-s, however, where the temperature of the
atmosphere is more moderate, the objections raised by some to the
former locality for a place of residence is entirely overcome. The
best test of the general healthiness of the climate is to be found in the
fact that there are few deaths in proportion to the population, and
that the climate does not impair the energy of settlers, is proved by
the enterprise and activity which in Virginia City is evident on all
sides, and in the rosy, blooming complexions of the people we meet
on every hand.
A late visitor in Nevada gives us a picture of the appearance of
things in Virginia City and the adjacent silver-producing towns
which he approached from California, passing through Carson City:
Crfrson City, in 1858, was a place where the emigrant from the Eastern States,
on the road to California, stopped to recruit himself and cattle for a start over the
Sierra Nevada. Carson City of 1864 is quite a large and important place. It has
a large trade with all parts of the State, has the finest site for a town in the
•whole territory, and is at present the capital. A large quary of stone having
been discovered by Abraham Curry, the place now boasts of splendid stores,
court-houses and dwellings, built of this stone; fine hotels, family mansions,
beautiful cottages, and, indeed, a place for Nevada to be proud of. It stands four
thousand six hundred and fifteen feet above the level of the sea, has a fine cli-
mate, and the best water of any place in Nevada.
Let us jog on toward Virginia City, seventeen miles distant. "We first reach
Curry's warm spring, two miles east from the town. This is a great resort for
drinking the water and bathing; it possesses great medicinal qualities. Here is
the great territorial prison, an immense stone edifice. It was built for strength,
although only for Curry's own house. .The prisoners work* in the quary, which
is in the yard adjoining. A railroad connects the prison with Carson City, for
the conveyance of the stone.
We now start for Empire City (or Dutch Nicks), called after an old settler in
1860. It originally contained but two houses; now fine mills are erected for saw
ing lumber and crushing quartz — the Mexican mill, a most extensive affair, grind-
NEVADA. 493
ing the rock from their claim in Virginia City. Here you hear, for the first time
in the Territory, the ponderous stamps going day and night. Teams are goiug
continually to the mine for rock to be crushed and the precious metals extracted.
The Winters, Aitchenson and Mead mills, and others, are here, and it is now quite
a place of importance ; it is situated on Carson river, north-east from Curry's. In
a northerly direction, you pass over a fine road, to the half-way house toward
Silver City, through Spring Valley, and begin to ascend what is called the back-
bone of the range, on which the Comstock lode is found. A fine road has been
finished all the way. You pass by the Daney Company's lode, and continue
along till you come to the Canon, on which road we will pass the mills at work —
Gold Canon being the one that drains Silver City, American Flat and Gold Hill.
The Canon is full of mills, crushing the quartz from all the above places. The
great want here is water; but that is being supplied in greater abundance, as tho
Gold Hill and Virginia Tunnel Company drain the mines. On it is located Silver
City, about half way between Virginia City and Dayton, on the Carson river.
Silver City is almost entirely dependent on the surrounding country for her sup-
port. Some of the finest mills in the country lie within her limits. Having a
great abundance of granite and other building material, fine blocks of buildings
have been erected, fire-proof, and very substantial; the private residences are
tasty, and many are adorned by both fruit and shade trees. All along the Canon,
to Devil's Gate, are mills at work on quartz from the various districts around.
French's mill, situate in American Ravine, in Silver City, was built in 1860 — size
of building, ninety by seventy-five feet. It has twenty stamps and sixteen pans,
with an engine of sixty-horse power, and reduces twenty to thirty tuns of rock
per day. There are a great many mills in this vicinity doing well, and a hundred
others could have plenty of employment. To a person who never saw a quartz
mill at work, he can have no idea of the noise and clatter it makes ; the deafen-
ing sound, compelling great exertion to be heard ; and I assure you a person
needs all his breath here, for the rarefied air makes breathing pretty difficult.
Well, save your breath, and let us walk on to American City — American Flat—
a flourishing place, only a few months old, boasting of churches and hotels.
Residences have been erected as if by magic. Among the hills, west of Ameri-
can Flat, there is a beautiful cave of alabaster, from the roof of which, when
first discovered, hung long pendent stalactites of snowy whiteness and rare beauty,
which visitors have, from time to time carried away. The alabaster in this cave
is so soft that it can be cut with a pen-knife. .
A short time ago it was predicted that the improvements would be such in this
region, that there would be a street lined with buildings for a distance of nearly
eight miles. There is now no complete or dividing space between Virginia and
Gold Hill, American and Silver City ; and the rapidity with which the intervening
spaces have been built up is truly astonishing. These facts are remarkably strong
in support of the opinion that the time is not far distant when the main street of
Virginia City will present a continuous double row of buildings from the north
end of the city to Dayton. The next place we reach is Gold Hill in the Canon.
Gold Hill is emphatically a mining town. The ground underneath Virginia
City is honey-combed by tunnels, drifts and excavations, which extend in every
direction. But still there is little to be seen above the surface to give a stranger
any idea of what is going on below. The streets and houses present the same
appearance as the streets and houses of any other city, and it is only in a few
localities in the outskirts of the town, as in the vicinity of the Ophir or Mexican
lodes, that evidences of mining, carried on to any great extent, are to be seen.
But Gold Hill presents a far different aspect. All along the east side of the
town huge piles of dirt, debris and pulverized quartz are visible, which have been
raised ouf of the mines and left upon the ground, while the more valuable rock
has been taken to the mill for crushing, tn the hoisting-houses erected over the
shafts, nfachinery is in constant operation night and day, the screaming of steam
whistles is heard, and successive car-loads of ore are run over railroads upon
trestle-work, and sent down long, narrow shutes into wagons below, with a noise
perfectly deafening. Leaving there, and passing through the town, the ears of
the visitor are everywhere assailed by the thunder of stamps crushing in tho
494 NEVADA.
mills, and the clatter of machinery, until one would fain believe himself in a
large manufacturing village in the New England States. The quartz teams you
see in Virginia City have tripled in number, and in places the streets are jammed
with them, carrying loads of rich ore to the mills at Devil's Gate, Silver City and
Carson Hiver. As night draws on, and a shift of hands takes place, the work-
men, who, for a number of hours, have been many hundred feet under ground,
timbering up drifts, or tearing down masses of glittering quartz, which compose
the ledge, appear, and their conversation is utterly unintelligible to a stranger un-
acquainted with the locality and condition of the different claims. Remarks con-
cerning the Sandy Bowers, the Pluto, Uncle Sam, or Bullion, are Chinese to him;
and he learns their position and character as he would acquire a knowledge of
the streets and buildings of a strange city. If Gold Hill presents a singular
aspect in the day-time, its appearance from the Divide at midnight is absolutely
startling. Work at the mines, in the hoisting-houses and quartz-mills, is carried
on without intermission or cessation; and the flashing of lights, the noise of
steam engines and machinery, contrasted with the silence and gloom of the sur-
rounding mountains, make up a strange and almost unearthly picture, and puts
him in mind of what he has read of the residence of the " Gentleman in Black."
The mines in Gold Hill proper are said to be very rich. We visited some of
them, and were surprised at the extent of the work done. Everything here looks
as if fortunes had been spent, but the rich returns have warranted the outlay.
Here we found banking-houses, refiners, assayers, and every business connected
with minin"1; every one attending to his own business. We will now go up the
Divide, between Gold Hill and Virginia City.
Virginia City, as you see it, coming over the Divide, has a strange look, and
you are quite startled at the view before you. You are at once astonished at the
size and importance of the City of the Hills, a place but of yesterday; now sec-
ond only to San Francisco on the Pacific coast.
Virginia City only differs from the towns you have passed through, because it
is so much larger. It is built at the foot, or rather on the side, of Mount David-
son. All the 'principal mines are inside the city limits. The Gould & Curry
tunnel is in the very center of the city (see Evans' Map of Virginia City Mines),
although its mill is two miles away. The city, which lies on the side of Mount
Davidson is one mass of excavations and tunnels. There is a bluish earth,
which is obtained from the mines, and this is dumped at the mouth of the tun-
nels so that the city, at a distance, seems speckled with these blue spots. The
city'boasts of fine buildings, stores filled with every luxury— everything that can
be'procured for money. Day and night the mills are crushing the ore, making a
deafening noise. The silver bricks are carted around, as the people of the East
do ordinary bricks, literally speaking.
The Comstock Range, in which the fine veins above described are
situated, is the most noted of the silver regions of Nevada, from hav-
ing been the earliest discovered and developed. But Nevada has
other districts equally rich, and every day adds to our knowledge of
the gigantic wealth hidden in the mineral regions of the Pacific slope.
Beside gold and silver, coal, quicksilver, iron, copper, lead, antimony
and every known mineral abound. Wealth enough exists to sponge
out our huge national debt scores of times. The policy of the Gov-
ernment in the past, in withholding from the people titles in fee sim-
ple to her gold and silver bearing districts, has been a great incubus
upon their development. When this policy is reversed, and the enter-
prising emigrant can locate his discovery with the same assurance of
ownership as the pioneer on a prairie farm of the Mississippi.valley,
the development of the Pacific country will be rapid beyond all calcu-
lation. In relation to silver mining, however, it can only be carried
on by companies, the original outlay for the reduction of ore, in
NEVADA. 495
buildings and machinery, surpassing ordinary individual wealth. The
adage is here in full force, that "it takes a mine to work a mine."
A late writer gives these facts in regard to silver veins :
Silver is generally found in veins, and hence the deposits are far more likely to
be inexhaustible than placer gold. The statistics of silver mining, in different
countries, clearly establish this fact. For centuries this business has been the
cardinal interest of Mexico; silver the circulating medium or currency of the
country ; and — in coin and bars — a chief article of export Since the conquest
of Cortez, the mining interest has been so successfully prosecuted that the most
trustworthy statistics nearly startle us with suggestions of almost fabulous for-
tunes realized, and with vague conceptions of the vast mineral wealth of that
country. According to Humboldt, the total amount of silver obtained from the
conquest to the time he wrote (1803), was $2,027,952,000. Other authorities rep-
resent the sum as much larger, and amounting to no less than $12,000,000,000.
And yet the whole period, since the conquest of 1521 — nearly three hundred and
fifty years — has developed no sign of the possible failure of the silver mines of
Mexico. On the contrary, they were never richer than they are to-day. The
annual coinage of the mints of Mexico, at the beginning of the present century,
was not less than $27,000,000. Our statistics for some years past have been lesa
complete and trustworthy. When a vein of silver is found, it may generally be
traced a long distance. The Vela Madre, said to be the richest vein in Mexico,
has been opened at different points along the strata a distance of twelve miles,
and in many places it is not less than 200 feet wide. One vein in Chili has been
followed nearly one hundred miles, while several of the branches radiating from
it are thirty miles long. When a silver vein is sometimes broken abruptly, as in
the mines of Chili, it is quite sure to be found again, if the miner patiently pur-
sues the same general direction. In one instance, at the mines of Chanarcillo,
the vein was found to be thus interrupted by a belt of limestone ; but by sinking
a shaft over two hundred and fifty feet through the stone, the vein was struck
again. Not less than seven of these belts have been found to interrupt the same
mineral vein, at different points, and yet the miners have failed of reaching its
final termination. The fact that silver is generally thus deposited while gold is
not, must suggest to the most thoughtless observer, that of the two, silver mines
are far more likely to be permanently profitable.
"We now abridge from a published account a description of some of
the other prominent mining districts of Nevada, as they were early
in 1865:
The Esmeralda District is one hundred and forty miles south-east of Virginia
City. Many good mines are in the district, and ten mills in operation for the re-
duction of the ores. A large amount of silver bullion is weekly shipped from
Aurora, the principal town, which has four thousand people, and two daily
papers.
The Reese River District is one hundred and eighty miles east of Virginia
City, on the overland stage route. Austin, the principal town, has five thousand
inhabitants. Nine mills are in operation, and a daily newspaper published. The
mines of this region extend as far south as prospectors have ever ventured to
explore — some two hundred miles. Some veins, very rich on the surface, have
been found outside of the settlements in various directions, but as yet they have
not been improved, the owners being poor men, and the country being too wild
for capitalists, to venture into, while perhaps equally good opportunities for in-
vestment are to be found in more civilized localities. These ores are mostly
chlorids, rodids and bromids, while in the Comstock veins the principal are the
black and grey sulphurets.
The Humboldt District is situated about one hundred and fifty miles north east
of Virginia City, on the east side of the Humholdt river, and near the Old Emi-
grant road, down that river. The mines were first discovered in 1860, but did
not attract much attention until a year or two afterward. There are four or five
496 NEVADA.
large towns in this region, and one or two mills in operation. Wood is very
scarce, and for this reason few steam mills have been erected. A canal, sixty-five
miles in length, and capable of carrying water sufficient to run forty or fifty water
mills, is now nearly half completed. A* soon as this great work is finished, a
number of large mills will at once be erected. The principal mine in this region
is the Sheba, which yields large quantities of very rich ore, much of which is
sent to England for reduction. This is the oldest and best developed claim in
that region, but there are doubtless hundreds equally as good, were they as thor-
oughly opened. An excellent weekly paper is published here, at Unionville, and
there are some very heavy tunneling enterprises undertaken for the development
of the veins found in certain mountains. The ores of this district are different
from those of either Esmeralda or Reese river, being argentiferous, galena and
antimonial ores. Some of the leads of this region are very rich in gold, but in
this they are not peculiar, as more or less gold is found in every mining district,
and in nearly all paying veins. It has been said that the Humboldt mountains
alone doubtless contain precious metals sufficient to purchase the fee simple of
all the rebel States, with the Union and rebel government debt both thrown in.
In tljis direction are several new mining districts. The most promising of
these are Pine Wood, Mountain Wells and Clan Alpine. Judging from assays
obtained from rock taken from the croppings of some of these veins, there is no
doubt but they will prove immensely valuable. The district is situated between
Humbqjdt and the Reese river mines, is well watered, and the hills are clothed
with a heavy growth of nut pine. Clan Alpine is quite a new district, there be-
ing but a dozen or two of miners there, but it contains some most promising
veins. The district is about one hundred and thirty miles east of Virginia City.
Mountain Wells district, some eighty miles east of Virginia City, is another
promising, though but little developed, mining region. Some excellent veins havo
been opened, and quite a village is springing up m the mines. As yet they have
no mills. There is plenty of wood and water in the district. It is situated on
the overland mail route.
No region in the world can surpass Nevada in the abundance and variety of her
mineral productions. Almost everywhere in the State iron ore, of an excellent
quality, is abundant, much of it so pure that when broken it presents th'e ap-
pearance of cast iron. Two or three deposits of coal have lately been discovered,
the beds being from nine to twenty feet thick. It burns well, and will doubtless
prove to be of an excellent quality when the workings are carried to a proper
depth on the veins. Lead is found in abundance in many parts of the Territory ;
also large veins of antimony, the ore of which is exceedingly pure. None of
these are worked unless found to contain silver in paying quantities. Large and
very rich veins of copper are found in almost every part of the country, but no
attention is paid to them, except they contain silver. The copper ores are of
various kinds ; the rich black ore as heavy as lead ; the blue and green carbon-
ates, and other varieties ; also some veins in which native copper is visible in the
rock above the surface of the ground, running in fibers through the vein stone.
In Peavine District, about eighteen miles north-west of Virginia City, and near
the Truckee river, also quite near the line of the Central Pacific Railroad, are
many splendid veins of copper. These veins often show beautiful specimens of
pure gold, and also contain a considerable per cent, of silver. The ores of many
of these veins contain a sufficient amount of gold to pay for shipping and work-
ing, could it easily be separated from the copper. There are in the State numerous
large beds of plumbago. None of these are claimed or worked, though some
parties at one time tried to manufacture fire-proof bricks from this material, but
fire-clay of good quality being discovered, the plumbago was abandoned. Some
seventy miles east of Virginia City, in the deserts, are immense fields of excel-
lent salt, much of it being equal to the best table salt. As salt is much used by
the mills in the various processes for the reduction of silver ores, hundreds of
tuns of this salt are brought to Virginia City, being hauled on wagons or packed
on the backs of mules. In the vicinity of the Humboldt mines is a whole moun-
tain of brimstone, and in the same vicinity are found extensive beds of pure
NEVADA. 497
alum. Carbonate of soda is found everywhere in the alkaline deserts in great
quantities, also many other curious mineral productions.
In other countries rivers generally empty into seas, the ocean, or other rivers,
but this is not the case with the Nevada rivers. Nevada rivers start off and run
till they get tired, then quit and go into the ground. Carson river rises in the
Sierras, runs off east, and disappears in what is known as Carson Sink. The
Truckee rises in the Sierras, runs eastward, and sinks in Pyramid Lake. The
Humboldt comes from the east, and disappears at Humboldt Sink and Walker
River sinks in Walker Lake. None of these sinks or lakes have any visible out-
let What becomes of the waters of these rivers would be about as hard to say
as to tell where a candle goes to wheti.it goes out
An old miner living there, used, borawear that here was where the work of the
creation was finished. He said that " late on Saturday evening the Almighty
started in to make a tremendous ,gfrte?M; river. He made the four rivers now in
Washoe as the four branches thereof; and was leading them along, intending to
bring them together in one mighty river, which was to empty into the ocean ; but
of a sudden, before He got the branches together, night came on, and the Lord
just stuck the ends into the ground and quit, and they have stayed so ever since."
"We conclude this article with an extract from a valuable and in-
structive paper in Gazley's Pacific Monthly for March, 1865, upon the
gold and silver mines of California and Nevada :
When the first " fever" broke out in California, placer-digging was the haven
where all were bound, and here, with a pan or rocker as the only " machinery,"
millions per month of the precious treasure were gathered. No one dreamed of
descending into the bowels of the earth by shaft or tunnel ; no one imagined that
gold must have a matrix, or be imbedded in rock, or could be traced in the quartz,
in which it was afterward discovered to have come from.
As the placer-digging gradually gave out, adventurous spirits began to inquire
for " a cause" and " a wherefore," and on finding on the mountain-sides bowlders
containing streaks of gold, an immediate conclusion was formed that the yellow
beauty must have a mother, and that quartz must be the womb. . Happy thought!
Quartz-mining superseded the placer-digging, and in every part of the State a new
era dawned. Quartz became king. The mighty attractions of the placer-digging
a short while ago were forgotten. And here, parenthetically, I would observe,
that though placer-mining has lost interest to a great extent, there are many who
will agree with me in saying, that these diggings are yet valuable, and that the
*re has only to be looked for, and it may be found in large quantities and as rich
is any before worked.
Gold quartz was the only one known at this time, and in some sections was
found extremely rich'. The Allison Ranch, in Grass Valley, California, for in-
stance, has ledges which might, perhaps, be classed with any mine in the world
for richness. Indeed, ledges have been found all over the State, which have
yielded to the fortunate possessors gigantic fortunes.
This excitement had its day, and new fields promising greater results were
sought. Miners, as a class, especially those of California, are impatient and too
eager. They wander, explore, and run from one place to another. Kern River
had its attractions, and off they went helter-skelter. Gold River and Frazer River
carried them off by thousands, to the old tune of follow your leader, and come
back bootless. Broken in health and penniless, back they came to placer-digging,
where many made their " piles " out of the very claims that they had, a little
while before, given up as worthless.
And now broke out the Washoe silver-mining mania, and the same results fol-
lowed as at first. Many returned to placer-digging, in California, again tired and
weary of life and everything under the sun. But Washoe had a glorious destiny
awaiting her. She burst with a blaze of glory upon the world ; mines richer
than the famous mines of Peru were found, and the now State of Nevada, the
youngest of the sisterhood of States, has taken her rank as the first silver-mining
region in the world.
32
498
NEVADA.
Virginia City now rears her lofty chimneys high to the clouds, from mills that
are daily turning her very foundations into bricks of silver and gold, under the
protection of Mount Davidson, nine thousand feet above the level of the sea. Few
cities of the Pacific States rank higher, either for the production of wealth or
moral advancement, than she does at the present moment And her destiny is
onward ! upward !
To attempt to give the amount taken from the soil of Nevada would be an utter
impossibility, as most of it is taken to other places by private hands, and never
reaches the Mint — from which we receive the data to make up our calculations.
The coinage can give us no information, as most of the precious bricks of silver
and gold leave San Francisco for India, China, Peru, England, France, and, I may
say, every portion of the globe, without being counted as the production of Ne-
vada
Now, let us see what effect the wealth of California and Washoe will have on
the monetary world. Financial calculations have, of late years, taken range and
scope beyond the experience of former times. As commerce extends, as industry
becomes more general, as the amount of wealth increases, and as the national
debt becomes larger and more burdensome, the management of the currency is a
serious question. The extraordinary production of gold, within the last few years,
and the probable great increase of silver in the future, have set the financiers of
the world to work to devise a method to govern and direct the change.
To find out what changes may be expected in the future, we must look back at
those which have taken place in the past. We must compare our present stock
of the precious metals with that which existed at previous epochs, and we must
compare the present increase with that of previous ages.
The amount of gold and silver coin in the possession of civilized nations, in
the year 1500, is estimated at $250,000.000.
The mines of Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia produced an immense amount of silver
during the century following, bringing up the amount stated to $750000,000. In
1700,\the sum in Europe — making all allowances for wear and shipments to India
— had risen to $1,500,000,000. The production of gold and silver in America
during the eighteenth century is estimated at $350,000,000. There was, however,
at the same time'a great export of silver to India, a considerable wear, amount-
ing to twenty per cent. — in a century — and a great consumption of the precious
metals in ornaments and table ware. At the commencement of the present cen-
tury, the whole known amount of coin in the world was estimated at $1,900,000,
000. From 1800 till 1820, the annual production of the world was about $25,000,
000, and from 1820 to 1848, about $40,000,000.
With the discovery of the gold mines of California, began a production
large beyond all previous example, and almost beyond the conception of former
times.
California and Australia each produced $50,000,000 annually for some years
and Russia produced $20,000,000.
The present total production of the world may safely be put down at $120,000,
000 per annum, and the present total stock of coin in existence at $4,000,000,000.
The average annual export of silver to India and China amounts to about $50,000,
000. In 1357 it came up to $96,000,000, while in 1864 it may safely be put down
at $120,000,000. Once exported, very little is ever returned to the circulation of
Europe or America. While the precious metals were increasing in quantity, civil-
ization was extending with great rapidity ; and thus we see verified one of nature's
great laws, that as earth's products develop an increase, so does civilization and
enlightenment extend. Thus it is that precious metals have fallen to about one-
eighth of the value which they possessed at the discovery of America.
The most important gold region of the United States — and perhaps of the
world — is California; and the richest silver region in the world is Nevada. The
development of both has added untold millions to the wealth of the world, and
1865 will, no doubt, add more millions than could be imagined by the most ex-
perienced calculator or political economist in Europe.
Gold and silver mines of great richness are found in the range or ranges from
NEVADA. 499
the city of Mexico, through the Gila, Washoe, Oregon, Frar.er River, to the Arctic
Ocean; and as they are more explored and opened up, the northern portion will
prove as rich as the southern, which astonished the world at former periods.
Since the discovery of the mines of California and VVTashoe, all the resources
of modern science have been taxed to find out the best way of working, cheaply
and thoroughly, the ores of the different ranges and formations. All the Pacific
States abound in the precious metals held in quartz rock. The gold or silver-
bearing quartz runs in veins through an entirely difi'erent rock, which forms walls
on both sides as the vein is worked. When a vein, or what is called a ledge, is
discovered, the discoverer becomes the possessor of so many feet, on which he can
claim all its dips, spurs, angles, and as many feet on each side as the mining laws
allow. He must do a certain amount of work to hold good his claim, as estab-
lished by the laws of the district in which his claim is located. The recorder
goes on the ground, and if all is correct, he issues his certificate (miners' laws are
always respected in California and Nevada). The mines of Nevada have but re-
cently attracted the attention of the capitalists of the world by their known rich-
ness, extent, and capability of being worked. The western range, on which the
famed Comstock is located, has many other ledges; equally rich on the same range
of hills (for Virginia has hundreds of ledges situated on Mount Davidson and
Ophir Hills), all of which have become famous to the world ; and the eastern
range or Reese River, with its ledges, richer than even the Comstock range, has
proved to be full of mines, so rich, so extensive, that in a few years these mines
will occupy, in the eye of the capitalist, a most important spot in which to invest
his surplus capital.
The extraordinary developments of mineral deposits in the countries within
the confines and limits of the ancient Alta California, form one of the grandest
epochs in the annals of our race. These discoveries of the precious metals have
not all been of recent date. In 17(K) the rich mines of North Sinaloa were
opened; in 1 730 the Planchas dfl Plata of Arizona, or masses of native silver,
were found. Then we had in 1770 the great placers of Clenaquilla, to the north
of llermosilla, where the immense chispa of seventy pounds was found, and sent
to the cabinet of the King of Spain, and several millions were picked up in its
vicinity in a few years. After this came the discoveries further north, on the
rivers which flow into the Gila from the south, and also the headwaters of the
Sonora River, and those of the Opasura and Yaqui, which interlock with the tri-
butaries of the Gila in the country of the Opatas, Terahumaras, Yanos, and
Apaches, and which, by spasmodic starts, yielded large quantities of gold. This
section of the present Arizona, and as far up north as the Navajos, and east to
the Camanche range, is known in Mexico as the Apacharia, of which the most
apparently fabulous stories have been told, from 1770 to 1864, concerning the ex-
istence of immense mines and deposits of gold, silver, copper, and quicksilver,
both in veins and pure metal, but which are every day proving the truth of the
accounts of the old missionaries and Gambusinos.
After IS 00, till 1846, discoveries were made in many places every few years,
near all the old mission settlements of Sonora. In 1825 Captain Patie mentions
that rich gold placers were worked near Bacuachi, not far south of Tucson, and
the price of gold was only eleven and twelve dollars to the ounce. The account
of Captain Patie, who died at San Diego, in 1829, is the first printed one we have
of any American, or even other parties,' who came hy land to California through
Sonora or New Mexico, lie mentions several other places in the Bacuachi, or
River San Pedro country, where gold was produced in abundance when the
Apaches were out of the way. Again, from 1838 to 1846, the gold placers of
Sun Fernando, near Los Angeles, are of public notoriety as yielding very hand-
some return*.
From 1848 to 1864 the discoveries of gold, silver, and copper have been con-
stant and of every-day notoriety. The prospectors have ranged from the Gila,
north to the Russian possessions, and from the Pacific Ocean to the interlocking
bram-hps of the Columbia, Missouri. Colorado, and Rio Grande del Norte. It has
been of daily record for the lasl fifteen years that all this immense extent of coun-
500
NEVADA.
try, gives to the world the knowledge of exhaustless millions of treasure, awaiting
but the hand of labor to throw it into the channel of commerce, and the road to
population and power.
Not a single precious metal or valuable mineral of trade or science but what is
found in abundant out-crops, or washings, in all these States and Territories. A
very singular and unlooked-for exhibition has been going on for the last few years.
The explorers of Sonora, California and Nevada have been out on prospecting ex-
peditions in the deserts, mountains, and ranges on the Pacific, while those of Pike's
Peak and the Rocky Mountains, from the east, have been gradually extending their
lines and distances till they now meet the mining parties from Oregon, Washington,
and Nevada, in Cariboo, Idaho, and Utah. This magnificent mineral empire is
the most wealthy and extended known to the world. It has an advantage superior
to all other mineral fields, in being in the vicinity of sea navigation, and has a
climate of unsurpassed salubrity. While in the neighborhood of most of our
mineral deposits the soil is exceedingly fertile, inviting the husbandman to a rich
return for his labor, and boundless pastures to the herdsman; and, it may be
added, that within our metalliferous ranges, valleys exist of the most picturesque
and beautiful character ; views equaled by no country in Europe, will invite the
pleasure-seeker to travel for health, recreation, or pleasure ; and a few years will
see the aristocracy of Europe thronging the shores of the Pacific, as they now do
the Continent. The borders of Lake Tehoe or Bigler will be as famous as the
Lake of Como, and the Sierra Nevada will be climbed by tourists as are the Alps
of Switzerland The Palls of To Semite will be a greater wonder than the Falls
of Niagara, and the shores of the Bay of San Francisco will be dotted with
princely palaces.
OREGON.
OREGON is one of the Pacific states. The name, Oregon, is from Oregano,
the Spanish word for wild marjoram; and it is from this word, or some other
similar, that its name is supposed to
have arisen. "But little was known
of even its coast up to the latter part
of the last century. Immediately
after the last voyage of the renowned
navigator, Capt. Cook, the immense
quantities of sea-otter, beaver and
other valuable furs to be obtained on
the north-west coast of America, and
the enormous prices which they would
bring in China, was communicated to
civilized nations, and created as much
excitement as the discovery of a new
gold region. Multitudes of people
rushed at once into this lucrative
traffic: so that in the year 1792, it is
said that there were twenty-one vessels
under different flags, but principally
American, plying along the coast of
Oregon, and trading with the natives.
On the 7th of May, 1792, Capt. Robert Gray, of the ship Columbia, of Bos-
ton, discovered and entered the river, which he named from his vessel. He
was, in reality, the first person who established the fact of the existence of
this great river, and this gave to the United States the right to the country
drained by its waters by the virtue of discovery. In 1804-'5, Lewis and
Clark explored the country, from the mouth of the Missouri to that of the
Columbia. This exploration of the Columbia, the first ever made, consti-
tuted another ground of the claim of the United States to the country.
In 1808, the Missouri Fur Company, through their agent, Mr. Henry,
established a trading-post on Lewis River, a branch of the Columbia, which
was the first establishment of civilized people in this section of country.
An attempt was made that year, by Capt. Smith, of the Albatross, of Bos-
ton, to found a trading-post on the south bank of the Columbia, forty miles
501
ARMS OF OREGON,
MOTTO — Alis volat propriis—I fly with my own
wing.
502 OREGON.
from its mouth. It was abandoned the same season, and that of Mr. Henry
in 1810.
In the year 1810, John Jacob Astor, a German merchant of New York, who had
accumulated an immense fortune by commerce in the Pacific and China, formed
the Pacific Fur Company. His first objects were to concentrate in the company,
the fur trade in the unsettled parts of America, and also the supply of merchan-
dise for the Russian fur-trading establishments in the North Pacific. For these
purposes, posts were established on the Missouri, and the Columbia, and vicinity.
These posts were to be supplied with the merchandise required for trading by ships
from the Atlantic coast, or across the country by way of the Missouri. A factory
or depot was to be founded on the Pacific, for receiving this merchandise, and dis-
tributing it to the different posts, and for receiving in turn furs from them, which
were to be sent by ships from thence to Canton. Vessels were also to be sent from
the United States to the factory with merchandise, to be traded for furs, whicli
would then be sent to Canton, aud there exchanged for teas, silks, etc., to be ir
turn distributed in Europe and America.
This stupendous enterprise at the time appeared practicable. The only partj
from whom any rivalry could be expected, was the British North-west Company,
and their means were far inferior to those of Astor. From motives of policy, he
offered them one third interest, which they declined, secretly intending to forestall
him. Having matured his scheme, Mr. Astor engaged partners, clerks, and voya-
gcurs, the majority of whom were Scotchmen and Canadians, previously in the
service of the North-west Company. Wilson P. Hunt, of New Jersey, was chosen
the chief agent of the operations in western America.
In September, 1810, the ship Tonquin, Capt. Thorn, left New York for the mouth
of the Columbia, with four of the partners, M'Kay, M'Dougal, and David and
Robert Stuart, all British subjects, with clerks, voyageurs, and mechanics. In Jan-
uary, 1811, the second detachment, with Hunt, M' del Ian, M'Ken/.ie, and Crooks,
also left New York to go overland by the Missouri to the same point, and in Octo-
ber, 1811, the ship Beaver, Capt Sowles, with several clerks and attaches, left New
York for the North Pacific. Prior to these, in 1809, Mr. Astor had dispatched the
Enterprise, Capt. Ebberts, to make observations at the Russian settlements, and to
prepare the way for settlements in Oregon. He also, in 181 1, sent an agent to St.
Petersburg, who obtained from the Russian American For Company, the monopoly
of supplying their posts in the North Pacific with merchandise, and receiving furs
in exchange.
In March, J811, the Tonquin arrived at the Columbia, and soon after they com-
menced erecting on the south bank, a few miles inland, their factory or depot
building: this place they named Astoria. In June, the Tonquin, with M'Kay
sailed north to make arrangements for trading with the Russians. In July, the
Astorians were surprised by the appearance of a party of the North-west Compa-
ny, under Mr. Thompson, who had come overland from Canada, to forestall then*
in the occupation of the mouth of the Columbia; but had been delayed too lat»
for this purpose, in seeking a passage through the Rocky Mountains, and had beer
obliged to winter there. Mr. Thompson was accompanied on his return by David
Stuart, who founded the trading post called Okonogan.
In the beginning of the next year (1812), the detachment of Hunt came into
Astoria, in parties, and in a wretched condition. They had been over a year in
coming from St. Louis ; had undergone extreme suffering from hunger, thirst, and
cold, in their wanderings that winter, through the dreary wilderness of snow-clad
mountains, from which, and other causes, numbers of them perished. In May,
1K12, the Ueaver, bringing the third detachment, under Mr. Clark, arrived in As-
toria They brought a letter which had been left at the Sandwich Islands by Capt.
Ebberts, of the Enterprise, containing the sad intelligence that the Tonquin and
her crew had been destroyed by the savages, near the Straits of Fuca, the June
preceding.
In August, Mr. Hunt, leaving Astoria in the charge of M'Dougal, embarked in
the Bearer to trade with the Russian posts, which was to have been done by the
Tonquin. He was successful, and effected a highly advantageous arrangement at
Sitka, with Baranof, governor of Russian America; took in a rich cargo of furs,
OREGON. 503
and dispatched the .vessel to Canton, via the Sandwich Islands, where he, in per-
son, remained, and in 1814, lie returned to Astoria in the Peddler, which he had
chartered, and found that Astoria was in the hands of the North-west Company.
When Hunt left in the Beaver, a party was dispatched, which established a
trading post on the 8pol\an. Messrs. Crooks, M Cellan, and Hubert Stuart about
this time, set out and crossed overland to New York, with an account of what had
been done. The trade was in the meantime very prosperous, and a large uiantity
of furs had been collected at Astoria,
In January, 1813, the Astorians learned from a trading vessel that a war had
broken out with England. A short time after, M'Tavish and Larnque, partners
of the North-west Company, arrived at Astoria; M'Dougal and M'Kenzie (both
Scotchmen) were the only partners there, and they unwisely agreed to dissolve the
company in July. Messrs. Stuart and Clark, at the Okonogan and Spokan posts,
both of which are within the limits of Washington Territory, opposed this; but
it was finally agreed that if assistance did not soon arrive from the United States,
they would abandon the enterprise.
M'Tavish and his followers, of the North-west Company, again visited Astoria,
where they expected to meet the Isaac Todd, an armed ship from .London, which
had orders ' to take and destroy everything American on the north-west coast.'
Notwithstanding, they were hospitably received, and held private conferences with
M'Dougal and M'Kenzie, the result of which was, that they sold out the establish-
ment, furs, etc., of the Pacific Company in the country, to the North-west Compa-
ny, for about $58,004. That company were thus enabled to establish themselves
in the country.
Thus ended the Astoria enterprise. Had the directing partners on the Colum-
bia been Americans instead of foreigners, it is believed that they would, notwith-
standing the war, have withstood all their difficulties. The sale was considered
disgraceful, and the conduct of M'Dougal and M'Kenzie in that sale and subse-
quently, were such as to authorize suspicions against their motives ; yet they
could not have been expected to engage in hostilities against their countrymen and
old friends.
The name of Astoria was changed by the British to that of Fort George. From
1813 to 1823, few, if any, American citizens entered the countries west of the
Rocky Mountains. Nearly all the trade of the Upper Mississippi and Missouri,
was carried on by the Old North American Fur Company, of which Astor was the
head; and by the Columbian Fur Company, formed in 1822, composed mainly of
persons who had been in the service of the North-west Company, and were dissat-
isfied with it. The Columbia Company established posts on the upper waters of
the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Yellow Stone, which were transferred, in
1826, to the \orth American Company, on the junction of the two bodies. About
this time, the overland trade with Santa Fe commenced, caravans passing regular-
ly every summer between St. Louis and that place. In 1824, Ashley, of St. Louis,
re-established commercial communications with the country west of the Rocky
Mountains, and built a trading post on Ashley's Lake, in Utah.
These active proceedings of the Missouri fur traders, stimulated the North
American Fur Company to send their agents and attaches beyond the Rocky
Mountains, although they built no posts. In 1827, Mr. Pilcher, of Missouri, went
through the South Pass with forty-five men, and wintered on the head-waters of
the Colorado, in what is now the north-east part of Utah. The next year he pro-
ceeded northwardly, along the base of the Rocky Mountains, to near latitude 47
deg. There he remained until the spring of 1829, when he descended Clark River
to Fort Colville, then recently established at the falls, by the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany, which had a few years previous absorbed and united the interests of the
North-west Company. He returned to the United States, through the long and
circuitous far northward route of the Upper Columbia, the Athabasca, the Assina-
boin, Red River, and the Upper Missouri. But little was known of the countries
through which Pilcher traversed, previous to the publication of his concise narra-
tive. The account of the rambles of J. O. Pattie, a Missouri fur trader, through
New Mexico, Chihuahua, Sonora, and California, threw some light on the geogra-
phy of those countries. In 1832, Capt Bonneville, U.S.A., while on a furlough,
504 OREGON.
led a party of one hundred men from Missouri, over the mountains, where he passed
more than two years on the Columbia and Colorado, in hunting, trapping, and
trading.
About the same time, Captain Wyeth, of Massachusetts, attempted to establish
commercial relations with the countries on the Columbia, to which the name of
Oregon then began to be universally applied. His plan was like that of Astor,
with the additional scheme of transporting the salmon of the Oregon rivers to the
United States. He made two overland expeditions to Oregon, established Fort
Hall as a trading post, and another mainly for fishing purposes, near the mouth
of the Willamette. This scheme failed, owing to the rivalry of the Hudson's Bay
Company, who founded the counter establishment of Fort Boise, where, offering
goods to the Indians at lower prices than Wyeth could afford, compelled him to
desist, and he sold out his interests to them. Meanwhile, a brig he had dispatched
from Boston, arrived in the Columbia, and returned with a cargo of salted salmon,
but the results not being auspicious, the enterprise was abandoned.
The American traders being excluded by these, and other means from Oregon,
mainly confined themselves to the regions of the head waters of the Colorado and
the Utah Lake, where they formed one or two small establishments, and sometimes
extended their rambles as far west as San Francisco and Monterey. The number
of American hunters and trappers thus employed west of the Rocky Mountains,
seldom exceeded two hundred; where, during the greater part of the year, they
roved through the wilds in search of furs which they conveyed to their places of
rendezvous in the mountain valleys, and bartered with them to the Missouri
traders.
About the time of Wyjsth's expeditions, were the earliest emigrations to Oregon
of settlers from the United States. The first of these was founded in 1834, in the
Willamette Valley, by a body of Methodists who went round by sea under the di-
rection of the Rev. Messrs. Lee and Shepherd. In that valley a few retired ser-
vants of the Hudson's Bay Company were then residing, and engaged in herding
cattle. The Congregationalists or Presbyterians planted colonies two or three
years after, in the Walla-walla and Spokan countries, with Messrs. Parker, Spauld-
ing, Gray, Walker, Eels, Smith, and Whitman as missionaries.
In all of these places mission schools were established for the instruction of the
natives, and in 1839, a printing press was started at Walla-walla (now in Washington
Territory), where were printed the first sheets ever struck off, on the Pacific side
of the mountains, north of Mexico. On it books were printed from types set by
native compositors. The Roman Catholics from Missouri, soon after founded sta-
tions on Clark River.
About the year 1837, the American people began to be deeply interested in the
subject of the claims of the United States to Oregon, and societies were formed
for emigration. From them and other sources, petitions were presented to con-
gress, to either make a definite arrangement with Great Britain, the other claim-
ant, or take immediate possession of the country. In each year, from 1838 to
1843, small parties emigrated overland from Missouri to Oregon, suffering much
hardship on the route. At the close of 1842, the American citizens there num-
bered about four hundred. Relying upon the promise of protection held out by
the passage of the bill in February, 1843, by the U. S. senate for the immediate
occupation of Oregon, about one thousand emigrants, men, women, and children,
assembled at Westport, on the Missouri frontier, in the succeeding June, and fol-
lowed the route up the Platte, and through the South Pass, surveyed the previous
year by Fremont; thence by Fort Hall to the Willamette Valley, where they
arrived in October, after a laborious and fatiguing journey of more than two thous-
and miles. Others soon followed, and before the close of the next year, over 3,000
American citizens were in Oregon.
By the treaty for the purchase of Florida, in 1819, the boundary between the
Spanish possessions and the United States was fixed on the N.W., at lat. 42 degs.,
the present northern line of Utah and California; by this the United States suc-
ceeded to such title to Oregon as Spain may have derived by the right of discovery
through its early navigators. In June, of 1846, all the difficulties in relation to
Oregon, which at one time threatened war, were settled by treaty between the two
OREGON. 505
nations. In 1841, the coast of Oregon was visited by the ships of the United
States Exploring Expedition, under Lieut Charles Wilkes. At that time, Wilkea
estimated the population to be: of Indians, 19,199; Canadians and half-breeds,
650; and the citizens of the United States, 150. The Hudson's Bay Company then
had twenty-five forts and trading stations in Oregon."
Oregon was organized as a territory in 1848, and included in its bounda-
ries the present Territory of Washington — an immense area of about
250,000 square miles, with an average width east and west of 540, and north
and south of 470 miles. A state constitution was adopted in convention,
Sept. 18, 1857, and ratified by the people on the 9th of November following.
At the same time the question of admitting slaves and free negroes into the
state was submitted to the people. The vote on these questions was: for
slavery, 2,645 ; against slavery, 7,727 ; majority against, 5,082; for free ne-
groes. 1,081; against free negroes, 8,640; majority against, 7,559. The
constitution prohibited negroes, Chinamen, and mulattoes from voting; and
persons concerned in dueling ineligible to offices of trust and profit. On the
14th of Feb., 1859, Oregon was admitted by congress as a state, and with
greatly contracted boundaries. Its extreme extent in latitude is from 42°
to 46° 12' N., in longitude from 116° 45' to 124° 30' W. from Greenwich.
It has an average length, east and west, of about 350, and width, north and
*outh, of 260 miles giving an area of about 90,000 square miles. The act
wf admissjon gives two sections of land in every township for the use of
schools, grants 72 sections for a state university, and five per cent, of the
net proceeds of the sales of the public lands for public roads and internal
improvements within the state.
Oregon is bounded, north by Washington Territory, east by Idaho Terri-
tory, south by California and Nevada, and west by the Pacific Ocean. It is
divided into three section. The first, or western section is that between the
Pacific Ocean and the Cascade range of mountains. This range runs parallel
with the sea coast the whole length of the state, and is continued through Cali-
fornia, under the name of the Sierra Nevada. The second, or middle section,
is that between the Cascade and Blue Mountains: it comprises nearly half
the state : the surface is about 1,000 feet above the western section. It is
generally a high rolling prairie country, destitute of timber, and but a small
part of it adapted to farming. The third, or eastern section, lies south and
east of the Blue Mountains: it is mostly a rocky and barren waste. The
Columbia is the great river of the state, nearly all others being its tributa-
ries. It is navigable from the ocean 120 miles, for vessels of 12 feet draught :
from thence its course is obstructed by falls and rapids, which will eventually
be overcome by locks and canals. During freshets, it is in many places con-
fined by dalles, i. e. narrows, which back the water, covering the islands and
tracts of low prairie, giving the appearance of lakes. The Dalles of the
Columbia, 94 miles below the mouth of Lewis Fork, is a noted place, where
the river passes between vast masses of rock.
The settled part of Oregon, and the only portion likely to possess much
interest for years to come, is the first or western section, lying between the
Cascade Mountains and the Pacific — a strip of country 280 long, north and
south, and 120 miles broad, east and west. A writer familiar with it gives
this description:
Western Oregon, between the Cascades and the Pacific, is made up chiefly of
throe valleys, those of the Willamette (pronounced Wil-lain'-ette), Umpqua and
llogue Rivers. The first named stream begins in the Cascade Mountains, runs
west 69 miles, then turns northward, runs l40 miles, and empties into the Colum-
506
OREGON.
bia. The last two begin in the Cascades, .and run westward to the ocean. There
are, perhaps, several thousand miners including Chinamen, in the Rogue River
valley; but nearly the whole permanent farming population is in the Valley of the
Willamette. This valley, taking the word in its more restricted sense of the low
land, is from 30 to 40 miles wide and 120 miles long. This may be said to be the
View in the Valley of lite Willamette.
Avbolo of agricultural Oregon. It is a beautiful, fertile, well-watered plain, witli a
little timber along the streams, and a great deal in the mountains on each side.
The soil is a gravelly clay, covered near the creeks and rivers with a rich sandy
lufim. The vegetation of the valley is composed of several indigenous grasses, a
number of flowering plants and ferns, the latter being very abundant, and exceed-
ingly troublesome to the farmer on account of its extremely tough vitality.
The tributary streams of the Willamette are very numerous, and their course in
the valley is usually crooked, as the main stream itself is, having many "sloughs,"
" bayous," or " arms," as they are differently called. In some places the land is
marshy, and everywhere moist. Drouth will never be known in western Oregon;
its climate is very wet, both summer and winter, the latter season being one long
rain, and the former consisting of many short ones, with a little sunshine interven-
ing. The winters are warm, and the summers rather cool — too cool for growing
melons, maize and sweet potatoes. Wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, and domestic
animals thrive well The climate, take it all in all, is much like that of England,
and all plants and animals which do well in Britain will prosper in Oregon. The
Oregon fruit is excellent, particularly the apples and plums; the peaches and pears
are not quite so good as those of California.
All along the coast of Oregon, there is a range of mountains about forty miles
wide, and they are so densely timbered with cedar, pine, spruce and fir, that the
density of the wood alone would render them worthless for an age, if they were
not rugged. But they are very rugged, and the Umpqua and Rogue Rivers, in
making their way through them, have not been able to get any bottom lands, and
are limited to narrow, high-walled canons. The only tillable lands on the banks
of those rivers are about fifty miles from the sea, each having a valley which, in
general terms, may be described as twelve miles wide by thirty long. Rogue River
valley is separated from California by the Siskiyou Mountains, about 5,000 feet
highland from Umpqua valley by the Canon Mountains, about 3,000 feet high ; and
OREGON.
507
Aie Umpqua again is separated from the Willamette valley by the Calapooya M JUG-
tains, also about 3,000 feet high.
All Oregon — that is, its western division, except the lowlands of the Willamette,
Umpqua and Rogue valleys — is covered with dense timber, chiefly of coarse grained
wood — such as fir, spruce and hemlock. In the south-western corner of the state,
however, there are considerable forests of white cedar — a large and beautiful tree,
producing a soft, fine-grained lumber, and very fragrant with a perfume, which
might be imitated by mixing ottar of roses with turpentine. Oak and ash are rare.
Nearly all the trees are coniferous.
Giant Pines of Oregon.
In Rogue valley and along the beach of the Pacific there are extensive gold dig-
gings. There are also large seams of tertiary coal at Coose Bay. These are the
only valuable minerals in the state. The scenery on the Columbia is grand, from
Walla-walla, where it first touches Oregon, to the ocean. There are five mountain
peaks in the state, rising to the region of perpetual snow: Mount Hood, 13,700
feet high; Mount ^Jefl'erson, 11,900; the Three Sisters, Mount Scott, and Mount
McLaughlin, all about 9,000 feet high.
The people are generally intelligent,, industrious and moral. There are about a
dozen newspapers published in Oregon, all of them weeklies. The chief exports
are wheat, flour, apples, butter, cheese, salted salmon, salted meats, and coals, and
from 10,000 to 20,000 head of horned cattle and sheep are annually driven to Cal-
ifornia.
Salmon are very abundant in the Columbia and its branches, and those taken at
the mouth of the main stream are said to be the best on the coast The fishing ia
done chiefly by Indians.
Such is a brief and a fair statement of the resources and condition of Oregon.
Tt is made to convey a correct idea of the state — no£ to attract or deter emigration.
508 OREGON.
California has a clearer sky, a more agreeable climate, more extensive and richer
deposits of valuable minerals, greater natural facilities for internal trade and ex-
ternal commerce, a greater variety of soil and clime, fitting it for the growth of
the fig, the orange, the olive, and the date, as well us of the vine, apple, and wheat;
but, on the other hand, has the disadvantages of scanty timber, very dry summers
and autumns — compelling the farmer to irrigate his land — an unsettled population,
a small proportion of families, an unsteady course of trade, and unsettled titles to
most of the soil under occupation. Washington Territory has advantages superior
to those of Oregon for foreign commerce, lumbering and fishing. The main ad-
vantages of Oregon over both, are in having a large body of level, rich prairie
land, with abundant water, and neither too much nor too little timber.
The population of Oregon is largely composed of emigrants from Missouri
and Illinois. la 1848, it was estimated at about 8,000 soub; in 1860, it
was 52,566.
Portland, the largest and most important town in Oregon, is upon the
Willamette, at the head of ship navigation, 15 miles above its entrance into
the Columbia, and overland from St. Louis 2,300 miles. Population about
3,000. Almost the whole of the foreign trade of Oregon is done through,
Portland, excepting the southern part, and that finds its seaport in Crescent
City, of California. Portland lies 120 miles from the ocean, access to it
being had through the Columbia, which at low tide, in dry' seasons, has
only 9 feet of water — scarcely enough for sea-going vessels. The Pacific
coast is destitute of good harbors.
Oregon City is 12 miles above Portland, in a narrow high walled valley on
the AVillamette, which affords here, by its falls, great water power for manu-
facturing facilities. Excepting at this place and on the Columbia River,
water power is scarce in Oregon, save at points very difficult of access.
Astoria is on the south side of the Columbia, 10 miles from its mouth.
This place, so long noted as an important depot in the fur trade, has now
but a few dwellings. In this neighborhood are forests of pine, which have
long been noted for their beauty and size. Lieut. Wilkes thus speaks of
them: "Short excursions were made by many of us in the vicinity, and one
of these was to visit the primeval forest of pines in the rear of Astoria, a
sight well worth seeing. Mr. Dray ton took a camera lucida drawing of one
of the largest trees, which the preceding plate is engraved from. It conveys
a good idea of the thick growth of trees, and is quite characteristic of this
forest. The soil on which this timber grows is rich and fertile, but the ob-
stacles to the agriculturist are almost insuperable. The largest tree of the
sketch was thirty-nine feet six inches in circumference, eight feet above the
ground, and had a bark eleven inches thick. The hight could not be ascer-
tained, but it was thought to be upward of two hundred and fifty feet, and
the tree was perfectly straight." These trees, for at least one hundred and
fifty feet, are without branches. In many places those which have fallen
down, present barriers to the vision, even when the traveler is on horseback;
and between the old forest trees that are lying prostrate, can be seen the ten-
der and small twig beginning its journey to an amazing hight.
Salem, the capital of Oregon, is on the Willamette, 50 miles above Oregon
City. The other towns on this river and. tributaries are Milwaukee, Buteville,
Ckampoeg, Fairfield, Albany, Corvallis, Booneville, Eugene City, Clackamas,
Lafayette, Parkersburg, and Santiane, On the Umpqua are Gardner, Mid~
dleton, Scottsburg, Winchester, Roseburg, and Canonville. In Rogue valley
are Jacksonville, Waldo, and Althouse. On the Columbia the towns are As-
toria, Rainier, Gardner, St. Helena, and the Dalles, all very sitall places.
NEBRASKA.
NEBRASKA was organized as a territory, with Kansas, in 1854, and
then had the immense area of 336,000 square miles. In February,
1867, it was admitted as a State of the Union.
The face of the country is gently rolling prairie, and there are numerous
small creeks and rivers, along the banks of which is timber.
The climatQ of Nebraska ia favorable, and the atmosphere pure, clear, and dry.
The soil is quick and lively, producing Indian corn, wheat, o*ts, hemp, tobacco,
and sorghum. Vegetables of all kinds thrive well, and it produces fine grapes.
As a grazing country Nebraska can not be surpassed, and stock raising is ex-
tensively carried on. The wild grass predominates here as in Utah, and cattle,
horses, and mules fatten on it very readily. The bottom lands abound with
rushes, and stock are often kept out the whole winter tfirough, and are found to
fatten without fodder.
Nebraska being an agricultural and stock-raising country, and also the great
starting-point and highway for travel over the plains, her lands are sought after
by immigrants. In the neighborhood of good settlements the settler has the
advantages of churches and schools already established. As a general rule,
farms can be bought at less than the cost of improvements, owing to the constant
emigration to the adjacent gold mines of Colorado and Montana. Timber and
stone are found in sufficient quantities for building purposes. Stone coal has been
discovered in several places.
The principal rivers are the Missouri and the Platte. The first is navigable by
steamboats for many hundred miles above the northern point of Nebraska. The
Platte enters the Missouri River near Omaha City. This river runs almost due
west, through a fine valley extending four or five hundred miles through the cen-
ter of Nebraska, and has always been the favorite, as it has been almost the only
route to the new states and territories of Utah, Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana,
Washington, Oregon, and California. The principal outfitting points are on the
west side of the Missouri, and are Brownsville, Nebraska City, Plattsmouth, and
Omaha. The roads from these westward are good, and all intersect at or near
Fort Kearney.
The line of emigration of the United States, it is estimated now advances west-
ward at an annual rate of seventeen miles. The territorial expansion of the pop-
ulation absorbs annually 17,000 square miles, for when population Exceeds
eight persons to a square mile it emigrates. Within the last thirty years, the
United States have added, on the west, eleven new states, with an aggregate area
of 934,462 square miles, and three millions of people. With the natural, increase
of inhabitants, consumption of territory for colonization, if it existed, would
increase in a far greater ratio. But it does not exist.. The western limit of agri-
cultural land in the United States is already reached. Mr. J. A. Wheelock, com-
missioner of statistics of Minnesota, in 'his annual report for 1860, presents these
facts under the heading of:
ARABLE AREAS OF THE UNITED STATES EXHAUSTED.
The extended explorations made within the last few years under the auspices of
the United States government, of the region between the Mississippi and the
Rocky Mountains, have revealed the startling fact in the physics of the United
509
510 NEBRASKA.
States, that the westward progress of its population has nearly reached the oxtremo
western limit of the areas available for settlement, and that the whole space west
of the 9Xth parallel, embracing one half of the entire surface of the United States,
is an arid and desolate waste, with the exception of a narrow belt of rich lands
along the Pacific coast This momentous fact, which is destined in its results to
revolutionize the whole scheme of continental development, and to give a new di-
rection to the movements of trade and population, was first announced as a posi
tive generalization by Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian Institute, in a learned
paper on meteorology in its connection with agriculture. From this paper we
quote: " The general character of the soil between the Mississippi River and the
Atlantic, is that of great fertility. The portion also on the western side of the
Mississippi, as far as the 98th meridian, including the states of Texas, Louisiana,
Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Minnesota, and portions of the territories of Kan-
sas and Nebraska, are fertile, though abounding in prairies, and subject occasion-
ally to droughts. The whole space to the west, between the 98th meridian anJ
the Rocky Mountains, is a barren waste, over which the eye may roam to the ex-
tent of the visible horizon, with scarcely an object to break the monotony. From
the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific, with the exception of a rich, but narrow belt
along the ocean, the country may also be considered, in comparison with other por-
tions of the United States, a wilderness unfitted for the uses of the husbandman;
although in some of the mountain valleys, as at Salt Lake, by means of irrigation,
a precarious supply of food may be obtained."
it is not necessary to quote the detailed description of this American Sahara.
The concluding words of Prof. Henry, upon this subject, are more to our purpose.
'' We have stated that the entire region west of the 98th degree of west longitude,
with the exception of a small portion of western Texas, and the narrow border
along the Pacific, is a country of comparatively little value to the agriculturist,*
and perhaps it will astonish the reader if we direct his attention to the fact that
this line, Avhich passes southward from Lake Winnipeg .to the Gulf of Mexico, will
divide the whole surface of the United States into two nearly equal parts. This
statement, when fully appreciated, will serve to dissipate some of the dreams which
have been considered as realities, as to the destiny of the western part of the
North American continent. Truth, however, transcends even the laudable feel-
ings of pride of country, and in order properly to direct the policy of this great
confederacy, it is necessary to be well acquainted with the theater in which its
future history is to be enacted."
That ilrich but narrow belt of fertile lands upon the Pacific," has already been
blocked out with the prosperous states of California and Oregon, with an aggregate
population of 450,000.
Upon the eastern bank of the great American desert, Kansas already contains
a population sufficient to form a state. Eastern Nebraska and Dacotah are rapidly
tilling up. Here are, altogether, about 160,000 square miles to be made into new
states, and this is all that remains of the national domain — all that remains to
supply an imperative and permanent demand for new areas, which absorbs 170,955
pquare miles every ten years in the formation of new states.
In the very fullness and strength of Us westward Jlow, the tide of immigration
is even^noic arrested upon the brink of a sterile waste, which covers half the na-
tional domain.
This event is the turning point in American history. It is the beginning of
that cumulative pressure of population upon the means of subsistence, which is
*In general, this vast tract may be termed a waterless, timberless, desert-like country.
AVliile the annual fall of rain in the eastern states amounts to about 42 inches, it is supposed
that in the couiit'-y from the British line south to Texas, nnd from the 98th meridian to the
Sierra Nevada Mountains, of California, the annual amount of rain does not exceed, on an
average 10 inches! We all know of the terrible drought of ISfiO in Kan?as. The interior
p:irt of our continent will always be more or less subject to such calamities. An officer of
the U. S. army, coininnmliint of a post in the vicinity of San Antonio, states to us that
in all that part of Texas, there has been no rain of consequence within the past five years J
The garrison was unable to procure even enough vegetables for its own consumption.
NEBRASKA. 511
to test the stability of our institutions. But aside from its political effects, it will
have these important results on the material condition of the country. 1. It will
condense population within its present \liiuits, and thus add to the wealth and social
power of existing states. 2. Hi/ placing a positive limitation vpon the supply of
western lands it will largely enhance their value.
Beyond the present line of settlement in eastern Nebraska and Kansas to Cali-
fornia and Oregon, stock raising on the immense prairies, on which now roam
countless herds of buffalo, and gold and silver mining in the mountains, must be
the main supports of the population. . That these industries may in the course of
half a century give birth to many new states, and occupation for millions of in-
habitants, is not improbable; but the food to support them will require to be prin-
cipally drawn from the rich agricultural country on and near the Mississippi
River. With this condition in prospective, the ultimate value of these lands wjll
be greatly enhanced.
The population of Nebraska is composed of emigrants from the free states of
the Northwest, and is now confined to the eastern border, along the banks of the
Missouri. In 1860, Nebraska had 28,893 inhabitants.
Omaha City, the capital of Nebraska, is beautifully situated on a wide plateau,
the second bottom of the Missouri River, and opposite the city of Council Bluffs,
in Iowa. The site had not a single dwelling in 1854. and in the fall of 1866 it had
an estimated population of 9,000; and with fine prospects for the future, for here
begins the northernmost Union Pacific Railroad.
A writer of that period thus speaks of this great work : "At Omaha the Union
Pacific Railroad begins. It has as yet no connecting lines of rail in any direc-
tion. It commences in the air on the banks of the Missouri River at Omaha,
and has already streamed away toward sunset, for 275 miles. For thirty miles
after leaving Omaha, it runs southwest through a rolling prairie. Then it strikes
the great Platte Valley, which extends due west to the base of the Rocky Mount-
ains, a distance of over 600 miles. For this 600 miles nature has provided a per-
fectly graded led for a railway, or for forty railways. Think of a magnificent
valley, 600 miles long and from five to twenty broad, with a uniform descent of
only six or seven feet per mile, and level as » barn floor, stretching from the Mis-
souri River to the foot of the great peaks that look down upon the Pacific slope!"
This Union Pacific Railroad is commonly known as the Chicago road, in con-
tradistinction to that which starts from St. Louis. The latter in the year 1866
was fully completed as far as Fort Riley in Kansas; while the other, for some
distance east of Omaha, had no rail connection until January, 1867, when through
connection with Chicago was effected, via Council Bluffs.
It was originally designed that the St. Louis and Chicago roads should meet at
Fort Kearney, but St. Louis has permission to take an independent and more
southern route via Smokey Hill, running directly through Denver, Colorado, and
she will avail herself of it. As this will result in our having two Pacific Railroads
within the next five or six years, no one will mourn over the departure from the
original plan. One will run west through central Kansas; the other through
central Nebraska. In other words, one will take the latitude of Chicago, the other
that of St. Louis.
To each one of these companies, Congress loans $16,000 in thirty-year bonds
for every mile of the road completed, withdraws its first lien upon the road, and
allows the company to negotiate first mortgage bonds bearing seven per cent, in-
terest and redeemable in gold, to the additional amount of $16,000 per mile. For
all transportations on account of the Government, the road receives one half in
cash and credits the other half upon the interest of the thirty year bonds. In ad-
dition to this subsidy Government donates in fee simple to the company 12,800
acres of land for every mile of the road completed, equal to a solid belt twenty
miles wide through all the public lands, and allows these lands to be selected in
alternate sections over a belt fifty miles wide.
The other prominent places and localities in Nebraska, are Plattesmmdh, Ne-
braska City, Nemaha City, Bellevue, Florence, Saratoga, Fontenelle, Brownsville,
Mi. Vernon, St. George, and Columbus.
The Territories
of the
UNITED STATES
COLORADO TERRITORY.
COLORADO was formed into a territory February 18, 1861. Colorado
derives its name from the Colorado River, and its population from the dis-
covery of gold in the vicinity of Pikes Peak. Its area is 104,500 square
miles. Estimated population, late in 1864, 32,000. Capital, Denver.
A great part of this territory lies upon the Rocky Mountains, with their foot
hills and adjacent plains. Within it the Arkansas and Platte Rivers have
their sources, and running easterly empty into the Mississippi; Green River
and other affluents of the great Colorado of the West here also take their
rise, and flowing westerly discharge their waters into the Pacific. Its mineral
deposits are half way between the Mississippi and the Pacific, and about 1,000
miles from each, and in the same latitude with the rich mineral regions of
Carson Valley. Within it are the three beautiful vales of the Rocky Moun-
tains, known respectively as Middle, South and North Parks, while the noted
Pike's Peak rises up grandly 10,600 feet above the level of the plains, and
18,600, or more than three and a half miles above the level of the sea. This
mountain received its name from its discoverer, Capt. Z. M. Pike, while at
the head of an exploring expedition sent out in 1806, in Jefferson's admin-
istration, to ascertain the sources of the Arkansas. He ascended to the
summit, and was the first white man to gaze upon the magnificent panorama
seen from that point. A visitor of our time thus relates his experience
there :
" The summit ia of an irregular, oblong shape, nearly level, embracing about
sixty acres, and composed entirely of angular slabs and blocks of coarse disinteg-
rating granite. The fresh snow was two or three inches deep in the interstices
among the rocks, but had nearly all melted from their surfaces.
The day was clear, and the view indescribably grand and impressive. To the
eastward for a hundred miles, our eyes wandered over the dim, dreary prairies,
spotted by the dark shadows of the clouds and the deeper green of the pineries,
intersected by the faint gray lines of the roads, and emerald threads of timber,
which mark the meandering of the streams, and banded on the far horizon with a
girdle of gold. At our feet, below the now insignificant mountains up which we
had toifed so wearily, was Colorado City, to the nabed eye a confused city of Lilli-
puts, but through the glasses exhibiting its buildings in perfect distinctness, nnd
beside one of them our own carriage with a man standing near it.
515
516 COLORADO TERRITORY.
Further south swept the green timbers of the Fontaine qui Bouille, the Arkan
sas and the Huerfano, and* then rose the blue Spanish peaks of New Mexico, a
hundred miles away. Eight or ten miles from our stand-point, two little gems of
lakes, nestled among the rugged mountains, revealing even the shadows of the
rocks and pines in their transparent waters. Far beyond, a group of tiny lakelets
glittered and sparkled in their dark surroundings like a cluster of stars.
View in Denver.
Cherry Creek is seen in front, Platte River in the middle distance, the Tlocky Mountains in the back-
ground, and on the extreme left, at the distance of seventy miles, appears the snow-clad summit of Pike's
1'eak.
To the west, the South Park, 40 miles in length, the Bayou Salado, and other
amphitheaters of rich floral beauty — gardens of nature amid the utter desolation
of the mountains — were spread thousands of feet below us; and beyond, peak after
peak, until the pure white wall of the Snowy Range merged into the infinite blue
of the sky. Toward the north-east we could trace the timbers of the Platte, for
more than seventy miles ; but though the junction of Cherry creek, even to the
unassisted eye, showed the exact location of Denver, our glasses did not enable ua
to detect the buildings.
These of course were only the more prominent features of the landscape. To
the north, south and west the intervening expanse was one vast wilderness of
mountains of diverse forms and mingling colors, with clouds of fleecy white sail-
ing airily among their scarred and wrinkled summits. By walking a few hundred
yards, from one slight elevation to another, we looked upon four territories of the
Union — Kansas, Nebraska, Utah and New Mexico. Almost from the same stand-
point we viewed regions watered by four of the great rivers of the continent — the
Platte, Arkansas, Rio Grande, and Colorado — tributaries respectively of the Mis-
souri, the Mississippi, the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf of California.
A gorge upon the north side is still more gigantic than that on the south-east
A colossal plowshare seems to have been driven fiercely down from the summit
almost to the base, leaving a,gaping furrow, visible even from Denver {seventy
miles] and deep enough in itself to bury a mountain of considerable pretensions. '
Like mineral regions generally, this is deficient in agricultural resources,
it may in time produce sufficient to support a considerable mining popula-
tion. It is, however, more probable that it will become an important market
STREET IN DENVEB IN 1859.
COLORADO TERRITORY. 517
for the rich agricultural districts of eastern Kansas and Nebraska. " The
soil east of the foot of the mountains is mostly arid and sandy, and as very
little rain falls during the summer, is not adapted to farming purposes. Even
the valleys of the streams appear unproductive ; pulverize a handful of the
soil, and it proves to consist almost entirely of sand. But it is precisely
identical with the soil
of the valleys in New
Mexico; and like them,
with irrigation, it will
produce abundantly all
the small grains and
vegetables. The val-
leys in the gold region
will produce all the
great staples of that lat-
itude, with perhaps the
exception of corn.
Their elevation is near-
ly 5,000 feet above the
sea; frosts are frequent, even during the summer, and it is doubtful whether
corn will flourish, unless it be the small species grown in Mexico, or the
variety recently introduced in Oregon, in which each kernal is encased in ,a
separate husk. The climate of the great plains and of the Rocky Mountain
country is one of the healthiest in the world. The air is so dry and pure
that fresh meat, cut in summer in strips, and in winter in quarters, and hung
up out of doors, will cure so perfectly, without salting or smoking, that it
may be carried to any quarter of the globe. The nights, even in summer,
are cool and often cold." The winters are long and terribly severe ; snow
falls early in the fall and late in the spring. The Parks in the Rocky
Mountains are mild in winter, affordtng abundance of food for stock, and
have always been favorite winter haunts for the Indians. " They are com-
paratively smooth, fertile spots — the principal ones from 30 to 60 miles in
diameter — inclosed on all sides by high mountain walls: in the language of
Fremont, "gems of rich floral beauty, shut up in the stern recesses of the
mountains."
The mountain districts are well watered. " The country abounds in timber, the
prevailing variety being pine — immense forests of both the yellow and white being
common. On the streams the white cherry and timber common to this latitude
are found. Game is exceedingly abundant — the black-tailed deer, red deer, elk,
antelope, mountain sheep, black bear, etc., being found in all portions of the coun-
try. It is a favorite resort for the Indians, as it affords them plenty of game when
off their buffalo hunts, and where they get their lodge poles and equipments for
their excursions for Buffalo on the plains."
This country has only of late been a point of attraction to emigrants. The discov-
ery of gold has been the talisman to draw multitudes of the hardy and enterprising
of our countrymen to this Rocky Mountain land. Jt had long been believed by the
hunters and trappers of the Kocky Mountains, that the existence of gold and sil-
ver, near the sources of the Arkansas and South Platte, was known to the Indians,
and though search was made the exact spot could never be ascertained. "In 1835,
a hunter, named Eustace Carriere, became separated from his companions, and
wandered about for some weeks, during which period he discovered some grains
of gold on the surface of the ground, which he took with him to Mexico. On his
arrival there he exhibited his specimens, and a company was formed, having Car-
riere for their guide to the new El Dorado. Unfortunately for himself, Carriere
was unable to find the precise spot, and the Mexicans, thinking that he did not
518 COLORADO TERRITORY.
wish to disclose the secret to them, set upon him, and having punished him severe-
ly, left him and returned to Mexico. Nothing was then heard for some time, but
in the winter of 1851 an old trapper, who had been living among the Indians for
some years, came to the settlements and reported the existence of a cave, in which
there was a quantity of solid masses of gold, hanging from the roof, like stalactites
or immense icicles. He urged the formation of a company, and offered to conduct
men to the spot, but the story was too large, and he could not induce any one to
accompany him. He afterward left for the Indian country by himself, and noth-
ing has since been heard of him.
In 1850, a party of California emigrants passing through this part, found traces
of gold, and some of the party wished to stay and examine carefully, but the ma-
jority, who had heard of the California nuggets being as ' large as a brick,' wished
to proceed on their journey. Capt. John Beck, who was of this party, on his re-
turn from California, took out a party of a hundred men to this gold field, and from
that time the presence of gold was a recognized fact Party then rapidly suc-
ceeded party, every one who* returned from the mines giving a highly colored
account of the fortunes to be realized there. In May, 1858, a party from Law-
rence, Kansas, was induced by these favorable reports to proceed to the diggings,
where they found matters even better than had been represented. The result of
their discoveries soon became known, and this new El Dorado suddenly became
the great magnet of attraction of this continent." So great in two years was the
rush of emigration that, in 1860, the census gave the population of the newly
found gold region at about sixty thousand.
The GOLD REGION is known to extend several hundred miles along the
Rocky Mountains. The best part of it is supposed to be between latitudes
37° and 42°. "It is the general opinion that quartz mining must always
be the leading interest here; and miners with only the pan and rocker or
sluice have not as yet been able, as they were originally in California, to ob-
tain $5 or $10 per day wherever they might locate. Many old Californians,
however, aver that the quartz ' prospects' much more richly here than it ever
has in the golden state." As early as October, 1860, 75 quartz mills were
in operation in the mountains, and 100%more being put up, which, upon the
ground and in running order, cost in the aggregate nearly two millions of
dollars. The estimated yield of gold for the year was five millions in value.
Some rich silver lodes had then been discovered; but the development of
this industry must be slow, from the great expense of erecting proper*reduc-
tion works, and the difficulty of obtaining the practical skill to amalgamate
the mineral.
Denver, Auraria and Highland were established by three different compa-
nies, but they are substantially one city, and the metropolis of the gold re-
gion. They are seventy miles north of Pike's Peak, at the confluence of
Cherry Creek and the South Platte River ; and distant, by air lines, from St.
Louis, 800, Santa Fe, 300, San Francisco, 1,000, and Salt Lake, 400 miles.
Denver and Auraria were the first founded. The first house built on the site of Denver
was erected on Oct. 29, 1858, by Gen. Wm. Larimer and party, who had just arrived from
Leavenworth. It was a rude log cabin, only six feet high, with a roof of sods. Highland
is beautifully situated on the west bank of the Platte. The three places, in general terms,
are now called Denver, which, in the fall of i860, two years after the first house was
erected, contained three daily newspapers, two churches, a theater, several fine brick blocks,
two bridges across the Platte, excellent roads leading from it to the principal diggings,
and 5,000 inhabitants.
Colorado City, 80 miles south of Denver, was founded in 1859 at the foot
of Pike's Peak, and had, in 1860, 1,500 inhabitants. Golden City, 15 miles
west of Denver, in I860, had a population of 1,200. St. Vrain is on the Platte,
40 miles north of Denver, and on the site of the old trading post of Col
Ceran St. Vrain, frequently alluded to in Fremont's expeditions.
COLORADO TERRITORY. 519
Hall, in his " Emigrants' and Settlers' Guide," gives this description of
the climate and productions of Colorado. He is also full and enthusiastic
upon its mineral wealth. He describes, somewhat in detail, the mode prac-
ticed in gold mining and the various processes for extracting tbe.ore. We
copy his article below, almost entire.
" The Climate. — The climate of Colorado varies with its hight, both as to
temperature and the amount of rain and snow. The climate of that por-
tion lying at the base and east of the' mountains is not only delightful but
remarkably healthy. The frosts come generally early in the autumn, and
continue far into the spring months, but they are not severe. On the plains,
the snows of winter are never sufficient to prevent cattle of all kinds from
thriving and fattening on the nutritious grass, dried up and thus cured by
nature in July and August.
Throughout the winter months, with rare exceptions, the sun blazes down
with an almost tropic glow, little or no snow falls, and although the nights
are sometimes sharp and frosty, there is no steady intensity of cold.
With such a climate Colorado cduld not well be otherwise than healthy.
The sanitary condition of the territory is good, and the number of deaths,
considering the labor and exposure to which the great majority of its in-
habitants are subjected, remarkably small.
Agricultural Products. — In a coutitry so remote from the agricultural dis-
tricts of the states, and where the expanse of transporting supplies is so
heavy, the need of home production is necessarily very great. The rather
scanty opportunities which Colorado presents as a field for agriculture have
been, however, improved to the utmost. An extensive system of irrigation
has been introduced, which, it is thought, will relieve the settlers from lack
of rain and other difficulties which have hitherto limited agricultural pro-
gress.
As regards the production of grain, the crops on the various branches of
the South Platte, Arkansas, Fontain que Bruille, afford encouraging pros-
pects.
In the southern part of the territory considerable attention has been paid
to the raising of wheat, corn, barley, and other cereals ; but the continuance
of dry weather presents a formidable obstacle to great success in this di-
rection.
The bottom lands of the Platte River and other mountain streams have a
rich alluvial deposit, which only requires water at long intervals to promote
an astonishing vegetable growth. All the succulent varieties of plants, such
as potatoes, cabbages, onions, squashes, etc., attain an enormous size, re-
taining the tenderness, juiciness, and sweetness which almost everywhere
else belong only to the smaller varieties. The wild fruits of the territory
are also numerous and abundant. It is believed that Colorado will, in a few
years, be able to supply her own home demand for the necessaries of life.
Stock Raising etc. — As a grazing and stock-raising region Colorado pos-
sesses great advantages. Near the base of the rocky ranges, and along the
valleys of the streams which have their origin in the mountains, vegetation
is prolific. The grasses are not only abundant, bufr they contain more nutri-
ment than the cultivated species of the most prosperous agricultural dis-
tricts of the Mississippi valley. These grasses cure standing, and cattle
have been known to feed and thrive upon them throughout the entire win-
ter months.
520 COLORADO TERRITORY.
Minerals — Mining, etc. — As a gold-mining country, Colorado is second
only to California. The Colorado gold mines differ from those of California
in this particular, viz.: that in the former the precious ore is generally found
in extensive " lodes " of quartz and pyrites, while in the latter, placer or
gulch mining are the most extensive and the most profitable. We do not
mean to be understood by this that there are no placer mines in Colorado.
Numerous gulches and ravines have been extensively worked in different
parts of the territory, and in some instances the yield has been astonishingly
rich and abundant; but, up to the present time, the extent of the discov-
eries of gulch, bar, or river deposits has not seemed to establish a claim
for Colorado as a great placer mining region.
That the inexperienced may more clearly understand the difference be-
tween " placer " and " lode " mining, the following brief explanation is
appended :
" Placer " and "Lode " Mining. — Where deposits of gold are found in
gulches, on bars, or in river beds, mixed only with the sands and alluvial
washings of the mountains or hillsides, and requiring only the action of
water, by sluicing or hydraulics, to separate them from the earthy mixture,
the term " placer " is applied to this mode of mining. On the other hand,
where gold deposits are found mixed with quartz rock, pyrites of iron and
copper or other metals, and occupying veins between walls of solid granite,
they are called " lode " mines. The latter can only be worked profitably by
the aid of capital and powerful machinery ; but experience has confirmed
the belief that this kind of mining is more permanent and quite as«profita-
ble as " placer " mining. The mines of Colorado are of this class, and the
leading enterprises of the population are specially directed to the improve-
ment and development of these veins or crevices.
Mining Machinery used in Colorado. — The success of any mining region
is dependent, primarily, upon manual labor; liberal capital and powerful
machinery are important accessories, however, and in Colorado they are
essential ones. .
The machinery generally in use there for obtaining gold from the
quartz or ore is of very simple construction, consisting chiefly of an engine
(or wheel, if water-power is used,) and a set of stamps for crushing the ore.
It is the opinion of all practical miners in Colorado, with only one or two
exceptions, that the engines now in use there are by no means large enough
for the required use. The largest of them measures 14-inch cylinder, and
24-inch stroke, running 24 revolutions per minute, and carrying about 50
pounds of steam. In Colorado this engine is estimated at 80-horse power.
All other engines are likewise overrated, and to do the work required of
them they are run at high speed. Most of the engines and stamping ma-
chinery have, thus far, been made in St. Louis and Chicago. The principal
water-wheel used is the over-shot, although there are some under-shot and
breast-wheels.
Mining Claims. — In Colorado liberal laws are in force, which give to the
fortunate discoverer of a quartz vein 200 local feet of the same, and to all
others who apply in season 100 feet not already claimed. These claims are
recorded in the clerk's office of the district, and by this process the rights
of the parties are secured and respected.
Having made your claim and had it recorded, the next thing for the
miner to do is to see to
COLORADO TERRITORY. ' 521
Sinking a Shaft. — This is sometimes attended with great labor, and not a
little expense. The cost of sinking a shaft, four feet wide and twelve feet
long, through the " cap " is estimated to be about $25 per running foot, if
the shaft is from 60 to 100 feet deep : $30 per foot if it is from 100 to 160
feet deep, and so on in proportion*, the expense increasing with the depth,
and consequent difficulty of drawing the rubbish to the surface.
Much', of course, depends upon the hardness of the rock through which
the shaft is sunk. In some cases a large proportion, or the whole of the
expenses of the shaft is defrayed by the gold found during the progress of
the work. Indeed, some mines have been sunk to a great depth without
encountering the " cap " at all.
Method of Raising the Ore. — The quartz mills are, with but a single ex-
ception, some distance from the shafts or mines. The hoisting is performed
by an ordinary " whim," worked sometimes by a horse or mule, and some-
times by a five or six horse-power engine ; a ten or fifteen horse engine
would be better when the shafts are worked to great depths.
Process of Extracting the Ore. — The usual mode of extracting the gold
may be simply described as follows : The ore is crushed to powder by heavy
stamps, which fall down with great force ; then the powder is mixed with
water, run over metallic plates, having slight ridges on their surface, and
smeared with quicksilver : thus part of the gold is retained.
Two new processes of separating the ore, which are now in extensive
operation, may be thus briefly described :
The Freiberg Pan, so called from the name of the place where it was in-
vented, Freiberg, Germany — is a wooden tub of perhaps eight feet in diam-
eter, and three feet high, with a false bottom of iron, upon which move in
a circle four mullers of stone or iron, attached to the arms of a central up-
right shaft. This shaft propels the mullers by the power of steam. In
this pan or tub are deposited, from time to time, quantities of pulverized
quartz, with the gold dust intermingled. Water is let in, to the depth of
ten or twelve inches, and a stream of it allowed to run constantly. This
water escapes at an orifice made at the proper hight, and carries with it all
floating dust. The water is warmed by steam and kept at a uniform tem-
perature. The motion of the mullers destroys the chemical affinities of
the several substances, and allows the quicksilver to take it. This pan is
coming into use in several mills. A large mill will soon be built in Nevada
to make use of this process.
The Bertola Pan, which takes its name from the Spaniard who invented
it, is more extensively used, and promises better for all kinds of ores. It ia
about half the size of the Freiberg pan, and entirely of iron. The dust is
operated upon in the same way in both pans — water, and stone mullers be-
ing used. The chemicals, however, in the Bertola method, are deposited
with the dust, while in the Freiberg they are not. What chemicals are
used is still a secret, carefully guarded by those who make use of the pro-
cess. Many large mills are adopting it with great confidence. Messrs.
Cook & Kimball have thirty pairs of pans in operation in their large mill,
Central City. They are also about to erect an immense mill for a new com-
pany in New York, on Clear Creek, for the purpose of operating one hund-
red and fifty pair of pans. The friends of this process are very confident
of its entire success.
The above-named methods of operating upon the ore are designed to
522 ' COLOEADO TERRITOKY.
overcome chemical affinities, difficulties which can not be ohviated by the
common process. All kinds of chemicals are found in the ore, and some of
them are great neutralizes of the power of quicksilver. Owing to tfhese,
in some ores, not more than a fourth part of the gold is saved in the com-
mon process. Sulphur is found in abundance, and it is a great hindrance
to mining.
The Keith Process. — Dr. Keith has undertaken to master this difficulty by
first pulverizing and then burning the dust — the sulphur affording the com-
bustible agent. It is done in a furnace with an escape flue to create a
draft, which runs up the mountain side several hundred feet. It further
consists of a jaw working on a frame at about 25 strokes, crushing the dry
ore, which is then conveyed by a tube or trough to a close, narrow sort of
fan-mill, fitted inside with three revolving arms. The crushed ore is in-
troduced into the center, and the high speed throws it out along the arms
till it is reduced to fine powder, when the draft caused by the arms carries
it through a three or four inch-flue into a furnace, heated to an intense
heat. The flue then expanding to a width of three or four feet and one
foot in hight, takes a slanting direction down, about 10 feet, at an angle of
45 degrees, all the time heated by fire underneath. The sulphur is sepa-
rated from the ore in this flue, and at the bottom it is sent through an
opening in the roof of the flue ; another flue passing along the top of the
first, and so off into the air, while the desulphurized ore falls into a pit,
where it cools, and is taken out and submitted to the action of quicksilver.
This " process " is said to be satisfactory.
Appearance of the Ore. — " All is not gold that glitters.'' The gold ore
is usually of a light gray color. Many particles of it shine brightly in the
sun, and form handsome specimens to carry away, but these are not the pre-
cious metal. That which glitters is not gold, but chiefly pyrites of iron.
Productiveness of the Ore. — ;The Hon. John Evans, governor of Colorado,
states that the ore in most of the lodes now worked pay at least $36 per
tun, while in some instances the same quantity yields $150, $200, and even as
high as $500, treated by the stamping process alone. This ore yields, upon
analysis, from three to six times as much gold as can be saved by the or-
dinary methods now in use, giving results which to the inexperienced miner
appear almost fabulous ; but of course no practical conclusions can be
drawn from merely chemical analyses inapplicable upon a large scale. The
practical proof is in the actual yield and profit to the miner.
The cost of each tun of quartz may be fairly stated at $12, and the
yield at $36, thus affording a profit at the rate of 200 per cent, and that,
too, in a manufacture or business where the returns are unusually quick and
active — the various operations of mining and crushing the ore, extracting
and selling the gold being easily performed within a week.
Total Product of Gold. — It is a difficult matter to give, in figures, the
amount of the gold product of Colorado since the commencement of mi-
ning operations, in 1858. No sufficient data exist for the computation of
the whole yield of the territory. But an approximate estimate, based upon
various records, can be made, which affords a gratifying exhibit, and from
which fair deductions for the future may be made.
The reports of the receipts at the Philadelphia United States mint show
the following figures :
COLORADO TERRITORY.
523
1859 $ 4,000
1860 600,000
1861 1,000,000
1862 $6,000,000
1853 (estimated) 13,500,000
1864 (estimated) 20,000,00t)
The abo.ve statement falls short of the aggregate yield of the territory
Much was sent to other places than Philadelphia, and through other chan-
nels; much, too, remained in the hands of miners. There is every reason
to believe that the gold product of 1864 will not fall short of twenty mil-
lions of dollars.
Other Mineral Products. — The territory is said to abound in metals of
various kinds, but the sacra fames ( " sacred hunger " ) for gold at present
absorbs all the attention of the miners.
Iron ore, of a good quality, is found in some parts of the territory, not
far fro'm Denver, and in close proximity to coal. Silver and lead, in small
quantities, have also been discovered. Platinum, zinc, manganese, mag-
netic iron, sand, alum, salt, and petroleum are also among the mineral pro-
ducts of the country."
Hand Mills and Hand Mortars, for the purpose of crushing the quartz
gold, first came into use in the gold regions in the beginning of 1865.
\Vhatever invention or process will assist individual labor, in contradis-
tinction to that of associated capital, is the most important in the devel-
opment of a country. A newspaper, published at Austin, in Nevada, at the
beginning of 1865, thus speaks of the beneficial influence of their intro-
duction :
Some few of our citizens have censured us severely for advocating and recom-
mending the use of horse and hand-mills, and, hand-mortars, for the purpose of
crushing ore, and some went even so far as to say that we were encouraging petit
larceny, as many of the persons who were engaged in the business did not have
claims, or sufficient means to purchase the rock. But it does not follow, that to
make a hand-mill pay, a person must "jayhawk" the rock. There are hundreds
of claims in this city and vicinity that have been abandoned, not because they
were not rich, but simply because the owners did not have means necessary to
work them. From these claims an abundance of ore can be obtained to run all
the hand-mills that will be started here for ages. Three months since there was
not a horse or hand-mill in the city, and but few hand-mortars used. Now there
are over thirty of the former in successful operation, the latter having gone al-
most entirely out of use. From Mr. Salmon, the inventor of the new amalgama-
tor, we learn some interesting facts. He is engaged in amalgamating exclusively
for the horse and hand-mills, and does it with one of his tubs by hand-power.
He takes out over $500 per week, but finds it impossible to do all the work that is
offered him. The bullion will run over 900 fine. Four gentlemen, for whom it
has been working, took out sufficient after night, in hand-mortars, to keep them in
provisions and develop their claim, and they are now having a large lot worked at
one of the steam-mills. Another, who was on the eve of leaving here in despair,
went to work with a hand-mill, and has taken out enough to send for his family to
Wisconsin, besides having sufficient means to last him the ensuing winter. Mr.
Salmon knows of many good and experienced miners who would have left the
country, but who, by these miniature inventions, have been enabled to "stick it
out," work on their claims, and help to develop our wonderful and most remark-
able mines. There is at least $2000 per week of bullion taken out by these
mills, and it is constantly increasing. They keep many men employed, assist in
developing a number of mines, and put many dollars of our buried wealth into
circulation ; besides, it makes all engaged in the business thorough and experi-
enced mill men.
MONTANA TERRITORY.
MONTANA* was originally a part of Idaho, and was formed in 1864. It
is one of the largest of the territories, comprising an estimated area of
140,000 square miles. It lies south of the British possessions, from the
27th to the 34th degrees of longitude. The Rocky Mountains and their
foot hills occupy the western and central parts. Within it are the head
waters of the Columbia River, of Oregon, and those of the main Missouri,
and its great branch the Yellow Stone.
Until the first year of the rebellion, Montana was a trackless wilderness.
Before the close of the war, the rapidity and extent of mineral discoveries
attracted the attention of miners and capitalists, and in defiance of obstacles
of travel and climate, they forced their way into this new and distant land.
It is favored with a healthy climate, and quite as mild as that of many
of the Northern and Eastern States. Particularly is the climate moderate
on the Pacific side of the mountains.
At Fort Benton, on the Missouri River, a trading post of the American
Fur Company, which has an elevation of 2632 feet above the level of the
sea, their horses and cattle, of which they have a large number, are never
housed or fed in winter, but get their living without difficulty.
The fall of the temperature as winter approaches, appears to be much
more abrupt east of the mountains, in this latitude, than at the west or in
the vicinity of Great Lakes.
In the Deer Lodge Prairie, in the valley of the Deer Lodge River, just
west of the mountains, are very fine farming lands. Beautiful prairie
openings occur at frequent intervals, in the valleys both of the Hell Gate
and Bitter Root Rivers. At the settlement called Hell Gate, situated at
the junction of the river by that name, and the Bitter Root, are several
farms which yield all the cereals and vegetables in great abundance, bring-
ing prices that would astonish farmers in the States, as parties are con-
stantly passing through that region on their way to the mines, and glad to
purchase supplies.
Several years since, Gov. Stevens of Washington Territory, said in an
official report:
" I estimate that in the valleys on the western slopes of the Rocky
Mountains, and extending no further than the Bitter Root range of moun-
tains, there may be some 6000 square miles of arable land, upon grassed
lands with good soils, and already prepared for occupation and settlement;
and that in addition to this amount, there are valleys having good soils, and
favorable for settlement, which will be cleared in the removal of lumber
* The description given of. this Territory, is abridged from " Hall's Emigrants, Settlers
»nd Travelers' Guide and Hand Book to California, Nevada, Oregon and the Territories;
accompanied by a map showing the roads to the Gold Fields, with tables of distances."
It is an invaluable little pamphlet for the emigrant. It is mailed from the New York
Tribune office, on receipt of the price — 25 cents.
525
526 MONTANA TERRITORY.
from them. The faint attempts made by the Indians at cultivating the
soil, have been attended with good success, and fair returns might be ex-
pected of all such crops as are adapted to the Northern States of our
country.
" The numerous mountain rivulets tributary to the Bitter Root River,
that run through the valley, afford excellent and abundant mill-seats; and
the land bordering these is fertile and productive, and has been proved be-
yond a cavil or doubt to be well suited to every branch of agriculture."
In these valleys much grain is already grown, and along the Bitter Root
several flouring mills may be found. Produce brings a good price and the
increasing demand for breadstuffs at Bannock City and other mining towns,
will insure a more vigorous effort on the part of the husbandman.
The cattle in the Deer Lodge Valley run at large in winter, and thrive
and fatten rapidly. There is a considerable settlement in the Valley, and
stock raising is quickly becoming a lucrative business, the mining popula-
tion in the vicinity increasing rapidly, and affording a good market. The
pasturage grounds of the Bitter Root Valley are unsurpassed. The exten-
sive bands of horses owned by the Flat-Head Indians occupying St. Mary's
Village, on Bitter Root River, thrive well winter and summer.
At about the latitude of 46° 30', the Deer Lodge River and the Black-
foot form a junction and are then called the Hell Gate, which unites with
the Bitter Root or St. Mary's River, in latitude 47°, and assumes the name
of the latter.
Along the valleys of both the Hell Gate and Bitter Root there is a great
abundance of excellent timber — pine, hemlock, tamarack, or larch predom-
inating. The numerous mountain rivulets tributary to the Bitter Root
which run through the valley, afford excellent and abundant mill seats.
The valley and mountain slopes are well timbered with an excellent growth,
of pine, which is equal in every respect to the well-known and noted pine
of Oregon. Along the Bitter Root are also. several fine flouring mills.
The great attraction of this region is its GOLD mines. The gold in Mon-
tana is found as in California, both in gulches and in quartz.
The Bannock or Grasshopper mines were discovered in July, 1862, and
are situated on Grasshopper Creek, a tributary of the Jefferson fork of the
Missouri, 385 miles north .of Salt Lake City, and 280 south of Fort
Benton.
The mining district at this point extends five miles down the creek from
Bannock City, which is situated at the head of the gulch j while upon
either side of the creek the mountains are intersected with gold-bearing
quartz lodes, many of which have been found to be very rich.
Bannock City, the county seat of Boise county, and the most populous
town in the Territory, is thought to be one of the best mining localities in
this whole region. It is situated between two of the best mining streams
in the territory, viz. : More's and Elk Creek, which empty into the Boise
River, forty miles south of Bannock City.
The Centerville mines are six miles west 'of Bannock City. They are
situated on Grimes' Creek, and are similar to those on Bannock City.
The Virginia City mines, take their name from Virginia City, the largest
town in Eastern Montana. They are on Fairweather's Gulch, upon Alder
Creek, one of the tributaries of the Stinking Water, a small stream that
puts into the Jefferson Fork, about seventy miles northeast of Bannock.
" The mines here," says a late writer, " are unsurpassed in richness ; not
MONTANA TERRITORY.
a claim has been opened that does not pay good wages, while many claims
yield the precious ore by the pound." Two lines of coaches run between
this point and Bannock City.
The following were the prices of produce at Bannock, at the beginning
of 1865, in gold:
Flour, $25 per cwt. ; Bacon, 30c. per lb.; Ham, 90c. ; Fresh Steaks, 15
to 25c. ; Potatoes, per lb., 25c. ; Cabbage, per lb., 60c.; Coffee, 80c. ; Sugar,'
60c. ; Fresh Butter, $1.25; Hay, lOc. per lb., or $30 per tun; Lumber,
$150 per thousand. Wages ruled at $5 per day, for miners and common
laborers, and $6 to $8 for mechanics. Female labor ranged from $10 to
$15 per week. Washing from $3 to $6, by the dozen.
At these rates, it will be seen that carrying on agriculture by irrigation,
which the want of rain compels, pays the producer well.
IDAHO TEKRITOKY.
IDAHO is an Indian word, signifying " Gem of the mountains" It was
formed in March, 1863, from the territories of Washington, Nebraska and
Dakotah. Its area then was 326,000 square miles ; that is, seven times that
of New York State. In 1864, it was reduced to about 90,000 square miles,
on the creation of the territory of Montana. Its capital is Lewiston, near
the Washington line on Lewis fork of Columbia River.
Its great attraction was its gold mines, the most important of which ware
lost to her when Montana was created.
The present gold mines of Idaho are in the northern part, on branches
of the Columbia, Salmon and Clearwater Rivers.
" The Salmon River mines were the first to attract the gold-hunter. The
gold obtained here is of rather an inferior quality, being worth only $13 to
$15 an ounce. "Florence City is the largest settlement in the Salmon River
country, and the general depot for supplies.
" South of Salmon River is a large extent of country as yet wholly un-
explored. On Clearwater River and its branches north of Salmon River,
gold is found over a large extent of country, Elk City and Oro Fino being
the principal centers of business and population."
34 529
DACOTAH TERRITORY.
DACOTAH, or more correctly Dalikotah, is the true name of the Sioux na-
tion of Indians, and " signifies allied or joined together in friendly compact."
The territory so named comprises the western part of the original Territory
of Minnesota, and was excluded from its limits when, in 1858, Minnesota
was erected into a state. It was organized into a territory in February,
1861. It extends, in extreme limits, N. and S. 450 miles, and E. and W.
200: N. latitude, 42° 30' to 49°; longitude, W. from Greenwich, 94° to
104°. It is bounded on the N.' by the British Possessions, E. by Minnesota
and a small part of Iowa, on the S. by Iowa, and also S. and partly on
the W. by the Missouri River, separating it from the Territory of Nebraska.
The eastern part is, like Minnesota, covered with multitudes of small lakes
and ponds. The largest of these are Red Lake, about 40 miles long and 20
broad, and Mini-wakan, or Devil's Lake, about 50 miles long by 10 broad.
Lake Itasca, the source of the Mississippi, is on its eastern boundary. The
Minnesota, emptying into the Mississippi, the Big Sioux and Jacques, afflu-
ents of the Missouri, and the Great Red River of the North, all take their
rise in the high table lands of the interior.
The territory contains numerous salt lakes, and coal has been found.
Capt. Jno. Pope, of the U. S. corps of topographical engineers, states that
"Dacotah presents features differing but little from the region of prairie and
table land west of the frontiers of Missouri and Arkansas, which is mainly
devoid of timber. From this is to be excepted the western -half of the val-
ley of Red River and the valleys of the Big Sioux and the Rio Jacques, which
are productive, and with the region inclosed contain arable and well tim-
bered land sufficient for a small state." These valleys are productive in
wheat of the best qualities. Population, in I860, 4.839.
Pembina, the principal town of the territory, is some 360 miles, in an air
line, N.W. of St. Paul, on the Red River of the North, just below the British
line. It was settled, in 1812, by Scottish emigrants under Lord Selkirk, who
obtained an extensive grant of land from the Hudson Bay Company. On
the running of the boundary line, subsequently, Pembina, the southernmost
point of the colony, was found to be just within the limits of the United
States.
<: The settlement — which contains about seven thousand inhabitants — is
flourishing, and agriculture is prosecuted by the hardy settlers there with
considerable success. The greater part of the inhabitants arc half natives
531
532 DACOTAH TERRITORY.
and descendants of fur-traders and their servants, by native women. For-
merly every summer, with a team of carts drawn by oxen, and loaded with
pemmican, furs, etc., they came down to St. Pauls on a trading excursion,
employing about six weeks in making the journey. Their singularly con-
structed carts, composed entirely of wood, without any tire, their peculiar
dress, manners and complexion, render them an object of curiosity to those
unfamiliar with the various shades of society intermediate between the sav-
age and civilized."
THE INDIAN TERRITORY:
THE INDIAN TERRITORY is an extensive country lying west of Arkansas
and north of Texas, and extending far into the western wilderness; and con-
taining about 71,000 square miles. It has been allotted by the general gov-
ernment as the permanent residence of those Indian tribes who emigrate
from the states east of the Mississippi. "It is about 450 miles long east and
west, and from 35 to 240 miles in width north and south. Kansas lies on
the north of this tract, Arkansas on the east, Texas on the south, and New
Mexico and Texas on the west. In the north-western portion of the Indian
Territory are the vast sandy, barren lands, known as the Great American
Desert. Excepting this desolate region, the country is occupied by undulat-
ing plains and prairies, broken on the east by the mountain ridges, called the
Ozark or Washita, which come in from Arkansas. Coal of an excellent
quality abounds in the eastern part. The great southern overland mail
route to California passes through it.
The Choctaws, the Chickasaws, the Cherokees, the Creeks, the Senecas, the
Seminoles, and the Shawnees dwell in the east; while the central and west
ern districts are occupied by the Camanches, the Osages, the Pawnees, the
Kioways, the Arrapahoes, and other tribes. The country is, besides, thickly
inhabited by buffaloes, wild horses, antelopes, deer, prairie-dogs, and wild
animals and wild birds of many names. Kansas and Nebraska were included
in the Indian Territory until 1854."
The Indians within and near the borders of the territory, including the
uncivilized tribes, it is supposed, number about 90,000. The civilized tribes
are the Cherokees and Choctaws, each numbering 19,000; the Creeks num-
bering 25,000, and the Chickasaws, 16,000, all of whom emigrated from the
cotton states east of the Mississippi. These four tribes have adopted repub-
lican forms of government, modeled after those of our states, with executive,
legislative and judicial departments.
Their principal wealth is vested in stock. Any amount of fine grazing
land is lying idle, and the climate is so mild that stock (except milch cows
and working cattle) requires no feeding in winter. These people are, as a class,
" well to do " in the world. Their houses are ordinarily of logs, but spacious
and comfortable, and will compare favorably with those of south-western
Missouri and Arkansas. Some of them are handsome frame buildings.
WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
WASHINGTON TERRITORY is the extreme north-western domain of th«
United States, and was formed by act of congress, in 1853, from the north
part of Oregon Territory. Its early history is identified with and partially
given in that of Oregon. Okonogan and Spokan, two of the trading posts
of John Jacob Astor, were within its limits, and the Hudson's Bay Compa-
ny had also numerous posts, and carried on extensive trading operations on
its soil. In 1806, the British North-west Fur Company established a trad-
ing post on Frazer's Lake, in latitude 54°, which was the first settlement of
any kind made by the Anglo-Saxon race west of the Rocky Mountains,
About the year 1839, missions were established by Protestants and Catholics,
among the Indians of the country.
Down to the period of the administration of President Polk, the United
States government claimed latitude 54° 40' as the northern boundary. Then
the long dispute was settled by fixing upon the 49th parallel, and giving up
Vancouver's Island to the British.
The Cascade range of mountains enters it from Oregon, and runs its entire
length north and south. In a general description, the face of the country
is mountainous, and resembles Oregon, excepting that the Blue Mountain
range is more scattered north of the Columbia. Mount Olympus, the high-
est peak of the Coast range, is 8,197 feet high: several of those of the Cas-
cade range are clothed in perpetual snow, among which are Mount St. Helen's,
a volcanic peak, and Mount Eainer, each estimated at about 13,000 feet in
altitude. The Pacific coast is not so abruptly mountainous as that of Ore-
gon, and can be traveled almost its entire length on a beautiful sand beach.
It shares with Oregon the grand scenery of the Columbia, which is its prin-
cipal river, and its main branches rise within it. On the rivers are many
falls of magnitude : one of these, the celebrated Snoqualmie, in about 47°
40' N. lat., and 121° 30' W. long., has a perpendicular fall of 260 feet. The
mountain scenery of the country is surpassingly beautiful.
" The climate is similar to that of Oregon, with some variations caused by differ-
533
534 WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
ence of latitude and local peculiarities. It is, however, in all parts of the territo-
ry, much milder than in the same parallels of latitudes east of the Rocky Moun-
tains.
The soil of all the prairie lands, with the exception of those directly around Puget
Sound, is exceedingly fertile. Those of the sound are of a sandy, gravelly nature,
not readily cultivated, but producing enormous fir and cedar trees. The soil on the
mountains is generally very rich ; but the dense growth of forest deters the emi-
grant from attempting clearings on a large extent, as the fine, fertile plains and
prairie offer far greater inducements. Fruit of various kinds, particularly apples,
can be cultivated very readily, and in the greatest perfection. Indian corn does
not thrive well, as the seasons are not hot enough ; but wheat, barley, oats, and
potatoes yield the most abundant crops, of the finest quality. The potatoes, in
particular, are surpassingly fine. The wheat grown on the Columbia, called
Oregon wheat, is known for its superior excellence.
Although the territory is a very mountainous country, yet there are many im-
mense plains and prairies; and, by reference to the map, it will be seen that innu-
merable streams, like veins, permeate the whole region, and each of them, from the
largest to the smallest, flows in its course through rich and fertile plains, of vari-
ous sizes, lying between the mountains. Governor Stevens, in January, 1854,
writing of the territory, says of the waters of Puget Sound, and the adjacent ones
of Hood's Canal, Admiralty Inlet, and Fuca Straits, ' that their maritime advan-
tages are very great, in affording a series of harbors almost unequaled in the world
for capacity, safety, and facility of access, and they are in the immediate neighbor-
hood to what are now the best whaling grounds of the Pacific. That portion of
Washington Territory lying between the Cascade Mountains and the ocean,
although equaling, in richness of soil and ease of transportation, the best lands of
Oregon, is heavily timbered, and time and labor are required for clearing its for-
ests and opening the earth to the production of its fruits. The great body of the
country, on the other hand, stretching eastward from that range to the Rocky
Mountains, while it contains many fertile valleys and much land suitable to the
farmer^ is yet more especially a grazing country — one which, as its population in-
creases, promises, in its cattle, its horses, and, above all, its wool, to open a vast
field to American enterprise. But, in the meantime, the staple of the land must
continue to be the one which Nature herself has planted, in the inexhaustible for-
ests of fir, of spruce, and of cedar. Either in furnishing manufactured timber, or
spars of the first description for vessels, Washington Territory is unsurpassed by
any portion of the Pacific coast.' •
The internal improvements of Washington Territory are progressing as fast as
can be expected in a new and sparsely-populated country, situate so remote from
the general government. In 1853, Governor Isaac I. Stevens, the first governor of
the territory, surveyed a route for a Northern Pacific Railroad, and discovered »
pass near the sources of Maria's River, suitable for a railroad, estimated to bft
2,500 feet lower than the south pass of Fremont. It is generally admitted that
Governor Stevens' route is the best one for a railroad that has yet been discovered,
although the great, and, in fact the principal objection urged against it is that it is
too far north, and, consequently, will not suit the views nor accommodate the in-
habitants of the more southern states and California.
There is no state in the Union that has so vast a communication by water as
Washington Territory — the Columbia River on its south, the Pacific on the west,
and the Straits of Fuca, Hood's Canal, Admiralty Inlet, and Puget Sound on the
north. There is not a safer entrance from the ocean in the world than Fuca
Straits; and the deep waters that flow through the whole of the inlets, bays, and
sounds, enable ships of the largest class readily to approach Olvmpia.
^Gold and silver quartz has recently been discovered in Cascade range, near
Natchez Pass, in immense deposits.
Coal has been discovered of a good quality. .
Olympia is the capital of Washington. Population of the territory, in
1863, 12,519.
UTAH TERRITORY.
•
UTAH derives its name from that of a native Indian tribe, the Pah-Utahs.
It formed originally a part of the Mexican territory of Upper California,
and was ceded to the United States hy the treaty with Mexico, at the close
of the Mexican war. In 1850 it was erected into a territory by Congress.
"A large part of Utah is of volcanic origin. It is supposed, from certain
traditions and remains, to have been, many hundred years ago, the residence
of the Aztec nation — that they were driven south by the volcanic eruptions
which changed the face of the whole country. Eventually, they became the
possessors /of Mexico, where, after attaining great proficiency in the arts of
life, they were finally overthrown by the Spaniards at the time of the con-
quest.
Utah was not probably visited by civilized man until within the present
century. There were Catholic missionaries who may have just touched its
California border, and the trappers and hunters employed by the fur compa-
nies. The first establishment in Utah was made by William H. Ashley, a
Missouri fur-trader. In 1824, he organized an expedition which passed up
the valley of the Platte River, and through the cleft of the Rocky Mountains,
since called "The South Pass;" and then advancing further west, he reached
the Great Salt Lake, which lies embosomed among lofty mountains. About
a hundred miles south-east of this, he discovered a smaller one, since known
as "Ashley's Lake." He there built a fort or trading post, in which he left
about a hundred men. Two years afterward, a six-pound piece of artillery
was drawn from Missouri to this fort, a distance of more than twelve hun-
dred miles, and in 1828, many wagons, heavily laden, performed the same
journey.
During the three years between 1824 and 1827, Ashley's men collected
and sent to St. Louis, furs from that region of country to an amount, in value,
of over $180,000. He then sold out all his interests to Messrs. Smith, Jack-
son, and Sublette. These energetic and determined men carried on for many
years an extensive and profitable business, 'in the course of which they tra-
versed a large part of southern Oregon, Utah, California, and New Mexico
west of the mountains. Smith was murdered in the summer of 1829, by the
Indians north-west of Utah Lake. Ashley's Fort was long since abandoned,
Unfortunately, these adventurous men knew nothing of science, and but
little information was derived from them save vague reports which greatly
535
536 UTAII TERRITORY.
excited curiosity; this was only increased by the partial explorations of
Fremont.
In his second expedition, made in 1843, he visited the Great Salt Lake,
which appears upon oM Spanish maps as Lake Timpanogos and Lake Tegaya.
Four years after, in 1847, the Mormons emigrated to Utah, and commenced
the first regular settlement by whites. It was then an isolated region, nom-
inally under the government of Mexico. They expected to found a Mormon
state here, and rest in quiet far from the abodes of civilized man ; but the
results of the Mexican war, the acquirement of the country by the United
States, with the discovery of gold in California, brought them on the line of
emigration across the continent, and more or less in conflict with the citizens
and general government.
Utah extended originally from the 37th to the 42d degrees of north lati-
tude, and between the 107th and 120th degrees of west longitude, having a
breath of 300, and an average length, east and west, of 600 miles, containing an
area of about 180,000 square miles. It now has 110,000 square miles only.
"The main geographical characteristic of Utah is, that anomalous feature i* our
continent, which is more Asiatic than American in its character, known as the
Great Basin. It is about 500 miles long, east and west, by 275 in breadth, north
§ and south, and occupies the greater part of the central and western portions of the
"territory. It is elevated near 5,000 feet above the level of the sea, and is shut in
all around by mountains with its own system of lakes .and rivers; and what is a
striking feature, none of which have any connection with the ocean. The general
character of the basin is that of a desert. It has never been fully explored, but
so far as it has been, a portion of it is found to consist of arid and sterile plains,
another of undulating table lands, and a third of elevated mountains, a few of
whose summits are capped writh perpetual snow. These range nearly north and
south, and rise abruptly from a narrow base to a hight of from 2,000 to 5,000 feet.
Between these ranges of mountains are the arid plains, which deserve and receive
the name of desert. From the snow on their summits and the showers of summer
originate small streams of water from five to fifty feet wide, which eventually lose
themselves, some in lakes, some in the alluvial soil at their base, and some in dry
plains. Among the most noted of these streams is Humboldt's or Mary's I^ver,
well remembered by every California emigrant, down which he pursues his course
for three hundred miles, until it loses itself in the ground, at a place called St
Mary's Sink, where its waters are of a poisonous character.
The Great Salt Lajce and the Utah Lake are in this basin, toward its eastern
rim, and constitute its most interesting feature — one a saturated solution of com-
mon salt — the other fresh — the Utah about one hundred feet above the Salt Lake,
which is itself about 4,200 above the level of the sea; they are connected by Utah
River — or, as the Mormons call it, the Jordan — which is forty-eight miles in length.
These lakes drain an area of from ten to twelve thousand square miles.
The Utah is about thirty-five miles long, and is remarkable for the numerous and
bold streams which it receives, coming down from the mountains on the south-east,
all fresh water, although a large formation of rock-salt, imbedded in red clay, is
found within the area on the south-east, which it drains. The lake and its affluents
afford large trout and other fish in great numbers, which constitute the food of the
Utah Indians during the fishing season. The Great Salt Lake has a very irregular
outline greatly extended at time of melting snows. It is about seventy miles in
length ; both lakes ranging north and south, in conformity to the range of the
mountains, and is remarkable for its predominance of salt. The whole lake water
seems thoroughly saturated with it, and every evaporation of the water leaves salt
behind. The rocky shores of the islands are whitened by the spray, which leaves
aalt on everything it touches, and a covering like ice forms over the water which
the waves throw among the rocks. The shores of the lake, in the dry season, when
the waters recede, and especially on the south side, are whitened with inerustii-
tions of fine white salt; the shallow arms of the lake, at the same time under a
UTAH TERRITORY. 537
slight covering of briny water, present beds of salt for miles, resembling softened
ice, into which the horses' feet sink to the fetlock. Plants and bushes, blown by
the wind upon these fields, are entirely incrusted with crystallized salt, more than
an inch in thickness. Upon this lake of salt the fresh water received, though great
in quantity, has no perceptible effect. No fish or animal life of any kind is found
in it.
The Rio Colorado, with its branches, is about the only stream of note in Utah
which is not within the Great Basin. The only valleys supposed to be inhabitable
in the vast country in the eastern rim of the Great Basin and the Kocky Moun-
tains, are the valleys of the Uintah and Green Rivers, branches of the Colorado,
and whether even these are so, is extremely problematical. The country at the
sources of this great river is incapable of supporting any population whatever.
The climate of Utah is milder and drier in general than it is in the same parallel
on the Atlantic coast. The temperature in the Salt Lake Valley in the winter is
very uniform, and the thermometer rarely descends to zero. There is but little
rain in Utah, except on the mountains, from the 1st of May until the 1st of Octo-
ber ; hence agriculture can only be carried on by irrigation.
In every portion of the territory where it has been attempted, artificial irriga-
tion has been found to be indispensable ; and it is confidently believed that no part
of it, however fertile, will mature crops without it, except perhaps on some small
patches on low bottoms. But limited portions, therefore, of even the most fertile
and warmest valleys, can ever be made available for agricultural purposes, and only
Buch as are adjacent to streams and are well located for irrigation. Small valleys
surrounded by high mountains, are the most abundantly supplied with water, the
streams being fed by melting snows and summer showers.
The greater part of Utah is sterile and totally unfit for agriculture, and is unin-
habited and uninhabitable, except by a few trappers and some roaming bands of
Indians, who subsist chiefly upon game, fish, reptiles, and mountain crickets. The
general sterility of the country is mainly owing to the want of rain during the
summer months, and partly from its being elevated several thousand feet above the
level of the sea.
The whole country is almost entirely destitute of timber. The little which there
is may be found on the side of the high, rocky mountains, and in the deep moun-
tain gorges, whence issue the streams. On the table lands, the gently undulating
plains and the isolated hills, there is none. There are, however, small groves of
cotton-wood and box-alder on the bottoms of some of the principal streams.
A species of artemisia, generally known by the name of wild sage, abounds in
most parts of the country, where vegetation of any kind exists, but particularly
where there is not warmth and moisture sufficient to produce grass.
The Great Salt Lake Valley is the largest known in the Great Basin, being about
one hundred and twenty miles long, and from twenty to forty broad, but the Salt
Lake occupies much of its northern portion. The surface of its center is level,
ascending gently on either side toward the mountains. This valley is regarded as
one of the healthiest portions of the globe; the air is very pure. Its altitude is
forty three hundred feet above the level of the sea; and some of the mountains on
the east of the valley are more than a mile and a quarter high, and covered with
perpetual snow; while in the valley the thermometer frequently rises above one
hundred degrees.
By means of irrigation, the Mormon valleys are made productive. Wheat, rye,
barley, buckwheat, oats and Indian corn are their agricultural products, and all
the garden vegetables peculiar to the middle and western states are grown. To-
bacco and sweet potatoes can be produced in limited quantities. The system of
irrigation prevents rust or smut striking the crop, and renders it sure. The terri-
tory of the Mormons is a stock-raising country, and they are, to a great extent, a
pastoral people. We find here that cereal anomaly, the bunch grass. It grows
only on the bottoms of the streams, and on the table-lands of the warmest and most
fertile valleys. It is of a kind peculiar to cold climates and elevated countries, and
is, we presume, the same as the grama of New Mexico. In May, when the other
grasses start, this fine plant dries upon its stalk, and becomes a light yellow straw,
lull of flavor and nourishment. It continues thus through what are the dry month*
538
UTAH TERRITORY.
of the climaCe until January, and then starts with a vigorous growth, like that of
our own winter wheat in April, which keeps on untij the return of another May.
Whether as straw or grass, the cattle fatten on it the year round. The numerous
little dells and sheltered spots that are found in the mountains are excellent sheep
walks. Hogs fatten on a succulent bulb or tuber, called the seacoe or seegose root,
which is highly esteemed as a table vegetable by the Mormons."
The population of Utah has been nearly stationary for many years, and is
composed almost entirely of Mormons. Population of Utah, in 1860, was
50,000.
View in Salt Lake City.
The large block on the left contains the Church, Store, and Tithing Office, where one tenth of all the
produce jg contributed to the Church Fund. On the extreme right is the Harem of Brigham Young, tho
famous " Lion House," so called from the statues of lions in front. The Wasatch Mountains are seen in
the back ground.
SALT LAKE CITY is pleasantly situated on a gentle declivity near the base
of a mountain, about two miles east of the Utah outlet, or the River Jordan,
and about twenty-two miles south-east of the Salt Lake. " It is nearly on
the same latitude with New York City, and is, by air lines, distant from New
York 2,100 miles; from St. Louis, 1,200; from San Francisco, 550; and
from Oregon City and Santa Fe, each 600. During five months of the year
it is shut out from all communication with the north, east, or west, by moun-
tains rendered impassable from snow. Through the town runs a beautiful
brook of cool, limpid water, called City creek. The city is laid out regu-
larly, on an extensive scale; the streets crossing each other at right angles,
and being each eight rods wide. Each lot contains an acre and a quarter of
ground, and each block or square eight lots. Within the city are four public
squares. The city and all the farming lands are irrigated by streams of
beautiful water, which flow from the adjacent mountains. These streams
have been, with great labor and perseverance, led in every direction. In the
city, they flow on each side of the different streets, and their waters are let
upon the inhabitants' gardens at regular periods, so likewise upon the exten-
sive fields of grain lying to the south. The greater part of the houses which
UTAH TERRITORY. 539
had been built up to the close of 1850, were regarded as merely temporary;
most of them were small but commodious, being, in general, constructed of
adobe or sun-dried brick. Among the public buildings are a house for pub-
lic worship, a council-house, a bath-house at the Warm Spring; and they
are erecting another temple more magnificent than that they formerly had at
Nauvoo. Public free-schools are established in the different wards into
which the city is divided. East of the city a mile square is laid off for a
State University."
Hon. John Cradlebaugh, late assistant judge of the Territory of Utah,
gives this sketch of the Mormons, their origin, doctrines, practices, and
c'rimes :
Extent of Mormonism — The Mormon people have possessed themselves of this
country, and although their history has been but a brief one, yet their progress
has been so great as to attract the attention of the world. Although they have
not existed more than the third of a century, yet we find that they have been
enabled to encompass the globe itself with missionaries. Although they have ex-
isted but a few years, we find them rising from a single family to be now what they
call a great nation. They claim to be a nation independent of all other nations.
They have set up a church government of their own, and they desire no other gov-
ernment to rule over them.
It becomes necessary to know what this Mormonism is, that has thus attracted
these deluded people to that country, to seize this empire and to attempt to estab-
lish for themselves a government independent of the world.
Mormonism, in the view that I take of it, is a religious eccentricity, as well as
one of the great monstrosities of the age. It is not the first, however, of the reli-
gious monstrosities and impositions that we have had. Other religious impositions
have been invented by men expert in tricks. Knowledge and civilization go mov-
ing on at a slow pace, and yet make gradual progress ; and every ray of light that
is shed shows us the gross absurdity of these frauds in religion. The idols of
wood and stone have fallen from the sacred places which they formerly occupied,
to be trampled under the feet of their former worshipers, and the cunning devices
of a more enlightened age have given way to a purer creed. The majority of the
heathen practices of the dark ages have disappeared before an enlightened Chris-
tianity. But an epoch came when mankind were fast relapsing into a painful state
of ignorance; and about that time arose that boldest and most successful of all im-
posters, Mohammed, who, incorporating old and cherished doctrines into a volup-
tuous creed, went abroad with his sword in one hand and the Koran in the other,
conquering and to conquer. This was done when darkness reigned on the earth ;
but in this nineteenth century, favored as it is by the light of a true religion, dis-
tinguished as it is by its general knowledge, and refined as it is beyond all pre-
cedent and parallel, a religious imposture grosser than all its predecessors, is being
successfully palmed oft" on mankind; not in the deserts of some unknown land;
not in a secret corner of the earth ; but in free America, where every man can
worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and under his own
vine and fig tree.
Mormon Doctrines. — This grotesque, absurd, and monstrous system, thus openly
paraded before, the world, is Mormonism. It is a conglomeration of illy cemented
creeds from other religions. It repudiates the celibacy imposed by the Catholic
religion upon its priesthood, and takes instead the voluptuous imposition of the
Mohammedan Church. It preaches openly that the more wives and children its
men have in this world, the purer, and more influential and conspicuous they will
be in the next; that his wives, his property, and his children will be restored to
him, and even doubled to him at the resurrection. It adopts the use of prayers for
the dead and baptism as parts of its creed. They claim to be favored with mar-
velous gifts, the power of speaking in tongues, of casting out devils, of curing the
sick and healing the lame and the halt; they also claim to have a living prophet,
540
UTAH TERRITOKY.
eeer, or revelator; they recognize the Bible, but they interpret it for themselves,
and hold that it is subject to be changed by new revelation, which they say super-
sedes old revelation. One of their doctrines is that of continued progression to
ultimate perfection. They say that God was but a man who went on developing
and increasing until he reached his present high capacity; and they teach that
good Mormons will be equal to Him — in a word, that good Mormons will become
gods. Their elders
teach the shedding of
blood for the remis-
sion of sins; or, in
other words, that if a
Mormon apostatises,
that his throat shall
be cut and his blood
poured on the ground
to save him from his
sin. They also prac-
tice other most un-
natural and revolting
doctrines, such as are
only carried out in
polygamous countries.
They hold that the
prophet's revelations
are binding on their
consciences, and that
A MORMON HABEM. they must obey him
in all things. They
claim to be the people peculiarly chosen of God, and have christened themselves
"The Church of Jesus — the Latter Day Saints." They claim that Morrnonism is
to go on spreading until it overthrows all the nations of the earth; and that, if ne-
cessary, it shall be propagated by the sword; and that, in progress of fcime, aU the
world shall be subject to it. Jackson county, Missouri, whence they were
driven for their great crimes, is called their Zion, and their prophets have prophe-
sied that there shall the saints from throughout all the world be assembled, and
from that Zion shall proceed a power that shall dethrone kings, subvert dynasties,
and subjugate all the nations of the earth.
Origin. — This wretched sect had its origin in an eccentricity of a man named
Spaulding, who had failed as a preacher and as a shopkeeper, and who thought he
would write an historical novel. He had a smattering of Biblical knowledge, and
he chose for his subject "the history of the lost tribes of Israel." The whole was
supposed to be communicated by Indians, and the last of the series was named
Mormon, representing that he had buried the book. It was a large, ponderous vol-
ume, dull, tedious and interminable, marked by ignorance and folly. Spaulding
made many efforts to get it printed, but the work was so utterly flat, stupid and
insipid, that no publisher would undertake to bring it before the world. Poor
Spaulding at length went to his grave, and his manuscript remained a neglected roll
in the possession of his widow.
But now arose Joe Smith, more ready to live by his wits than by the labor of his
hands. This Smith early in life manifested a turn for pious frauds. He had been
engaged in several wrestling matches with the devil, and had been conspicuous for
his wonderful experiences in religion at certain revivals. He announced that he
had dug up the book of Mormon, that taught the true religion, and this was none
other but the poor Spaulding manuscript, which he had purloined from the house
of the widow. In his unscrupulous hands the manuscript of Spaulding was de-
signed to cause an august apostacy; he made it the basis of Mormonism.
Polygamy Introduced. — Before the death of Smith, he had made polygamy a
dogma of the Mormon creed, and made it known to a few of the leaders, and he
and they proceeded to put it to practice. It was only after they had placed the
desert and the Kooky Mountains between them and civilization that they confessed
UTAH TERRITORY. 541
it Then they not only confessed it, but openly and boldly advocated it as a part
of the religion of Utah. Polygamy then is now the rule, monogamy is the excep-
tion to the rule among them. This doctrine is preached from the pulpit — it is
taught everywhere.
Education and Habits. — The little education the children get consists in pre-
paring them for the reception of polygamy. To prepare the women for the recep-
tion of the revolting practice it is necessary to brutalize them by destroying their
modesty. The sentiment of love is ridiculed, cavalier gallantry and attentions are
laughed at, the emblematic devices of lovers and the winning kindness^that with
us they dote on are hooted at in Utah. The lesson they are taught, and that is in-
culcated above all others, is "increase and multiply," in order that Zion may be
filled. The young people are familiarized to indecent exposures of all kinds ; the
Mormons call their wives their cattle.
A man is not considered a good Mormon that does not uphold polygamy by pre-
cept and example, and he is a suspected Mormon that does not practice it. J'he
higher the man is in the church the more wives he has. Brigham Young and
Heber Kiinball are supposed to have each between fifty and a hundred. The rev-
erend Mormon bishops, apostles, and the presidents of states have as many as they
desire, and it is a common thing to see these hoary-headed old Turks surrounded
by a troop of robust young wives. The common people take as many as they can
support, and it is not uncommon to see a house of two rooms inhabited by a man,
his half dozen of wives, and a proportionate number of children, like rabbits in a
warren, and resembling very much the happy family that we read of — the prairie
dog, the owl, and the rabbit. Incest is common. Sometimes the same man has a
daughter and her mother for wives at once; some have as wives their own nieces,
and Aaron Johnson, of Springville, one of the most influential men in his parts,
has in his harem of twelve women no less than five of his brothers' daughters.
One Watts, a Scotchman, who is one of the church reporters, is married to his
own half-sister.
The ill-assorted children — the offspring of one father and many mothers — run
about like so many wild animals. The first thing they do, after learning vulgarity,
is to wear a leather belt with a butcher-knife stuck in it; and the next is to steal
from the Gentiles ; then to ride aaimals ; and as soon as they can, " by hook or by
crook," get a horse, a pair of jingling Mexican spurs and a revolver, they are then
Mormon cavaliers, and are fit to steal, rob, and murder emigrants. The women
and girls are coarse, masculine and uneducated, and are mostly drafted from the
lowest stages of society. It is but seldom you meet handsome or attractive women
among them.
The foreign element largely predominates in Utah. The persons emigrating to
the territory are generally from the mining, manufacturing and rural districts of
England. The American portion of the Mormons are generally shrewder than the
rest, and are chiefly from the New England states. Most of these men are no
doubt fugitives from justice, and most of them are bankrupt in both fortune and
character.
The three presidents of the church, or rather the president, Rrigham Young,
and his two council, Kimball and Grant, are all Americans; eleven of the twelve
apostles are Americans. The foreigners are generally hewers of wood and the
drawers of water for the church and its dignitaries. The church is everything.
It is not only an ecclesiastical institution, but it is a political engine ; it not only
claims to control Mormons in their spiritual matters, but to dictate to them as to
the disposition of their temporal affairs. The church, by its charter, can receive,
hold or sell any amount of property ; the charter provides for one trustee, and
twelve assistant trustees, and Brigham Young is trustee, president of the church,
prophet, seer, revelator, and, the commission of the United States to the contrary
notwithstanding, he is the real governor of the territory. All Mormons are re-
quired to yield to him implicit obedience.
Each Mormon has to pay into the church one tenth part of all he produces, so
that if a good Mormon sow bears ten pigs, one is a pious pig, because it belongs
to the church. To collect these tithes officers have to be appointed, and to gather
the results together a great central depot has to be maintained, and it is situated
542 UTAH TERRITOEY.
in Great Salt Lake City, within Brigham's own walls ; and the corn, butter, eggs,
and all sorts of produce that is conveyed there and stored would spoil unless it was
disposed of; and so we find that they need stores, and in Salt Lake City we find
an enormous store, with the sign " Deseret Store." So it is, the church is a trader.
The Angelic Host. — Connected with the Mormon church is a band of men known
as "the Danites," or "the avenging angels." This band is composed of the bold-
est of the Mormon ruffians. They are bound together by dreadful oaths ; they are
the executioners of the church, carrying out its vengeance against apostates and
offender* against the church discipline; and all church enemies are dealt with by
these men, generally in a secret and terrible manner. None but God, Brigham
Young and themselves know the names of their victims, or the number.
Missions and Missionaries. — The Mormon Church is recruited by means of mis-
sionaries yearly sen^t out in large numbers throughout the earth, to preach and
propagate the Mormon religion. These missionaries are not selected, as are the
missionaries of other sects, for their piety and devotion, or for their general fitness,
but as a punishment for some offense against the discipline of the church. The
doctrine is that they are good enough to go into the world, for if they send good
men they will not believe them, and on that account they send their bad men off
as teachers and missionaries.
The missionaries are usually supported by voluntary contributions raised from
the ignorant proselytes that they make. They picture Utah as a paradise, the Mor-
mons as saints, and Brigham Young as their prophet ; they promise their prophet
will heal the sick, restore sight to the blind, and comfort to the afflicted ; to the
wealthy they promise wealth, and preferment is for the ambitious, while social
standing is to be given to the degraded of both sexes, and polygamy is the paradise
of all.
Receiving Proselytes. — These missionaries, when sent on missions, if successful,
are commanded to bring their proselytes with them to Zion. They are generally
taken in large trains, and the arrival of one of these emigrant trains is hailed as a
great event. Women that are young and pretty are greedily caught up by the
apostles and dignitaries to swell their harems.
The Foreign Element. — As I have said, the Mormons are chiefly foreigners; and
rude, ignorant foreigners they are. They have not the first conceptions of their
duties to our government, or of their duties as American citizens. They come to
Zion, but they do not come to America. What do they care for our government
or for our people ? The first lesson taught them is to hate our people for their
oppression, and to hate all other people for they are Gentiles. They are next sworn
to support the church and the government established in Utah, and bear an eter-
nal hostility against every other government on the face of the earth. Their next
lesson is to revere Brigham Young as both the religious and political head and
ruler. Their allegiance is alone due to him; he tells them they are separate and
distinct from all other nations — made up from many nations ; and he said but the
other dav, " we have been looked upon as a nation by our neighbors, independent
of all other people on the face of the earth, and in their dealings they have dealt
with us as such." He tells them the present connection of Utah with the United
States is only nominal, and it is barely permitted by God until things shall be fitted
for the universal establishment of Mormon ascendency.
All these things considered, is it to be wondered at that the Mormons are dis-
loyal to this government, and that treason should insolently rear its crest in Utah ?
The ignorant of the Mormons do not know what treason is. They obey their
leaders, and these leaders are alone responsible for their acts. If Brigham Young,
his counselors and bishops, and twelve apostles, and his generals had been seized
and hung, you would never more have heard of treason in Utah; but while the Mor-
mon captains were at the head of their troops, while the Danites were armed with
their butcher knives, and while the prophet hurled anathemas against the presi-
dent, the government, and the people of the United States, and while the Mormon
people were in arms against the people of the United States, came a free pardon
to all the traitors, big and little.
Three thousand of the federal troops were sent [in 1858] to Utah, and they have
been kept there at a great expense to the government The government has not
UTAH TERRITORY. 543
only refrained from punishing, but it has, through the vast amounts expended for
the troops, which went into the Mormon coffers, enriched and built up the terri-
tory. When the troops went to Utah, the Mormons were naked and almost starv-
ing, poor and wrangling ; but now they are clothed, and money circulates freely
among them. Treason is lucky, and traitors prosper. Not only are they freely
pardoned, but they are rewarded with pockets full of gold. When treason is thus
dealt with, traitors will be numerous indeed.
An Irrepressible Conflict. — Attempts to administer the laws of the United States
have been made by the three sets of the United States judges. These experiments
have all proved to be failures. The concurrent testimony of all the judges is that
the Federal constitution and laws can not be successfully administered. There is
a complete repugnance and antagonism between our institutions and the Mormon
institutions. The church, through its rulers, claims to supervise the spiritual and
temporal relations of the people. Whether it be in the place of business, in the
jury-box, on the witness stand, on the judge's bench, or in the legislative chair,
the Mormon is bound to obey the heads of the church. If the constitution of the
United States, or the organic law of the territory conflicts, the constitution ia
treated as a nullity ; if the laws of the United States contravene the ordinances
of Utah, the law is disregarded. The will of the prophet is the supreme law in
Utah.
Mormon grand and petit juries, on being impanneled, would go through the
forms of business, but do nothing, while murder and other felonies abounded.
When warrants are issued for the parties accused, they can not be arrested, for the
entire church and the whole community united in concealing and protecting the
offender. Witnesses are prevented by church orders from appearing before the
grand jury, or are forcibly detained. Grand juries refuse to find bills upon testi-
mony ifco most conclusive, for most of the crimes have been committed by the
order of the church ; and to expose them would be to expose and punish the church
and the functionaries of the church.
The most noted of all the atrocities committed by the Mormons was the
"Mountain Meadow Massacre." This event occurred in the autumn of 1857,
when about 140 emigrants, inoffensive, peaceful men, women and children,
on their way overland from Arkansas to California, were waylaid by the
Danite band of Mormons and their Indian allies, and butchered in cold blood.
Some of the little children were spared, and afterward recovered from the
Mormons; and from their lips these particulars were gathered. A corres-
pondent of Harpers' Weekly, for August 13, 1859, presents this narrative,
which is substantially true, and otherwise indubitably corroborated : *
"A train of Arkansas emigrants, with some few Missourians, said to number
forty men, with their families, were on their way to California, through the Terri-
tory of Utah, and had reached a series of grassy valleys, by the Mormons called
the Mountain Meadows, where they remained several days recruiting their animals.
On the night of Sept. 9, not suspecting any danger, as usual they quietly retired
to rest, little dreaming of the dreadful fate awaiting and soon to overtake them.
On the morning of the 10th, as, with their wives and familes, they stood around
their camp-fires passing the congratulations of the morning, they we're suddenly
fired upon from an ambush, and at the first discharge fifteen of the best men are
said to have fallen dead or mortally wounded. To seek the shelter of their corral
was but the work of a moment, but there they found but limited protection.
The encampment, which consisted of a number of tents and a corral of forty
wagons and ambulances, lay on the west bank of, and eight or ten yards distant
from, a large spring in a deep ravine, running southward; another ravine, also,
branching from this, and facing the camp on the south-west; overlooking them on
the north-west, and within rifle-shot, rises a large mound commanding the corral,
upon which parapets of stone, with loop-holes, have been built. Yet another ra-
vine, larger and deeper, faces them on the east, which could be entered without
exposure from the south and far end. Having crept into these shelters in the dark-
ness of the night, the cowardly assailants fired upon their unsuspecting victims,
544 UTAH TERRITORY.
thus making a beginning to the most brutal butchery ever perpetrated upon this
continent.
Surrounded by superior numbers, and by an unseen foe, wo are told tho little
party stood a siege within the corral of five or seven days, sinking their wagon
wheels in the ground, and during the darkness of night digging trenches, within
which to shelter their wives and children. A large spring of cool water bubbled
up from the sand a few yards from them, but deep down in the ravine, and so well
protected that certain death marked the trail of all who dared approach it. The
wounded were dying of thirst; the burning brow and parched lip marked the de-
lirium of fever; they tossed from side to side with anguish; the sweet sound of
the water, as it murmured along its pebbly bed, served but to highten their keen-
est suffering. But what was this to the pang of leaving to a cruel fate their helpless
children ! Some of the little ones, who though too young to remember in after
years, tell us that they stood by their parents, and pulled the arrows from their
bleeding wounds.
Long had the brave band held together; but the cries of the wounded sufferers
must prevail. For the first time, they are (by four Mormons) offered their lives if
they will lay down their arms, and gladly they avail themselves of the proffered
mercy. Within a few hundred yards of the corral faith is broken. Disarmed and
helpless, they are fallen upon and massacred in cold blood. The savages, who had
been driven to the hills, are again called down to what was denominated the 'job,'
which more than savage brutality had begun.
Women and children are now all that remain. Upon these, some of whom had
been violated by the Mormon leaders, the savage expends his hoarded vengeance.
By a Mormon who has now escaped 'the threats of the Church we are told that the
helpless children clung around the knees of the savages, offering themselves as
slaves ; but with fiendish laughter at their cruel tortures, knives were thirst into
their bodies, the scalp torn from their heads, and their throats cut from ear to ear."
Beside Salt Lake City, the other principal Mormon settlements are Fill"
more City, the capital, Brownsville, Provo, Ogden, Manti, and Parovan.
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
NEW MEXICO is older than any English settlement in North America. It
was a Spanish province in the century before the cavaliers had landed aft
Jamestown, and the Puritans had trod the snow-clad rock of Plymouth. In
1530, Nuno de Guzman, president of Mexico or New Spain, had in his ser-
vice an Indian, a native of a country called Tejos or Texos, probably the
present Texas, who informed him that when a boy he used to accompany his
father, a merchant, on 'trading expeditions to a people in a country in the far
interior, when the latt.er, in exchange for handsome feathers to ornament
their heads, obtained great quantity of gold and silver; that, on one occa-
sion, he had seen seven large towns, in which were entire streets occupied by
people working in precious metals. That to get there, it was necessary to
travel forty days through a wilderness, where nothing was to be obtained ex-
cepting short grass, and then penetrate into the interior of the country by
keeping due north. Fired by these reports, Guzman organized an army of
400 Spaniards and 20,000 Indians, to penetrate this land of gold. He
started from Mexico and went as far as Culiacan, the limit of his govern-
ment, when the obstacles were such, in passing the mountains beyond, that
his people deserted in great numbers. Moreover, he heard that his personal
enemy, Hernando Cortez, was returning to Mexico, loaded with titles and
favors. He gave up the expedition, and was soon after thrown into prison ;
and the Tejos Indian died.
In 1528, Pamphilo Narvaez, the unfortunate rival of Hernando Cortez,
being appointed governor of Florida, set sail from St. Domingo with 400
men in five ships, for that coast. The expedition was tragic in its results.
Soon after discovering the mouth of the Mississippi, all had perished but
three; some from hunger, some by shipwreck, and some by the hostility of
the natives.
" There only survived Cabeza de Vaca, boatmaster, Esteva Dorantes, an
Arabian negro, and Castillo Maldonado. At the end of eight years, these
three men reached Mexico, having traversed on foot the American continent
from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. They related their adventures,
declared that they had met with Indian tribes, some of whom cultivated
maize, while others lived on fish and the produce of the chase; that they
had heard of large towns with lofty houses containing many stories, and sit-
uated in the same direction as those spoken of by the Tejos Indian."
35 545
546 NEW -MEXICO TERRITORY.
Mendosa, the viceroy of New Spain, had these three travelers brought be«
fore him, and communicated the information they gave him to Francisco
Vasquez Coronado, governor of the province of Culiacan, the chief town of
which. Culiacan, was 68 miles west of Mexico. In March, ^.539, Coronado
sent forward an exploring expedition under Father Marcos, in company with
two other monks, the negro Esteva above spoken of, and some friendly In-
dians.
As he journeyed along, Father Marcos met entire populations, who re-
ceived him with pleasure, and presented him with provisions and flowers.
He passed into the valley of the Sonora. " The inhabitants of this valley
were numerous and intelligent; the women wore petticoats of tanned deer-
skin. Every morning the caciques ascended little eminences, and, for above
an hour, would indicate aloud what each was to do during the day. At their
religious ceremonies they stuck arrows around their temples, resembling in
this the Zunis of the present day, who sometimes stick them round their
altars and tombs. Father Marcos found, on the borders of this desert, other
Indians, who were greatly surprised to see him, for they had not the slight-
est idea of the Christians. Some of them would try to touch his garments,
and would call him Soyota, which signifies, Man come down from heaven.
Those Indians told him that, should he continue his route, he would soon
enter a very extensive plain, full of large towns, which were inhabited by
people clad in cotton, wearing gold rings and earrings, and making use of
little blades of the same metal to scrape the perspiration oft7 their bodies.
Although the information given by Father Marcos is rather vague, and
though it is scarcely possible to state precisely the route he followed, or to
indicate the geographical positions of the countries he passed through, it is
probable that the plain here spoken of is that of the Rio de Las Casas
Grande, situated 150 miles east of the Rio Sonora, which is to this day all
covered with imposing ruins, reminding one of handsome and populous
cities."
After a few days march, Father Marcos arrived at Vacapa, now known as
Magdalena, in Sonora, near the American line, a short distance below Tubac,
Arizona. Here Father Marcos remained to rest himself, among a friendly
people; but finding the negro, Esteva, was abusing hospitality, by miscon-
ducting himself toward the native women, he sent him forward to make dis-
coveries and report. Four days afterward, the negro dispatched to Marcoa
an Indian messenger, who related wonderful things of a la'rge town, called
Cibola, known in the present day as Zuni, and westward of Santa Fe. "Ac-
cording to the fashion of his tribe, the messenger's face, breast, and arms,
were painted. Those Indians, whom the Spaniards called Pintados, lived on
the frontiers of the seven towns forming the kingdom of Cibola; their de-
scendants, now called Papagos and Pimas, still reside in the same country,
which extends from the valley of Santa Cruz to the Rio Gila. Cibola, the
first of the seven towns and capital of the kingdom of that name, was situ-
ated thirty days' journey from Vacapa. The Pintados said they often went
there, and were employed in tilling the ground, and received for their wages
turquoises and tanned hides.
An Indian of this town told Father Marcos, that ' Cibola was a great city,
densely peopled, with a great number of streets and squares; that in some
quarters there were very large houses, with ten stories, where the chieftains
assembled, at certain times of the year, to discuss public affairs. The doors
and fronts of those houses were adorned with turquoises. The inhabitants
NEW MEXICO TEREITORY. 547
had white skin, like the Spaniards, and wore wide cotton tunics that reached
to their feet. These garments were fastened round the neck by means of a
button, and were ornamented at the waist with a belt studded with very fine
turquoises. Over those tunics some wore excellent cloaks, and others very
richly wrought cow-hides.' The same Indian added : ' that toward the
south-east, there existed a kingdom called Marata, with large populations
and considerable towns, the houses of which had several stories ; that these
peoples were continually at war with the sovereign of the seven towns; and
that, in the direction of the south-west, on the Rio Verde, was another king-
dom, called Totonteac, which was as wealthy as it was densely peopled, and
whose inhabitants were dressed in fine cloth.' Although these narratives
were exaggerated, it is not less a fact that all those countries were thickly
peopled, intersected with roads, and studded with towns."
Having rested himself, Father Marcos pushed forward to rejoin his negro,
and was everywhere welcomed by the natives until he had reached, on the
9th of May, the last desert that separated him from Cibola. He there had
stopped to dine at a farm house, when he was astonished by the entrance of
Esteva's companions, covered with perspiration, faint and trembling from
fatigue and fear. He reported that Esteva had been imprisoned, and then
killed by the people of Cibola, together with several of his Indian followers.
The negro, probably, had been guilty of some misconduct. Marcos, in con-
sternation, took the back track to Culiacan.
" Captain-General Vasquez Coronado, encouraged by the accounts given by
Father Marcos, and hoping to discover new territories, at once organized in New
Spain a little army, which assembled at Compostella, and on the day following
Easter, 1540, he put himself at the head of his troops, composed of 150 horsemen,
200 archers, and 800 Indians. Having reached Culiacan, the army halted to take
rest At the end of a fortnight, Coronado moved forward, accompanied by fifty
horsemen, a few foot soldiers, and his best friends, among whom was P'ather Mar-
cos. The command of the remainder of the troops was confided to Don Tristan
d' Arellano, with orders to leave fifteen days after, and to follow the same route as
the captain-general.
After a month of fatigue and of privations of all kinds, Vasquez Coronado ar-
rived at Chichilticale. This name, which signifies Red Town, was given to this
locality because a large house of that color was to be seen there, which was in-
habited by an entire tribe that came from Cibola, where the last desert begins. At
this place the Spaniards lost several horses, and even some men, from want of food.
Nevertheless, encouraged by their chief, they continued their march, and, a fort-
night after they had left Chichilticale, they arrived within twenty-six miles of Ci-
bola. They saw for the first time the natives of this singular kingdom; but the
latter immediately took to flight, spreading the alarm throughout the country by
means of great fires which they kindled on the high mountains — a custom in use
to this day among the tribes of New Mexico.
Next day, Coronado came within sight of Cibola; the inhabitants of the provinca
had all assembled and awaited the Spaniards with a steady attitude. Far from
accepting the proposals of peace which were offered to them, they threatened the
interpreters with death. The Spaniards then, crying out, 'San JagoT San Jaa;o ! '
attacked the Indians with impetuosity, and notwithstanding a vigorous resistance,
Coronado entered the town of Cibola as conqueror."
The remainder of the troops, under d'Arellano, after a march of 975 miles by
a different route, in which they crossed many rivers flowing into the California
(riilf, rejoined the main army at Cibola. On their way they founded the town of
San Hieronyrno, and in that vicinity found Indian agricultural tribes who tamed
eagles, as is yet the custom among some tribes of New Mexico.
Coronado now sent Alvarado, his lieutenant, to conquer the province of Tiguex,
on the Rio Grande, which he subdued after a campaign of fifty days. "It con«
' 548 NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
tained twelve towns governed by a council of old men. The whole community
.lelped to construct each house; the women made the mortar and built up the walls,
and the men brought the wood and prepared the timbers. Underneath the houses
and the court-yards were subterraneous stoves, or drying-places, paved with large
polished flagstones. In the middle was a furnace on which they threw, from time
to time, a handful of thyme, which was sufficient to keep up an intense heat there,
so that one felt as if in a bath. The men spent a considerable part of their time
in those places; but the women could not enter there, except to carry food to their
husbands or sons. The men spun, wove, and attended to the tillage of their
grounds; the women occupied themselves with the care of their children and house-
hold affairs; they were the mistresses of the house and kept it remarkably clean.
In the large houses, each family had several rooms; one served as a sleeping-room,
another as a kitchen, and a third for the purpose of grinding wheat. In the latter
was an oven and three large stones; three women would seat themselves before
these stones; the first would crush the grain, the second bruise it, and the third
pulverize it completely. While they were thus employed, a man, seated at the
door, played on a kind of bagpipes, and the women worked to measure, all three
singing together, and marking the rhythm by striking with their tools the wheat
they were grinding." *
The young girls went wholly naked during even the most severe weather, and
were not allowed to cover themselves until they were married. The object of this
was that their shame might be exposed in case they misbehaved — a kind of a guard
to chastity. " The young people could only enter the married state with the per-
mission of the old men who governed the town. The young man had then to spin
and weave a mantle ; when completed, the girl who was destined to become his
bride was brought to him ; he wrapped the mantle round her shoulders and she
thus became his wife.
From Tiguex, the Spaniards went to Cicuye — now called Pecos — which they also
subdued. From thence, Coronado started for Quivira, with a few men chosen
among his best soldiers, postponing, until the following spring, the conquest of the
whole province. In 1542, the Spaniards found themselves masters of almost all
New Mexico, whose center was formed by the province of Tiguex, around which
were grouped seventy-one towns distributed among fourteen provinces, viz : Cibola,
which contained seven towns; Tucayan, seven ; Acuco, one; Tiguex, twelve; Cu-
tahaco, eight; Quivix, seven; the Snowy Mountains, seven; Ximena, three; Cicuye,
one ; Hemes, seven ; Aquas Calientes, three ; Yuque-yunque, six ; Braba, one, and
Chia, one. Besides these seventy-one towns, there were many others scattered
outside this circle ; as also several tribes living in tents."
In April, 1543, Coronado returned with his followers to Culiacan. "Juan de
Padilla, of the order of Saint Francis, preferred remaining at Quivira to preach the
gospel to the Indians, and became a martyr. Brother Luis, of the same order,
went to Cicuye, but was never more heard of. Such was the end of this expedi-
tion, which, instead of having a favorable result for the Spaniards, only tended to
arouse against them the profound antipathy of the natives, who had been very ill-
treated by the conquerors.
In 1581, a band of adventurers, commanded by Francisco de Leyva Bonillo, took
possession of part of the province of Tiguex, and finding its productions, riches,
and inhabitants very like those of Mexico, they called it New Mexico."*
"In the year 1595, Don Juan de Onate de Zacatecas, at the head of a band of
two hundre^soldiers, established the first legal colony in the province, over which
he was established as governor. He took with him a number of Catholic priests
to establish missions among the Indians, with power sufficient to promulgate the
gospel at the point of the bayonet, and administer baptism by the force of arms.
The colony progressed rapidly ; settlements extended in every quarter ; and, as
tradition relates, many valuable mines were discovered and worked. The poor In-
* Abridged from Domenech's Seven Years' Residence in the Deserts of North America.
The Abbe Domenech derived this history mainly from the " Narrative of the Expedition to
Cibola ; by Pedro de Castaneda Nagera." He was in Coronado's army, and this narrative
was published in Paris in 1837.
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY. 549
dians were enslaved, and, under the lash, were forced to most laborious tasks in
the mines, until goaded to desperation. In the summer of 1680, a general insur-
rection of all the tribes and Pueblos took place throughout the province. General
hostilities having commenced, and a large number of Spaniards massacred all over
the province, the Indians laid siege to the capital, Santa Fe, which the governor
vas obliged to evacuate, and retreat south three hundred and twenty miles, where
the refugees then founded the town of El Paso del Norte. For ten years the coun-
try remained in possession of the Indians, when it was reconquered by the Span-
iards. In 1698, the Indians rose, but the insurrection was soon quelled. After
this they were treated with more humanity, each pueblo being allowed a league or
two of land, and permitted to govern themselves. Their rancorous hatred for their
conquerors, however, never entirely subsided; yet no further outbreak occurred
until 1837. In that year a revolution took place, by which the government of the
country was completely overthrown, and most atrocious barbarities committed by
the insurgents, including the Pueblo Indians. The governor, Perez, was savagely
put to death — his head cut off and used as a football by the insurgents in their
camp. The ex-governor, A brew, was butchered in a more barbarous manner. His
hands were cut off; his tongue and eyes were pulled out ; his enemies, at the same
time, taunting him with opprobrious epithets. The next season Mexican authority
was again established over the province."
The first American who ever crossed the desert plains, intervening between
New Mexico and the settlements on the Mississippi lliver, was one James
Pursley. While wandering over the wild and then unexplored regions west
of the Mississippi, he fell in with some Indians near the head-waters of the
Platte River, in the Rocky Mountains, whom he accompanied, in 1805, to
Santa Fe, where he remained several years. In 1804, a merchant of Kas-
kaskia, named Morrison, having heard by the trappers, through the Indians,
of this isolated province, dispatched a French Creole, named La Lande, with
some goods, up the Platte, with directions to make his way to Santa Fe. La
Lande never returned to his employer, to account for the proceeds of his
adventure, but settled in Santa Fe, grew rich by trading, and died some 20
years after. In 1806, the celebrated Captain Pike visited this country : his
exciting descriptions, as given in his narrative, roused the western country,
and eventually led to the overland trade, by caravans, with western Missouri,
known as the Santa Fe trade, which finally grew into an immense business,
employing an army of wagoners, and amounting in annual value to four or
five millions of dollars. Santa Fe was not entirely the consumer of these
importations, but rather the depot from whence they were distributed to
Chihuahua and other portions of northern Mexico.
When Texas achieved her independence she included New Mexico within
the statutory limits of the republic, although Santa Fe had never been con-
quered or settled by Texans. A desert or uninhabited country of 600 miles
intervened between Austin, the Texan capital, and Santa Fe. The Texans
wished to divert the overland trade which was going on between the Mis-
sourians and the New Mexicans to their country, and their secretary of war
proposed, as a preparatory step, the construction of a military road from
Austin to Santa Fe. In the spring of 1841, extensive preparations were
made in Texas for an armed visit to Santa Fe, the objects being to induce
the New Mexicans to acknowledge the right of Texas to complete jurisdic-
tion over them, and to open a trade with the people. On the 20th of June,
270 armed Texans, under Gen. Hugh M'Leod, started from Brushy creek,
near Austin, en route for Santa Fe. This expedition, known as the "Santa
Fe expedition," was unfortunate in its results. The upshot of it was, that
they encountered great hardships on the deserts, and were finally, when in a
half starved condition, near San Miguel, induced by treachery to surrender
550 NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
to the Mexicans under Armijo, governor of New Mexico. Some few were
shot, but the great body of them, to the number of 187, were sent to Mexico,
and thrown into the prisons of Santiago, Puebla and Perote.
' In 1846, at the commencement of the war with Mexico, the army of the
west was organized, to conquer New Mexico and California. This army was
composed of a mounted regiment of Missourians, and a battalion each of
infantry, dragoons, and light artillery. After a fifty days' march from Fort
Leavenworth, of nearly 900 miles, they entered Santa Fe on the 18th of
August.
" On their arrival, the American commander, General Kearney, in accordance
with his directions, proclaimed himself governor of New Mexico. 'You are now,'
said he, 'American citizens ; you no longer owe allegiance to the Mexican govern-
ment' The principal men then took the oath of allegiance to the United States,
and whoever was false to this allegiance, the people were told, would be punished
as traitors. It was questioned whether the administration had not transcended
its powers in thus annexing a territory to the Union without the permission of con-
gress.
General Kearney, having appointed Charles Bent governor of New Mexico, on
the 25th of September, took a small force with him and proceeded overland to Cal-
ifornia. Col. Price arrived soon after at Santa Fe with recruits. The Navajo In-
dians having commenced hostilities against the New Mexicans, 'new inhabitants
of the United States,' Col. Doniphan, who had been left in command, set out west-
ward with the Missouri regiment to make peace with them. Winter was fast ap-
proaching, and after suffering incredible hardships in crossing the mountains,
poorly clad as they were, among snows and mountain storms, they finally
accomplished their object Capt Reid, of one of the divisions of thirty men, vol-
unteered to accompany Sandoval, a Navajo chief, five days through the mountain
hights, to a grand gathering of the men and women of the tribe. They were com-
pletely in the power of the Indians, but they won their hearts by their gayety and
confidence. Most of them had never seen a white man. Reid and his compan-
ions joined the dance, sung their country's songs, and, what pleased the Navajoes
most, interchanged with them their costume. On the 22d of November, a treaty
was made in form, by which the three parties, Americans, New Mexicans and Na-
vajoes, agreed to live in perpetual peace.
By the middle of December, Col. Doniphan, leaving Col. Price in command at
Santa Fe, commenced his march with his regiment south to Chihuahua, and on his
route met and defeated superior forces of the enemy at Bracito, and at the Sacra-
mento Pass.
In the meantime, the New Mexicans secretly conspired to throw off the yoke. Sim-
ultaneously, on the 19th of January, in the valley of Taos, massacres occurred at
Fernandez, when were cruelly murdered Governor Bent, Sheriff Lee, and four
others; at Arroyo Hondo, five Americans were killed, and a few others in the
vicinity. Col. Price; on receiving the intelligence, marched from Santa Fe, met
and defeated the insurrectionists in several engagements in the valley, with a loss
of about three hundred. The Americans lost in killed and wounded about sixty.
Fifteen of the insurrectionists were executed."
i New Mexico was ceded to the United States by the treaties with Mexico of 1848
and of 1854. The cession of 1854 included that narrow strip of territory south
of the Gila and west of the Rio Grande, known as the "Gadsden Purchase," or
Arizona. In 1850, a territorial government was established over New Mexico,
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY. 551
The present American territory of New Mexico comprises but a small
part of the original Spanish province of that name. This territory, con-
sidered as a whole, " is a region of high table lands, crossed by moun-
tain ranges, and barren to the last degree." It has scarce a single wa-
ter communication of consequence with the rest of the world. The famous
The Giant Cactus.
Rio Grande is shallow, full of sand bars, and at times almost too low to float
an Indian canoe. Many of the streams run in deep, frightful chasms, down
which it is impossible, for days of travel, to penetrate. There is not enough
fertile land ever to support any but a slight agricultural population, and very
little timber excepting the iwsquit — a thorny, disagreeable tree, that does
most of its growing underground: its roots being multitudinous, twisting
and burrowing in all directions, and of no use but for fuel. Beside this is
the cactus, in many varieties, that shown in the engraving being confined
within narrow lines of latitude. Mescal, a kind of whisky, of a most pun-
gent, acrid flavor, is made from some varieties of this plant.
" The climate of New Mexico is unsurpassingly pure and healthy. A sultry day
is very rare. The summer nights are cool and pleasant. The winters are long,
but uniform, and the atmosphere of an extraordinary dryness; and there is but
little rain, except from July to October. The general range of the thermometer is
from 10 deg. to 75 deg. above Fahrenheit. Fevers are uncommon, and instances
of remarkable longevity are frequent. Persons withered almost to mummies are
met with occasionally, whose extraordinary age is shown by their recollection of
certain notable events, which have taken place in times far remote.
Agriculture is in a very primitive and unimproved state, the hoe being alone
used by a greater part of the peasantry. Wheat and Indian corn are the princi-
pal staples ; cotton, flax, and tobacco, although indigenous, are not cultivated : the
soil is finely adapted to the Irish potato. The most important natural product of
the soil is its pasturage. Most of the high table plains afford the finest grazing,
while, for want of water, they are utterly useless for other purposes. That scanty
moisture which suffices to bring forth the natural vegetation, is insufficient for agri-
552 NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
cultural productions, without the aid of irrigation. The high prairios of all this
region, differ greatly from those of our border in the general character of their
vegetation. They are remarkably destitute of the gay flowering plants for which
the former are so celebrated, being mostly clothed with different species of a highly
nutritious grass called grama, which is of a very short and curly quality. The
highlands, upon which alone this sort of grass is produced, being seldom verdant
until after the rainy season sets in, the grama is only in perfection from August to
October. But being rarely nipped by the frost until the rains are over, it cures
upon the ground and remains excellent hay — equal, if not superior, to that which
is cut and stacked from our western prairies. Although the winters are rigorous,
the feeding of stock is almost entirely unknown in New Mexico; nevertheless, the
extensive herds of the country, not only of cattle and sheep, but of mules and
horses, generally maintain themselves in excellent condition upon the dry pastur-
age alone through the cold season, and until the rains start up the green grass
again the following summer.
The mechanic arts are very rude, even sawed lumber being absolutely unknown.
The New Mexicans are celebrated for the manufacture of a beautiful serape or
blanket, which is woven into gaudy, rainbow-like hues. Their domestic goods are
nearly all wool, the manufacture of which ia greatly embarrassed for the want of
adequate machinery.
The system of. Peon slavery existed under the Mexican dominion. By the local
laws, a debtor was imprisoned for debt until it was paid ; or, if the creditor chose,
he took the debtor as a servant to work out his claim. This system operated with
a terrible severity upon the unfortunate poor, who, although they worked for fixed
wages, received so small a compensation, that if the debt was of any amount, it
compelled them to a perpetual servitude, as he received barely sufficient for food
and clothing."
Evidences of volcanic action abound in various parts of New Mexico, and
the country is rich in gold, silver, and copper. Anthracite coal of an excel-
lent quality is found near Santa Fe. Through its mineral wealth it may
eventually have a considerable population; hut most of the food to support
it will require to be transported thither from the agricultural districts of the
Mississippi valley.
The population of New Mexico has been nearly stationary for a long
period. In I860, it was ascertained to he about 93, 000, viz: 42,000 Indians,
about half civilized; 41,000 peons; and 7,300 white native citizens, mostly
of Mexican blood. The number of Americans in the whole country, is less
than is contained in ordinary agricultural townships with us.
SANTA FE, the capital of- New Mexico, sometimes written Santa Fe de
Skn Francisco — i. e. Holy Faith of St. Francis — is the only town of import-
ance. It is, by air lines, 660 miles west of the Arkansas frontier, 450 south-
easterly from Salt Lake City, 900 east-south-east of San Francisco, and 260
north of El Paso, the nearest point in Mexico. " It is on the site of an
ancient Indian pueblo, some fifteen miles east of the Rio del Norte, at the
base of a snow-clad mountain, and contains a little over three thousand souls,
and with its corporate surrounding villages about double that number. The
town is irregularly laid out, and is a wretched collection of mud houses,
much scattered with intervening corn-fields. The only attempt at architec-
tural compactness, consists of four tiers of buildings around the public
square, comprising the governor's house, the custom house, barracks, etc."
In the center of the public square "all the neighboring rancheros assemble to
sell the produce of their farms and industry. All day long files of donkeys may
be seen arriving there, laden with barrels of Taos whisky, bales of goods, forage,
wood, earthen jars, melons, grapes, red and green pimentos, onions, pusteques, egga,
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY. 553
cheese, tobacco, and pinones (fruit of the pine), Pinus monopJiyJla. These pinones
are generally baked in the oven, or roasted on cinders, as a means of preserving
them better. Besides those provisions, the Santa Fe market also affords a great
variety of bread and meat. The Indians of the pueblos, too, carry quantities of
fish there, either fresh or dried in the sun. In the evening, after the Aiigelus, the
square is filled with loungers, who chat, play, laugh, and smoke, until the hour for the
fandango; for be it known, the young people of Mexico could not live if they did
not dance at least 365 fandangos every year. At Santa Fe, as in Texas, and in
all the provinces of Mexico, the women go to the fandangos, with their rebozo
(mantilla), and arrayed in a light cool costume appropriate to the occasion; seated
round the garden, or hall, where the dance is to take place, they smoke cigarettes
and chat very loudly while awaiting the cavaliers' invitation."
ZUNI.
An Indian Pueblo .or Town.
In Spanish the term pueblo means the people and their towns; and in
New Mexico it is applied to the Christianized Indians and to their villages.
"When the country was first discovered, these Indians lived in comfortable
houses, and cultivated the soiL Indeed, now they are the best horticulturists in
New Mexico, furnishing most
of the fruits and vegetables to
be found in the markets. They
also cultivate the grape, and
have extensive herds of cattle,
horses, etc. They are remark-
able for sobriety, honesty, mor-
ality, and industry, and are
much braver than the other
classes of New Mexicans, and in
the war with Mexico, fought
with desperation compared to
those in the south. At the time
of the conquest, they must have
beon a very powerful people,
numbering near one hundred
villages, as their ruins would
indicate. The population of their villages or piteblos, average about five hundred
souls. They assort that they are the descendants of Montezuma. They profess
the Catholic faith, but this, doubtless, reaches no farther than understanding ij^
formalities, and at the same time, they all worship the sun.
They were only nominally under the jurisdiction of the Mexican government,
many features of their ancient customs, in both government and religion, being
retained. Each pueblo was under the control of a cacique chosen by themselves,
who, with his council, had charge of the interior police of the village. One of their
regulations was to appoint a secret watch to suppress vice and disorder of every
description, and especially to keep an eye over the young men and women of the
village.
Their villages are built with adobes, and with great regularity ; sometimes they
have but one large house, with several stories, each story divided into apartments,
in which the whole village reside. Instead of doors in front, they use trap-doors
in the roofs of their houses, to which they mount up on a ladder, which is drawn
up at night for greater security. Their dress consists of moccasins, short breeches,
and woolen jackets or blankets; they generally wear their hair long. Bows and
arrows and a lance, and sometimes a gun, constitute their weapons. They manu-
facture blankets, as well as other woolen stuffs, crockery ware, and coarse pottery.
The dress of many is like the Mexican ; but the majority retain their aboriginal
costume.
Among the villages of the Pueblos Indians, was tnat of the Pecos tribe, twenty-
five miles east of Santa Fe, which gradually dwindled away under the inroads of
the Comanches and other causes, until about the year 1838, when having been re-
duced to only about a dozen souls of all ages, they abandoned the place.
554 NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
Many tales are told of the singular habits of this ill-fated tribe, which must, no
doubt, have tended to hasten its utter annihilation. A tradition was prevalent
among them that Montezuma had kindled a holy fire, and enjoined their ancestors
not to suffer it to be extinguished until he should return to deliver his people from
the yoke of the Spaniards. In pursuance of these commands, a constant watch
had been maintained for ages to prevent the fire from going out; and, as tradition
further informed them, that Montezuma would appear with the sun, the deluded
Indians were to be seen every clear morning upon the terraced roofs of their
houses, attentively watching the appearance of the 'king of light,' in hopes of
seeing him accompanied by their immortal sovereign. This consecrated fire was
down in a subterranean vault, where it was kept silently smouldering under a cov-
ering of ashes, in the basin of a small altar. Some say that they never lost hope
in the final coining of Montezuma until, by some accident or other, or a lack of a
sufficiency of warriors to watch it, the fire became extinguished; and that it was
this catastrophe th\it induced them to abandon their village. No other pueblo ap-
pears to have adopted this extraordinary superstition ; like Pecos, however, they
have all held Montezuma to be their perpetual sovereign. It would likewise appear
that they all worship the sun; for it is asserted to be their regular practice to turn
the face toward the east at sunrise.
The wild tribes who inhabit or extend their incursions into New Mexico, are
the Navajoes, the Apaches, the Yutas, the Kiawas, and the Comanches. The
Navajoes are estimated at about ten thousand, and reside in the main range of the
Cordilleras, two hundred miles west of Santa Fe, on the Rio Colorado, near the
region from whence historians say the Aztecs emigrated to Mexico. They are sup-
posed to be the remnants of that justly celebrated nation of antiquity who re-
mained in the north. Although living in rude wigwams, they excel all Indian na-
tions in their manufactures. They are still distinguished for some exquisite styles
of cotton textures, and display considerable ingenuity in embroidering with feath-
ers the skins of animals. The scrape Navajo (Xavajo blanJcet) is of so dense a
texture as to be frequently waterproof, and some of the finer qualities bring sixty-
dollars each, among the Mexicans. Notwithstanding their wandering habits, they
cultivate the different grains and vegetables, and possess extensive and superior
herds of horses, mules, cattle, sheep, and goats.
The Apaches are mainly west of the Rio del Norte, and are the most powerful
and vagrant of the Indian tribes of northern Mexico, and number, it is estimated,
fifteen thousand souls, of whom two thousand are warriors. They cultivate and
manufacture nothing, and appear to depend entirely upon pillage for subsistence.
The depredations of the Apaches have been of so long a duration that beyond
the immediate vicinity of the towns, the whole country, from New Mexico to the
borders of Durango, is almost entirely depopulated."
The population of New Mexico, other than the savage tribes, is mostly
east of the Rocky Mountains, in the valley of the llio Grande and its tribu-
taries. It is almost exclusively confined to towns and villages, the suburbs
of which are generally farms, a mode of living indispensable for protection
against the savages.
Taos, north of Santa Fe, is a beautiful valley of nine miles in length, and
includes several villages and settlements. The valley grows wheat of an ex-
cellent quality, produced on irrigated land.
La Gran Quivira, about 100 miles south of Santa Fe, are ruins of an
ancient town, which was supposed to have been reared for mining purposes.
The style of architecture is superior to anything at present in New Mexico.
To be seen are the remains of Catholic churches, and aqueducts leading to
the mountains, eight or ten miles distant. Tradition says, that, in the gen-
eral massacre of 1680, every soul save one perished.
El Placer, 27 miles south of Santa Fe, is an important mine, from which,
since its discovery in 1828, half a million of gold has been taken out.
NEW MEXICO TERRITOKY. 555
Albuquerque is in the most fertile locality of the Rio Grande, and although
not as important a place as Santa Fe, it is more central. Including the neigh-
boring rancheros, it has a population of 1,000 souls. "Albuqurque for a
Mexican town, is tolerably well built. Its buildings, like those inhabited by
Mexicans, are of a right parallelopipedon shape, constructed of adobes
(blocks of sun dried mud), and arranged generally on the four sides of a
rectangle, thus creating an interior court (pateo), upon which nearly every
one of the apartments opens. There is generally but one exterior or street
entrance; and this is generally quite wide and high, the usual width being
about six feet, and the hight seven. They appear to be made thus wide, at
least as far as I have been able to discover, to enable the burros (asses) and
other animals to go through with their packs. They are generally strongly
secured by double doors. There are two or three buildings in the town with
extensive fronts and portables (porches), which look, for this country, very
well — one of them being the house, formerly occupied by Governor Arrnijo.
There is a military post at this place, garrisoned by U. S. troops."
Acoma, in the same vicinity, is one of the most ancient and extraordinary
of the Indian pueblos. "Acoma is situated on an isolated rock which rises
perpendicularly to a hight of 360 feet above the plain, and appears like an
island in the middle of a lake. The summit of this rock is perfectly hori-
zontal, and its superficies is about sixty acres. To reach it you must climb
over hillocks of sand, heaped up by the wind to a third of the hight; the
two other thirds of the route are hewn in the rock in the shape of a spiral
staircase. The town is composed of blocks, each of which contains sixty or
seventy houses, and a large Catholic church, with two towers and very pretty
spires. The houses are three stories high, and have windows only in the
upper one; in construction, they are quite similar to those of the other
pueblos of New Mexico. Acoma is in all probability the Acuco spoken of
by the ancient Spanish historians, which, according to them, was situated
between Cibola and Tiguex, and built at the top of perpendicular rocks, whose
summits could only be reached by means of 300 steps hewn in the rock, at
the end of which steps was a kind of ladder eighteen feet high, also formed
by holes cut in the rock. Although this pueblo was deemed impregnable,
yet the inhabitants placed huge stones around it, that they might roll them
down on any assailant who was bold enough to scale this extraordinary
stronghold. Near the dwellings might be seen arable lands sufficient to grow
the necessary quantity of maize for the wants of the population ; also large
cisterns to save the rain waters. The Acucos were called banditti in all the
surrounding provinces, into which they made frequent excursions."
Laguna, a few miles north of Acoma, is another ancient Indian pueblo,
and contains about a thousand inhabitants, noted for their honesty, sobriety,
and industry. "It has the appearance of one of those old German cities on
the banks of the Rhine perched on a mountain peak. The houses, with
their graduated stories, seem piled one above the other, producing the effect
of an immense amphitheater; the river bathes the foot of the eminence on
which Laguna is built, and flows in tortuous windings through the plain."
Zuni, perhaps the most important of all the pueblos, is west of Laguna.
Its present population is about 2,000. "The houses are of the same style
as those of the other Indian pueblos; their graduated stories are almost all
festooned with long garlands of red pimentos, that dry in the sun. The
town possesses a Catholic church thirty-three yards in length, by nine in
width, it is built of adobes, and behind its sole altar is suspended a paint-
556 NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
ing representing Our Lady of Guadaloupe, the patroness of Mexico; a few
statues surround the painting, but the lateral walls arc completely bare. The
governor lives in a house three stones high, wherein the caciques or chiefs
of the government frequently assemble. The Zunis have a mania for taming
eagles, which they catch while yet very young on the neighboring moun-
tains; multitudes of these birds are to be seen on the terraces of the houses,
spreading their enormous wings as they bask in the sun."
Zuni Vieja, or Old Zuni, the ancient Cibola, stood in the immediate vicin-
ity. The ruins are yet to be seen. They are in the center of a plateau,
elevated more than 900 feet above the plains, to which access is gained only
by climbing almost inaccessible rocks. It was only in 1694, that it became
definitely conquered by the Spaniards.
ANTIQUITIES OP NEW MEXICO.
Much of New Mexico is as yet unexplored; but the various expeditions
of the scientific corps of the U. S. army have, of late years, given us the
unexpected information of the existence of antiquities in the heart of our
continent, as surprising and worthy of curiosity as those in Central America.
In the region north and east of the Grila, and east of the Rio Colorado, in a
space of some few hundred square miles, the ruins of ancient walled cities
to the number, it is estimated by an officer of the topographical corps of en-
gineers, of 1,000, are found at this day. These show that the country, at
some very remote and unknown era, perhaps thousands of years since, was
densely populated, and by a race to a considerable degree civilized. The
natives living in the pueblos of that region, can give no information respect-
ing them. Their builders were far in advance of any people found when
the country was conquered by the Spaniards, more than 300 years ago.
Their masonry and carpentery show much skill. Beautiful and highly orna-
mented pottery also is found in the vicinity of these cities ; but in every in-
stance it is- in fragments, not a single perfect utensil having ever been dis-
covered. The immense amount of this broken pottery strewn around would
indicate, at some time or other, a regular sacking of these places. The cli-
mate and soil must have changed since this mysterious race dwelt here; for
it is now a barren, rainless region, incapable of supporting anything like the
population these ruins indicate. The axtreme dryness of the climate has,
doubtless, preserved the woodwork to our time.
The journal of Lieut. James H. Simpson, of the corps of U. S. topographi-
cal engineers, of a military reconnoissance from Santa Fe to the Navajo coun-
try, in the year 1849, and published by government, first gave to the world
detailed descriptions of some of these ruined cities. Others on a larger scale
and more important have been found farther west, of which descriptions have
not as yet been published. We derive the facts and illustrations given below
from the work alluded to.
The command, consisting of 175 men under Col. J. M. Washington3 left Santa
Fe on the 16th of August. They passed southerly and westerly, and on
the 26th came to the highest point of land dividing the tributaries of the
Gulf of Mexico from those of the Pacific, when they commenced gradually
descending the western slope, and reached the Rio Chaco, a tributary of the
San Juan. Here, upon the Rio Chaco, were found a number of the ancient
towns or pueblos, named respectively, Pueblo Pintado, Weje-gi, Una Vida,
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
557
Hungo Pavie, Chettro Kettle, Del Arroyo, and De Penasca Blanca. These
ruins are between 30° and 37° N. Jat., and near 108° W. long. "They are
evidently," says Simpson, "from the similarity of their style and mode of
construction, of a common origin. They discover in the materials of which
they are composed, as well as
in the grandeur of their de-
sign and superiority of tl^eir
workmanship, a condition of
architectural excellence be-
yond the power of the Indians
or New Mexicans of the pres-
ent day to exhibit." He fur-
ther adds there is a great deal
to strengthen the hypothesis
that they are of Aztec origin.
The largest was De Penasca
Blanca, which in circuit was
1,700 feet, and the number of
rooms on the first floor 112.
It differed in its walls from the other pueblos: the stones composing them
being of one uniform character; but in this there is a regular alternation of
large and small stones, the effect of which is unique and beautiful. The
first pueblo examined was Pintado. We annex Simpson's description:
ANCIENT PUEBLO.*
The engraving shows Hungo Tavie, i. e. Crooked Nose, in
Its original condition.
GROUND PLAN*
OF THE
PUEBLO HUNGO PAVIE, (CROOKED NOSE)
Canon de Chaco.
Ruins of wall enclosing court.
' Scale of feet, >
0 10 30 60 71 W
<kAfter partaking of some refreshments, I started off, with high expectations — my assist-
ants, the Me-^rs. Kern, accompanying me — to examine the ruins of Pueblo Pintado. We
found them to more than answer onr expectations. Forming one structure, and built of
tabular pieces of hard, fine grained, compact gray sandstone (a material entirely unknown
*" Unwittingly the artist," says Lieut. Simpson, " has fallen one story short of the num-
ber the ruins exhibited. In their restored state, four storie? should appear."
558 NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
in tho present architecture of New Mexico), to which the atmosphere has imparted a red
dish tinge, the layers or beds being not thicker than three inches, and sometimes as thin
as ono fourth of an inch, it discovers in the masonry a combination of science and art
which can only be referred to a higher stage of civilization and refinement than is discov-
erable in the works of Mexicans or Pueblos of the present day. Indeed, so beautifully
diminutive and true are the details of the structure as to cause it, at a little distance, to
have all the appearance of a magnificent piece of mosaic work.
In the outer face of the buildings there are no signs of mortar, the intervals between
thetbeds being chinked with stones of the minutest thinness. The filling and backing are
done in rubble masonry, the mortar presenting no indications of the presence of lime.
The thickness of the main wall at base is within an inch or two of three feet; higher up,
it is less — diminishing every story by retreating jogs on the inside, from bottom to top.
Its elevation, at its present highest point, is between twenty-five and thirty feet, the series
of floor beams indicating that there must have been originally at least three stories. The
ground plan, including the court, in exterior development, is about 403 feet. On the
ground floor, exclusive of the outbuildings, are fifty-four apartments, some of them as
small as five feet square, and the largest ab:>ut twelve by six feet. These rooms commu-
nicate with each other by very small doors, some of them as contracted as two and a half
by two and a half feet; and in the case of the inner suite, the doors communicating with
the interior court are as small as three and a half by two feet. The principal rooms or
those most in use, were, on account of their having larger doors and windows, most prob-
ably those of the second story. The system of flooring seems to have been large trans-
verse unhewn beams, six inches in diameter, laid transversely from wall to wall, and then
a number of smaller ones, about three inches. in diameter, laid longitudinally upon them.
What was placeM on these does not appear, but most probably it was brush, bark, or slabs,
covered with a layer of mud mortar. The beams show no signs of the saw or axe; on the
contrary, they appear to have been hacked oft' by means of some very imperfect instru-
ment. On the west face of the structure, the windows which are only in the second story,
are three feet two inches by two feet two inches. On the north side, they are only in the
second and third stories, and are as small as fourteen by fourteen inches. At different
points about the premises were three circular apartments sunk in the ground, the walls
being of masonry. These apartments the Pueblo Indians call estuffa^, or places where the
people held their political and religious meetings.
. . . .Not finishing our examinations at the ruins of Pueblo Pintado yesterday afternoon,
we again visited them early this morning. On digging about the base of the exterior wall,
we find that, for at least two feet (the depth our time would permit us to go), the same
kind of masonry obtains below as above, except that it appears more compact. We could
find no signs of the genuine arch about the premises, the lintels of the doors and windows
being generally either a number of pieces of wood laid horizontally side by side, a single
stone slab laid ill this manner, or occasionally a series of smaller ones so placed horizon-
tally upon each other that, while presenting the form of a sharp angle, in vertical longi-
tudinal section, they would support the weight of the fabric above. Fragments of pottery
lay scattered around, the colors showjpg taste in their selection and in the style of their
arrangement, and being still quite bright."
Simpson, in his description of the Pueblo Hungo Pavie, of which both ground
plan and elevation are herein pictorially given, says :
These ruins show the same nicety in the details of their ma'sonry as already described.
The ground plan shows an extent of exterior development of eight hundred and seventy-
two feet, and a number of rooms upon the ground floor equal to seventy-two. The struc-
ture shows the existence of but one circular estuffa, and this is placed in the body of the
norlh portion of the building, midway from either extremity. This estuffa differs from the
others we have seen, in having a number of interior counterforts. The main walls of the
building are at base*two and three quarter feet through, and at this time show a hight of
about thirty feet. The ends of the floor beams, which are still visible, plainly showing
that there was originally, at least, a vertical series of four floors, there must then also have
been originally at least a series of four stories of rooms; and as the debris at the base of
the walls is very great, it is reasonable to infer that there may have been even more. The
floor beams, which are round, in transverse section, and eleven inches in diameter, as well
as the windows, which are as small as twelve by thirteen inches, have been arranged hori-
zontally, with great precision and regularity. Pottery, as usual, was found scattered about
the premise*. . . .
The question now arises, as we have seen all the ruins in this quarter, what was the form
of these buildings? — I mean as regards the continuity or non-continuity of its front and
rear walls. Were these walls one plain surface from bottom to top, as in the United States,
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
559
or were they interrupted each story by a terrace, as is the case with the modern pueblo
buildings in New Mexico?
The front or exterior walls were evidently one plain surface from bottom to top; because
whenever we found them in their integrity, which we did for as many as four stories in
hight, we always noticed them to be uninterruptedly plain.
The rear walls, however, were, in no instance that I recollect of, found to extend higher
than the commencement of the second story; and the partition walls were, if my memory
is not at fault, corres-
pondingly steplike in
their respective alti-
tudes. The idea, then,
at once unfolds itself,
that in elevation the
inner wall must have
been a series of retreat-
ing surfaces, or, what
would make this neces-
sary, each story on the
inner or court side
must have been ter-
raced. This idea also
gathers strength from
the fact that we saw
no indications of any
internal mode of ascent
from story to story,
and therefore that some
exterior mode must
have been resorted to
— such as, probably,
ladders, which the ter-
race form of the sev-
eral stories would ren-
der very convenient.
Again, the terrace form
CANON OF CIIEI.LY.
About 500 feet deep.
RUINS OF AN ANCIENT PUEBI.O.
In the Canon of Chelly.
of the stories would best conduce to light and ventilation for the interior ranges of apart-
• ments. The idea then, which Mr. R. H. Kern was the first to suggest — that these pueblos
were terraced on their inner or court side — is not without strong grounds of probability;
and it is in consonance with this idea that, in his restoration of the Pueblo Hutiyo Pavie,
he has given it the form exhibited in the drawing.
It is a curious fact, that in no single instance did we find in these ruins either a chimney
or a fireplace, unless, indeed, the recesses described as existing in some of the rooms were
used as fireplaces, which their slight hight, as well as deprivation of chimney flues, would
scarcely authorize. Neither were there any indications of the use of iron about th»
premises."
A few days later the command came to the renowned Canon of Chelly. This
gorge has long had a distinguished reputation among the natives of this region,
from its great depth and impregnability. It is inhabited by the Navajoes, who,
although they possess the skill to manufacture one of the most beautiful kind of
blankets in the world, possess no better habitations than the conical pole, brush
and mud lodge. This was explored .for a distance of over nine miles; and the
further they ascended it the greater was the altitude of the inclosing walls : at their
furthest point of progress it was 502 feet high, and the average Avidth 600 feet.
The total length or the canon was judged to be about 25 miles. In ascending it
they saw some fine caves here and there ; also small habitations made up of over-
hanging rock, and artificial walls laid in stone and mortar — the latter forming the
front portion of the dwelling. Some four miles from the mouth, they came to the
ruins of a small pueblo, like those already described. It stood on the shelf of the
left hand wall, about 50 feet up from the bottom, and the wall being very nearly
perpendicular, it could only be approached by ladders. Seven miles from the
mouth they fell in with the ruins shown in the engraving, Avith the stupendous
rocks in rear and overhanging them.
" These ruins are on the left or north side of the canon, a portion of them being
situated at the foot of the escarpment wall, and the other portion upon a shelf in
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
the wall immediately back of the other part, some fifty feet above the bed of the
canon. The wall in front of this latter portion being vertical, access to it could
only have been obtained by means of ladders. The front of these ruins measures
one hundred and forty-five feet, and their depth forty-five. The style of structure
is similar to that of the pueblos found on the Chaco — the building material being
of small, thin sandstones, from two to four inches thick, imbedded in mud mortal',
and chinked in the facade with smaller stones. The present hight of its Avails is
about eighteen feet. Jts rooms are exceedingly small, and the windows only a foot
square. One circular estuffa was all that was visible."
In speaking of this canon, Simpson snys: "What appears to be singular, the
sides of the lateral walls are not only as vertical as natural walls can well be con-
ceived to be, but they are perfectly free from a talus of debris, the usual concom-
itant of rocks of this description. Does not this point to a crack or natural fissure
as having given origin to the canon, rather than to aqueous agents, which, at least
at the present period, show an utter inadequacy as a producing cause?"
Although the canon of Chelly was, at the time, considered a great curios-
ity, later explorers in the wild waste country between the Rocky Mountains
and California have found numerous other of these fissures, to which this
can bear no comparison. Some of them are entirely inaccessible, without
outlet or inlet, deep, gloomy cracks, descending far down into the earth, lower
than the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, bounded by forbidding, perpendicular
walls, at the base of which the foot of man has never penetrated. Others
form the valleys of streams, which, as one stands on their verge, are seen
winding their serpentjfie course down in 'a gorge thousands of feet below.
The canon of the Rio Colorado is of this character: Lieut. Ives, in his ex-
plorations ascertained it to be about 11,000 feet, or more than two miles in
depth.
About 200 miles westerty from Santa Fe, and near the town of Zuni, the com-
mand carne to a stupendous mass of rock, about 250 feet in hight, and strikingly
peculiar from its massive character, and the Egyptian style of its natural but-
tresses and domes. " Skirting this stupendous mass of rock," states Simpson, " ofl
its left or north side, for about a mile, the guide, just as we had reached its eastern
terminus, was noticed to leave us, and ascend a low mound or rampart at its base,
the better, as it nppenred, to scan the face of the rock, which he had scarcely
reached before he cried out to us to come up. We immediate!}7 went up, and,
sure enough, here were inscriptions, and some of them very beautiful ; and,
.although, with those which we afterward examined on the south face of the rock,
there could not be said to be half an acre of them, yet the hyperbole was not near
so extravagant as I was prepared to find it. The fact then being certain that here
were indeed inscriptions of interest, if not of value, one of them dating as far
back as 1606, all of them very ancient, and several of them very deeply as well as
beautifully engraven, I gave directions for a halt — Bird at once proceeding to get
up a meal, and Mr. Kern and myself to the work of m:iking lac similes of the in-
scriptions The greater portion of these inscriptions are in Spanish, with
some little sprinkling of what appeared to be an attempt at Latin, and the remain-
der in hieroglyphics, doubtless of Indian origin."
We copy a few of the inscriptions from Simpson, to present an idea of
their general character. The engraving is made from one in the work of
Doinenech :
" Bartolome Narrso, Governor and Captain General of the Provinces of New Mexico, for
our Lord the King, passed by this place, on his return from the Pueblo of Zuni, on the 29th
of July, of the yenr 1620, and put them in peace, nt their petition, asking the favor to be-
come subjects of his majesty, and anew they gave their obedience; all which they did with
free consent, knowing it prudent, as well as very Christian (a word or two effaced), to so
distinguished and gallant a soldier, indomitable and faim-d ; wo lore "(the remainder
effaced.)
NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
561
" By this place passed Second Lieutenant Joseph de Payba Baseonzelos, in the year in
which the council of the kingdom bore the cost, on the 18th of February, in the year 1726."
" Pero Vacu (possibly intended for vaca — cow) ye Jarde."
"Alma."
" Leo."
"Captain Jude Vubarri, in the year of our Lord 1," (probably meaning 1701. The
hieroglyphics, excepting what appears to designate a buffalo, not decipherable.)
Inscription Rock, near the Pueblo of Zuni.
On the bights above the inscription are the ruins of an ancient pueblo,
similar to the others described, though inferior in the style of masonry.
Mr. Simpson was not enamored with New Mexico. In his journal he
states that .he had not seen a rich, well timbered, and sufficiently watered
country since he had left the confines of the states on the borders of the
Mississippi valley. He makes these remarks upon this part of New Mexico.
The portion farther west, to the California line, according to other observers,
is no more alluring. Says he :
" The idea I pertinaciously ndhercd to, before ever having seen this country,
was, that, beside partaking of the bold characteristics of the primary formations,
rooks confusedly piled upon rocks, deep glens, an occasional cascade, green fertile
valleys — the usual accompaniments of such characteristics with us in the states —
it was also, like the country of the states, generally fertile, and covered with ver-
dure. Hut never did I have, nor do I believe anybody can have, a full apprecia-
tion of the almost universal barrenness which pervades this country, until ^hey
couie out, as I did, to ' search the land,' and behold with their own eyes its general
36
562 NEW MEXICO TERRITORY.
nakedness, The primary mountains present none of that wild, rooky, diversified,
pleasing aspect which they do in the United States, but, on the contrary, aro
usually of a rounded form, covered by a dull, lifeless-colored soil, and generally
destitute of any other sylva than pine and cedar, most frequently of a sparse and
dwarfish character. The sedimentary rocks, which, contrary to my preconceived
notions, are the prevalent formations of the country, have a crude, half-made-up
appearance, sometimes of a dull buff color, sometimes white, sometimes red, and
sometimes these alternating, and being almost universally bare of vegetation, ex-
cept that of a sparse, dwarfish, sickening-colored aspect, can not be regarded as a
general thing — at least, not until familiarity reconciles you to the sight — without
a sensation of loathing. The face of the country, for the same reason — the gen-
eral absence of all verdure, and the dead, dull, yellow aspect of its soil — has a
tendency to create the same disagreeable sensation."
ARIZONA TERRITORY.
ARIZONA originally comprised a long, narrow strip of territory, south of
the Gila River, extending from the Rio Grande on the east to the Rio Col-
orado on the west, just above its entrance into the Gulf of California. It
was purchased, in 1854, of Mexico, from the northern part of the state of
Sonora, for ten millions of dollars. It was for some time styled the Gads-
den Purchase, out of compliment to General Gadsden, the American minis-
ter, who negotiated the treaty. It was temporarily attached, by congress, to
the territory of New Mexico. It was about 500 miles long, with a width
ranging from 20 to 130 miles, and comprising 31,000 square miles. It was
separated from Texas by the Rio Grande ; from Lower California by the
Rio Colorado j and on the south of it were the Mexican states of Chihuahua
and Sonora.
When it was purchased of Mexico there was scarcely any inhabitants, ex-
cept a few scattered Mexicans in the Mesilla valley, on the Rio Grande, and
at the old town of Tucson, in the center of the* purchase. The marauding
Apache Indians had gradually extirpated almost every trace of civilization
in what was once an inhabited Mexican proviace.*
In 1-854, congress formed the present territory of Arizona from the west
halves of New Mexico and the Gadsden Purchase ; and the east half of the
latter is now the southern part of New Mexico. Arizona has an area of
131,000 square miles. The capital, named Prescott, is in the center of the
territory.
"Much interesting information upon the early history of this compara-
tively little known part of the United States, was obtained from the archives
of the Mexican government, by Capt. C. P. Stone, late of the U. S. army.
It appears that as early as 1687, a Catholic missionary from the province of
Sonora, which, in its southern portion, bore already the impress of Spanish
civilization, descended the valley of Santa Cruz River to the Gila, which he
* The following extract from the report of Col. Cbas. D. Poston, agent of the Sonora Ex-
ploring and Mining Company, under date of Jan. 31, 1857, will give a fair idea of the con-
dition of the country at the period when it came into the possession of our people : It
may not be amiss, in these desultory remarks, to note the improvement in Tubac and the
adjacent country since our arrival. When we forced our wagons here, over the under-
growth on the highway, in September last (1856), no human being was present to greet our
coming, and desolation overshadowed the scene. It was like entering the lost city ol
Pompeii. The atmosphere was loaded with the malaria of a rank vegetation, the under-
growth in the bottom served as a lurking place for the deadly Apache, and the ravens in
the old church window croaked a surly welcome. Now the highroads are alive with trains
and people. Commerce, agriculture, and mining are resuming their wonted prosperity under
the enterprise, intelligence, and industry of our people. The former citizens of iubac have
returned to the occupation of their houses, set to work vigorously upon their milpas, anci
are loud in their praises of American liberty and freedom."
563
564 AKIZONA TERRITORY. %
followed to its mouth, now the site of Fort Yuma. From this point he
ascended the valley of the Gila, the Salinas or Salt River, and other branches.
Proceeding east, he explored the valley ,pf the San Pedro and its branches,
reached the Mimbres, and probably the Rio Grande and the Mesilla valley.
Filled with the enthusiasm of his sect, he procured authority from the head
of the order in Mexico, and established missions and settlements at every
available point. In a report to the viceroy of Spain, made during the early
settlement of the province, we find the following statement: 'A scientific
exploration of Sonora, with reference to mineralogy, along with the intro-
duction of families, will lead to a discovery of gold and silver, so marvelous,
that the result will be such as has never yet been seen in the world.' A map
of this and the adjoining territories was drawn by some of the Spanish mis-
sionaries in 1757, and dedicated to the king of Spain. The reports of the
immense -mineral wealth of the new country made by the priests, induced a
rapid settlement."
The sites of various villages, ranches, and missions, as indicated on this map,
were principally in the valleys of the San Pedro, Santa Cruz, and on the Mimbres.
"The missions and settlements were repeatedly destroyed by the Apaches, and the
priests and settlers massacred or driven off. The Indians, at length thoroughly
aroused by the cruelties of the Spaniards, by whom they were deprived of their
liberty, forced to labor in the silver mines with inadequate food, and barbarously
treated, finally rose, joined with the tribes who had never been subdued, and grad-
ually drove out or massacred their oppressors. Civilization disappeared before
their devastating career, and in its place we now find, with few exceptions, only
ruins and decay, fields deserted, and mines abandoned. The mission of San Xavier
del Bac, and the old towns of Tucson and Tubac, are the most prominent of these
remains. The mission of San Xavier del Bac is a grand old structure, which, from
its elegant masonry and tasteful ornaments, must have been erected in times of
great prosperity. From 1757 down to 1820, the Spaniards and Mexicans continued
to work many valuable mines near Barbacora, and the ancient records and notes
mention many silver mines most of which contain a percentage of gold. The
most celebrated modern localities are Arivaca (also anciently famous as Aribac),
Sopori, 'the Arizona Mountains, the Santa Rita range, the Cerro Colorado, the en-
tire vicinity of Tubac, the Del Ajo, or Arizona copper mine, the Gadsonia copper
mine, and the Gila River copper mines. As late as 1820, the Mina Colre de la
Plata (silver and copper mines), near Fort Webster, north of the Gila, were
worked to great advantage; and so rich was the ore that it paid for transportation
on mule-back, more than a thousand miles, to the city of Mexico.
The silver mining region of Arizona is, in fact, the north-western extension ol
the great silver region of Mexico. The mountain ranges are the prolongations ol
those which southward in Sonora, Chihuahua, and Durango, have yielded silver
by millions for centuries past. The general direction of the mountains and the
veins, is north-west and south-east, and there are numerous parallel chains or ranges
which form long and narrow valleys in the same direction. Like most mineral re-
gions, Arizona is of small value for agriculture, possessing in comparison with its
extent but little arable land, and in most parts is nearly destitute of water, and
desert-like. Some of this forbidding and arid surface would,, however, prove fertile
if irrigated."
The population of Arizona, aside from the Indians, amounted in 1860 to
but a few thousand souls. In the whole territory, persons of the Anglo-Saxon
race, aside from the U. S. soldiers in garrison, numbered, at the outside, but
a few hundred souls; the remainder of the inhabitants consisted of Mexi-
cans, mostly of the peon class. The Pimos Indians live in villages on the
Gila River, in the north-western part of the country, and are a friendly, in-
offensive race, who raise corn and wheat, and supply emigrants who traverse
the southern route to California. The Apaches are a wild, thieving tribe,
ARIZONA TERRITORY. 565
of murderers, who live on the head streams of the Gila, beyond the reach
of the white man.
The southern boundary of Arizona was so run as to exclude any part of
tfie Gulf of California from American jurisdiction, so that she has not there
a single seaport.
Tucson, the
principal town, is
a miserable col-
lection of adobe
houses, in the
valley of the San-
ta Cruz. It con-
tains about 700
inhabitants, near-
ly all of them
degraded Mexi-
cans. The en-
graving shows
the church of the
place, an adobe or
sun-burned brick
structure; it is
from a drawing
in outline, taken
AT TUCSOK. on San Antonio's
***> ™ J 8 6J> '
Among the fig-
ures are one or two of the wild Apache Indians and numerous females, etc.
Tubac, 52 miles south of Tucson, is the business center of the silver
mining district of Arizona, and contains a few hundred souls. The princi-
pal mines worked in its vicinity are the Heintzelman and those of the Santa
Rita Company. With the pecuniary success of these mines, appears to be
connected the immediate progress of the territory, as, aside from the mines,
it has no resources ; but in these Arizona has a great future.
When our pioneers poured in upon the gold placers of California, the in-
trepid gold-hunter could, alone and single handed, work his way to wealth,
with a jack-knife and tin-pan ; and, at the end of a day's labor, tie up the
avails in a rag, place it under his pillow, and then dream pleasantly of wife,
and children, and home, far away on the other side of the continent.
Silver mining is a different business. The eager novice might collect his
tuns of silver ore ; and then would come the tantalizing discovery — it was
labor lost. To extract the silver from its ores, is often one of the most dif-
ficult of all chemical processes, requiring practice with a peculiar aptness
for metallurgy, so diversified and intricate are the combinations of this metal
with other minerals. No college .professor, however fine a metallurgist he
might be, could successfully manage the reduction works of a silver mine ;
Americans, until they learn the art, and " improve upon it," as is their na-
tional bent, will be compelled to procure their talent of this kind from those
bred from youth to this branch, in Mexico and Germany. Aside from this
difficulty, enormous outlays are required to start and work a silver mine :
this can generally only be obtained by associated capital. With this comes
On San Antonio's Day, I860.
566
ARIZONA TERRITORY.
the cumbrous, awkward revolving machinery of corporations, and its attend-
ant evils of mismanagement, in which the interests of the small, confiding
stockholder are too apt to be the last thing attended to by directors and
agents. Could the amount of money lost in our Union, within the last ten
Reduction Works of the Heintzilman Silver Mine.
ation barrel process. On the extreme right of the inclosure is the corral lor the mules. Jn the rear is
seen the officers' quarters and store houses ; on the left and also in the rear of the store-houses are the
hut* of the Mexican laborers or peons, of whom here and in the mine several hundred are employed. The
buildings are all adobes.
years alone, by the selfishness and mismanagement of men in charge of cor-
porations be ascertained, it would probably sum up many fold the value of
all the property more courageously stolen by the united labor of all the bur-
glars who have been thrust into the cells of our penitentiaries, from the
foundation of the government to the present day. Thus multitudes, orphans
and widows, have been wronged, and the hard -earned accumulations of vig-
orous manhood, laid by in a spirit of self-denial, as a resource for old age,
irretrievably and shamefully lost. The suspicious and selfish carry in theii
own bosoms a defense against such allurements: the single-hearted and inno-
cent fall victims. The hard lesson taught to individuals is, that money i*»
seldom safely spent, excepting by the hand that earns it. Yet it is only bj
associated capital great enterprises can be consummated ; and so, through
more or less of personal risk and loss, the general welfare is promoted.
Such are the enormous returns of successful silver mines, that capital and enter-
prise have always been ready to embark in the development of even veins of mod-
erate promise. In Mexico, where silver mining has been, for over two hundred
years, the great staple business of the country, the most enormous fortunes have
been realized in working mines. The famous Real Del Monte, near the city of
Mexico, is now 1,500 feet deep, and yielded in- 1857, $3,750,000 of silver from ore
which averaged $56 per tun. The Biscaina vein, in the 12 years immediately suc-
ceeding 1762, in which the adit of Moran was completed, yielded to its owner,
Tereros, a clear profit of $6,000,000. The produce of Catoree, taking the average
of the five years from 1800 to 1804, was $2.854,000. Santa Eulalia, near Chihua-
hua, from 1705 to 1737, yielded $55,959,750, or an average of $1,748,742 per an-
num. These and numerous other instances of successful mining, as published in
Ward's History of Mexico, show silver mining to be a business of great vicissitudes,
involving large expenditure, with a prospect of gains correspondingly large. The
ARIZONA TERRITORY. 567
whole produce of the Mexican mines was estimated by Humboldt, in 1803, at nearly
two thousand millions of dollars.
By many, and especially the Mexicans, the Gadsden Purchase is regarded as the
richest portion of the continent, for mines of silver, copper and lead. Silver ore
has already been reduced there which yielded, in large quantities, $1,000 to the
tun. The average of the Heintzelman mine has been $250, although much of the
ore taken from it yielded from $1,000 to $5,000 per tun, and some at the rate of
over $20,000. ,
The copper mines worked on the Mimbres River, yield large quantities of ore
which is 95 per cent, copper, while the lead mines of the Santa Rita and Santa
Cruz Mountains, are really inexhaustible. With these mineral treasures, placed
by nature for the use of man, it is not at all probable that Arizona will long remain
in its present condition. When once the mining enterprises already begun shall
have demonstrated, either in the hands of their present proprietors or some others,
that the precious metals not only exist there, but may become profitable, a new
impetus will be given to this kind of industry, and the silver country of Arizona will
become as widely known as the golden fields of California.
Various modes are practiced of reducing silver from its ores. 1. Th'e
Furnace. 2. The Mexican or patio (floor) amalgamation, with quicksilver.
3. The caze (or kettle) amalgamation. 4. The Freyberg or German barrel
amalgamation. 5. Augustin's method, by salt, without mercury. 6. Zier-
vogel's method, with salt or mercury, These modes can not be indiscrimin-
ately applied. Tfce character of the ores, climate, and other circumstances
will alone determine it. If the ore of a mine, in its mineralogical consitu-
ents, is not adapted to the mode of operation to which the operator is bred,
he is generally powerless to reduce it. One experienced in smelting ores,
can not reduce those which are adapted to "the patio;" or one accustomed
to " the patio," can not reduce by the German barrel, or by the Augustin
process, and vice versa.
The States
of the
SOUTH-WEST.
569
ALABAMA.
ARMS or ALABAMA..
ALABAMA is an Indian expression, said to signify "here we rest." It is
supposed that its soil was first visited by white men in 1540, that being the
year when its territory was traversed
by the followers of De Soto, in his
celebrated expedition through Florida
to the Mississippi. After a long and
disastrous march, De Soto arrived
with his cavalcade by the waters of
the Coosa, having made his entry into
Alabama from the northern part of
Georgia, where he had been searching
for gold. The country of the Coosa
tribe embraced the present counties
of Cherokee, Benton, Talladega and
Coosa.
From Coosa the expedition ad-
vanced toward Tallapoosa. Crossing
the Tallapoosa, they were received by
Tuscaloosa, an Indian chieftain, who
was "lord over many territories and
much people, and was feared by his neighbors and subjects." Passing
down the western side of Alabama River with Tuscaloosa, De Soto arrived at
Maubila, the capital of the country. This place consisted of eighty handsome
houses, each sufficiently capacious to contain a thousand men. They were
encompassed by a high wall made of immense trunks of trees, set deep in the
ground and close together, strengthened with cross-timbers and interwoven
with large vines. This place is supposed to have occupied the present site
of Choctaw Bluff, in Clarke county, about twenty -five miles above the con-
fluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee.
It appears that Tuscaloosa had taken measures after De Soto came within
his capital, to seize him and his men as prisoners. De Soto having discov-
ered the plot took measures of defense. The attack was begun by an Indian
chief, who rushed out of a house and loudly denounced the Spaniards as rob-
bers, thieves and assassins. A murderous conflict ensued. The Indians, sup-
posed to have been upward of ten thousand in number, joined by many of
their young women, fought desperately, and for a time the conflict seemed
doubtful. De Soto, mounted upon his horse, calling loudly upon "our Lady
and Santiago" rushed boldly upon the enemy, and forced his way over hun-
571
572 ALABAMA
dreds of fighting men and women. Followed by his troops, prodigies of
valor were performed, and the ground was covered with the slain. The con-
flict lasted nine hours. Although victory was on the side of the Spaniard*
it was dearly bought. Eighty of their number were slain or died of their
wounds; forty-five horses were killed, an irreparable loss in their condition.
Nearly all their camp equipage and baggage were consumed by the flames.
Maubila was laid in ashes ; at least six thousand Indians were slain, and the
tribe almost annihilated. De Soto now proceeded northward, crossed the
Black Warrior and Tombigbee, and proceeded westward to the Mississippi,
having many conflicts with the Indians on his route.
"At the time of De Soto's expedition, Alabama was inhabited by the
Coosas, Talassees, Mobilians and Choctaws. Being nearly destroyed by his
invasion, the Muscogees and Alabamas, who had been driven out of Mexico
by Cortez, occupied their places. The Muscogees were a warlike race, and
conquered the tribes with whom they came in contact. They extended their
conquests, and overrun Georgia to the Savannah River. They received into
their tribe the relics of the Alabamas, Tuskegees, and several other tribes.
The Muscogee confederacy at length became the most formidable in the
country. They received the name of "Creeks," from the number of-beautiful
streams flowing through their country.
After the invasion of De Soto, the soil of Alabama appears to have been
untrodden by Europeans for nearly a century and a half. In 1702, Bien-
ville, the governor of Louisiana, sailed up the bay of Mobile, and at the
mouth of Dog River commenced the erection of a fort, a warehouse, and other
public buildings. The fort was long designated as Fort St. Louis de Ja Mo-
bile. Here was the seat of government for nine years. At the end of this
period, in 1711, the French moved up to the mouth of Mobile River, where
they founded the present city of Mobile.
Bienville, the French governor, pursued a friendly policy with the natives,
and endeavored to secure the friendship and alliance of the various tribes
upon the Mobile River and its tributaries. Mobile being the seat of govern-
ment, various delegations of Indian chiefs, Spaniards from Vera Cruz, and
Canadians from the northern lakes and rivers, repaired there to see Governor
Bienville upon business. The English traders from Virginia and Carolina
were a source of great annoyance to the French. During the wars between
France and England, the latter power instigated the Indians against the
French colonists. To stop their expeditions, Bienville located a fort upon
the Alabama at Tuskegee. In 1721, three French war-ships, loaded with
African slaves, arrived at Mobile. Ultimately the disasters of the colonists
caused the abandonment of Mobile to a later period.
At the treaty of Paris, in 1763, the French gave up their possessions on
the continent of America. The western bank of the Mississippi, from its
source to its mouth, but including the island of New Orleans on the other
bank, passed into the hands of Spain, while Great Britain acquired Canada,
all the territory east of the Mississippi as far south as the Bayou Iberville,
and the whole of Florida. The whole of Alabama and Mississippi, and that
portion of Louisiana north of a line drawn through the Bayou Iberville, the
Amite, lakes Maurepas and Pontchartrain, to the sea, and east of the Missis-
sippi River, became thus a British possession, known until 1781 as West
Florida and the province of Illinois. Alabama was divided on the parallel
of 32° 28' between West Florida and Illinois, in nearly equal divisions, and
Montgomery and Wetumpka, which are but fifteen miles apart, were in differ-
ent jurisdictions.
ALABAMA. 573
George Johnson, the first British governor, organized a military govern-
ment, garrisoned the fort at Mobile, and that of Toulouse, up the Coosa.
The first English inhabitants of Mobile died in great numbers, from habits
of intemperance, exposure, and contagious disorders, introduced by the mili-
tary. The exports of Mobile, in 1772, were indigo, raw hides, corn, cattle,
tallow, rice, pitch, bear's oil, lumber, fish, etc. Cotton was cultivated in small
quantities. The charter granted to Georgia comprised within its limits all
the territory westward to the Mississippi. That state, considering its title to
these lands as perfect, made grants to various companies, for the purpose of
settlement. Two sets of these, known as the " Yazoo Grants" have acquired
a celebrity in history. By the first, five millions of acres in Mississippi were
granted to the South Carolina Yazoo Company; seven millions to the Virginia
Yazoo Company; and 3,500,000 acres in Alabama to the Tennessee Compa-
ny. The United States authorities opposed these grants, and the several
companies having failed to pay the purchase money, Georgia rescinded her
patents. Several years afterward, Georgia made other and more considerable
grants. These sales raised a storm throughout the country; they were de-
nounced by Gen. Washington, in his message to congress, and, eventually,
they were declared null and void.
Alabama, at this period, was almost entirely in the occupation of the na-
tives. There was a garrison of Spanish troops at Mobile, and also at St.
Stephens, on the Tombigbee, with trading posts upon the Oconee, and on
other points in the south and west. The whole country west of the present
limits of Georgia, to the Mississippi, was now purchased by the United States,
and, in 1817, was erected into the "Mississippi Territory." Fort Stoddard
was built near the confluence of the Alabama and Tombigbee, and the county
of Washington laid out, embracing a space out of which 20 counties in Ala-
bama and 12 in Mississippi have since been made.
At the period of the second war with Great Britain, Alabama was a thea-
ter of Indian warfare, as a great part of the state was then inhabited by a
number of tribes of Indians, of whom the Creeks were the principal. In
1812, the Creeks having been stirred up to war by Tecumseh, the celebrated
Shawnee warrior, commenced hostile operations. In August, they fell on
Fort Mimms; the garrison made a desperate resistance, but out of three
hundred men, women and children, only seventeen survived the massacre.
The adjoining states were now roused to action. In November, Gen. Jack-
son, assisted by Generals Coffee, Floyd, and Claiborne, entered the Indian
country, and defeated the Indians at Talladega, where 290 of their warriors
were slain. In November, Gen. Floyd attacked the Creeks on their sacred
ground, at Autossee. Four hundred of their houses were burned, and 200
of their bravest men killed, among whom were the kings of Autossee and
Tallahassee.
The last stand of the Creeks was at Tohopeka, a place called the " Ilorse-
shoe Bend." Here the Indians fought desperately, but were entirely defeated
with the loss of nearly GOO men. The victory ended in the submission of
the remaining warriors, and in 1814, a treaty of peace was concluded, and
the Creeks have now removed westward of the Mississippi. In 1816, a ces-
sion was obtained from the Indians of all the territory from the head waters
of the Coosa westward to Cotton Gin Point, and to a point running thence
to Caney Creek on the Tennessee. The territorial government being estab-
lished, the seat of government was located at St. Stephens. William W.
Bibb was appointed governor, and the first legislature was convened in 1818.
574: ALABAMA.
" The flood-gates of Virginia, the two Carolinas, Tennessee, Kentucky and
Georgia were now hoisted, and the mighty streams of emigration poured
through them, spreading over the whole territory of Alabama." In 1819,
Alabama was admitted into the Union as a sovereign state. The general
assembly convened at Huntsville, and William W. Bibb was inaugurated
governor.
Alabama lies between 31° and 35° N., and 8° 8' and 11° 29' W. from
Washington. It is 317 miles long from north to south, and 174 miles broad,
bounded N. by Tennessee, E. by Georgia and Florida, S. by Florida and the
Gulf of Mexico, and W. by Mississippi. The north-eastern part of the
fctate, being the region of the termination of the range of the Alleghany
Mountains, is hilly, broken, and somewhat mountainous. The southern part,
bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, is low and level, and mostly covered with
pines. The soil and climate of Alabama varies with the position and eleva-
tion of its parts. In the north the soil is moderately fertile ; in the central
part, which is less elevated and undulating, it is well watered, and in the
river bottoms, the land is extremely rich and productive. The most promi-
nent productions of the state are cotton — of which in yield it stands first in
quantity of any state in the Union — corn, wheat, and rice. Tobacco and sugar
are also raised to some extent.
Alabama is rich in mineral productions. The whole central region is
underlaid with vast beds of iron ore, or occupied by coal measures of great
thickness and extent. The coal is of a bituminous character, and well adapted
for steamboats and factories. Various establishments for manufacturing iron
have been erected, and their products have become extensive and valuable.
The river navigation in the state is quite extensive, in its various windings
measuring at least 2,000 miles. The great body of the products of Ala-
bama find their way to Mobile, the commercial emporium, by means of the
Alabama and Tombigbee Rivers and their branches. The Baptists and
Methodists are the most numerous religious denominations in the state.
Population in 1820, was 127,901, of whom 41,879 were slaves; in 1850, it
had increased to 771,671, of whom 342,892 were slaves. In 1860, the pop-
ulation was 955,917, of whom 435,473 were slaves.
MOBILE, the principal city and commercial emporium of Alabama, is sit-
uated on the west bank of Mobile River, just above its entrance into Mobile
Bay, 330 miles S.W. of Montgomery" by the river, 166 N.E. from New Or-
leans, and 1,566 from New York. Population is about 25,000. The city is
built on an extended plain, dry and sandy, and elevated about 15 feet above
the highest tides. It has a fine prospect of the bay, extending about 30
miles, with an average width of 12 miles, to the Gulf of Mexico. Immedi-
ately opposite the city is a low island, covered with high grass and rushes,
known as "the marsh." Above, on the banks of the river, is a large swamp;
back from the city the dry, sandy hills commence, affording a delightful and
healthy retreat from the heat and sickness during the summer.
The streets of Mobile are generally wide, and, of late years, have been much
improved by shade trees. The warm season, though tempered by the sea breezes,
is somewhat relaxing to the system. During the coldest season the ground is but
seldom frozen. Next to New Orleans, Mobile is the largest cotton market in the
United States.
In 1702, Bienville, the French governor of Louisiana, with forty sailors and
eonie ship carpenters, began the construction of a warehouse on Dauphin Island,
ALABAMA.
575
at the entrance of Mobile Bay. He then sailed up the bay, and, at the mouth
of Dog River, began the erection of a fort, a warehouse, and other buildings.
This place was called Mobile, from the spacious bay upon which it was situated,
BO named after a tribe of Indians who had resolutely fought De Soto upon the
field of Maubila.
North View of St. Louis Wharf, Mobile.
Showing one of tne principal wharves for the unlading of cotton and other articles ; some of the store!
and warehouses appear on the right and the shipping in the distance.
In 1711, all the inhabitants, excepting the garrison at the fort, removed to the
Mobile River, and established themselves on the present site of Mobile. In 1763,
Mobile was ceded by France to Great Britain. In 1780, it was surrendered to
Spain, and in April, 1813, it became a portion of the United States. It was in-
corporated as a city in 1819.
Fort Morgan, formerly Fort Bowyer, stands at the mouth of Mobile Bay. In
September, 1814, a British fleet, under Com. Percy, made an attack on the fort,
which was defended by Major Lawrence, with 130 men. The British were re-
pulsed with a total loss of 232 men — the American loss 4 killed and 4 wounded.
The victory of the Americans at New Orleans forced the British to abandon the .
banks of the Mississippi, after which they hovered about Mobile Point. Five
thousand men landed from their ships and prepared to reduce the fort. Major
Lawrence, agreeably to a council of officers, negotiated for a surrender, and the
next day, February 12, 1815, marched out of the fort with his little garrison, with
colors flying and drums beating. They took quarters on board the British ships-
of-the line as prisoners of war. Soon after the news of peace was received. Great
mortality prevailed among the British shipping at this time, from wounds and
disease, and hundreds of British soldiers were entombed among the white sands
of Mobile Point and Dauphin Island.
MONTGOMERY CITY, the capital of Alabama, is on an elevated bluff on the
Alabama River, at the head of steamboat navigation, 118 miles southeasterly
from Tuscaloosa, the former capital. There is a continuous line of railroads to
New York, Savannah, and Charleston, being 483 miles from the latter place. It
576
ALABAMA.
is connected by steamboat navigation with Mobile, from which place it is distant,
by the course of the river, 328 miles. Beside the state house, the city contains a
court-house, churches for various denominations, and several splendid public
edifices It is in the midst of a fertile cotton region, and commands an extensive
trade. Population about 8,000. It was laid out and became the capital of the
state in 1817.
Fort Morgan, Mobile Point.
Western View in the Central part of Montgomery.
The reservoir of waste water from the Arti-sian well is seen in the foreground, in Conrt Square.
The State House, or Capitol, appears in the distance, on elevated ground, at the head of Market-street,
about half a mile distant from the Keservoir.
The territory of the present county of Montgomery contained a few white in-
ibitants as early as 1792. The ancient Indian name for the location on which
the city of Montgomery is now built, was Econchate, or " Red Earth."
settlers were traders, who located at the southern suburbs of the city.
The first
ALABAMA. 577
The following account of some of the principal events, in this region of
country, during the Creek war of 1813-14, is extracted from Perkins' His-
tory. The massacre at Fort Mimms, in Aug., 1813, spread consternation
and dismay throughout all the settlements in Alabama, and the inhabitants
fled without delay to various places for safety. The neighboring states of
Tennessee and Georgia were roused to vigorous exertions. A body of 1,800
volunteers, under Gen. Floyd, were marched into the southern section of the
Creek Nation, from the state of Georgia. The legislature of Tennessee passed
an act to raise 3,500 men to act against the Indians, and $300,000 were voted
to be used to defray the expenses. Generals Jackson and Cocke were ap-
pointed commanders.
" The first object to which the troops under General Jackson were directed, was
their encampments at the Tallustaches towns, on the Coosa river, a northern branch
of the Alabama. On the 2d of November, General Coffee was detached with a
part of his brigade of cavalry, and a corps of mounted riflemen, amounting to nine
hundred, against this assemblage. He arrived on the morning of the third, and
encircled the encampment with his cavalry; when he had approached within half
a mile, the Creeks sounded the war-whoop and prepared for action. Captain Ham-
mond's and Lieutenant Patterson's companies advanced within the circle and gave
a few shots for the purpose of drawing out the enemy. The Creeks formed and made
a violent charge. Captain Hammond, according to his orders, gave way, and was
pursued by the Indians, until they met the right column, which gave them a gen-,
eral fire, and then charged. The Indians immediately retreated within and behind
their buildings, and fought with desperation; but their destruction was soon ac-
complished. The soldiers rushed up to the doors of their houses, broke them open,
and in a few minutes killed the last warrior of them : not one escaped to carry the
news. None asked for quarters, but fought as long as they could stand or sit, and
met death in various shapes without a groan. Two hundred warriors were killed,
eighty four women and children taken prisoners and discharged ; of General Coffee's
troops only five were killed, and forty-one wounded.
General Jackson established his head-quarters at the Ten Islands on the Coosa,
and fortified his position, giving it the name of Camp Strother. On the evening of
the 7th of November, a runner arrived from the friendly Indians at the Tallageda
fort, thirty miles below on the same river, giving information that the hostile Creeks
had encamped in great force near that place, and were preparing to destroy it, ear-
nestly soliciting immediate assistance. General Jackson determined on commenc-
ing his march the same night, and dispatched a runner to General White, inform-
ing him of his movement, and urging him to hasten his march to Camp Strother,
to protect it in his absence. He had previously ordered General White to form a
junction with him as speedily as possible, and received his assurances that he
would be with him on the 7th. General Jackson immediately commenced crossing
the river at the Ten Islands, leaving his baggage wagons and whatever might retard
his progress in the camp, and halted at midnight within six miles of the Tallageda.
Here a runner arrived with a note from General White informing him that he had
altered his course, and was on his march back to join General Cocke at the mouth
of the Chataga
Battle of Tallageda. — It was then too late for the general to change his plan of
operations, or make any new arrangements. He renewed his march at three
o clock, and at sunrise, came within half a mile of his enemy, whom he found en-
camped a quarter of a mile in advance of the fort. He immediately formed the
line of battle; the militia on the left, the volunteers on the right, and the cavalry
on the wings; and advanced in a curve, keeping his rear connected with the ad-
vance of the infantry line, so as to inclose the enemy in a circle. The advance
guard met the attack of the Indians with intrepidity, and having poured upon them
four or five rounds, fell back to the main body. The enemy pursued, and were
met by the front line. This line was broken, and several companies of militia re-
37
578 ALABAMA.
treated. At this moment a corps of cavalry under Lieutenant Colonel Dyer, which
was kept as a reserve, were ordered to dismount and fill the vacancy. The order
was promptly •executed,--. the militia soon rallied, and returned to the charge. The
fire now became general .along the first line and the contiguous wings. The Indi-
ans fled, and were met and pursued in every direction. The right wing followed
them with a destructive fire to the mountains, three miles distant Two hundred
and ninety of their warriors were found dead, and a large number killed in the
pursuit, who were not found. General Jackson lost fifteen men killed, and eighteen
wounded. In consequence of the failure of General White to proceed to Camp
Strother, General Jackson was obliged to give up further pursuit, and immediately
return to his camp to protect his sick, wounded, and baggage."
Gen. White, who considered himself as under the command of Gen. Cocke,
was ordered by that officer to attack the Hillabee towns. On the morning
of the 1 8th of November, he surrounded and surprised the town of the Hil-
labees, killed 60 warriors, took 256 prisoners, and returned to Fort Arm-
strong without the loss of a man, either killed or wounded. While the
Tennessee forces were performing these operations in the northern sections
of the Creek country, the Georgia troops, un^er Gen. Floyd, entered their
territory from the east.
"The general, having received information that a number of hostile Indians had
assembled at the Autosee towns, on the southern bank of the Talapoosa, eighteen
miles from the Hickory ground, and twenty above the junction of that river with
the Coosa, proceeded to that place with a corps of nine hundred and fifty militia,
and four hundred friendly Indians ; and on the morning of the 29th of November,
at half past six, appeared in line of battle, in front of the principal town. The
Indians presented themselves at every point, and fought with desperate fury. The
well directed fire of the artillery, and the charge of the bayonet, soon drove them
from the ground, and obliged them to take shelter in the copses, thickets, and out-
houses in rear of the town. Many concealed themselves in caves previously pro-
vided as places of retreat, along the high bluffs on the river, which were thickly
covered with reeds and brush-wood. The friendly Indians were divided into four
companies, under leaders of their own choice, and directed to cross Canhabec
Creek, and occupy that flank to prevent escapes from the.Tallisee town, situated
about one hundred rods below the Autosee. Instead of obeying this order, soon
after the action commenced, most of them thronged in disorder into the rear of the
lines; but the Covetans under M'Intosh, and the Tookabotchians, under Mad Dog's
son, joined the flanks of the militia, and fought with a bravery equal to disciplined
troops. At nine o'clock, the Indians were completely driven from the plain, and
the houses of both towns were in flames. Warriors from eight towns had assem-
bled at Autosee, which their prophets had taught them to believe was holy ground,
on which no white man could, tread without inevitable destruction. Four hundred
buildings were burned, some of which were of a superior cast for the dwellings of
savages. The loss of the Indians was estimated at two hundred killed ; among
whom were the Autosee and Tallisee kings. The number of wounded could not
be ascertained, as they were taken off by their friends, but must have been very
considerable. General Floyd was severely wounded, and Adjutant General New-
man slightly. The whole loss of the Georgians was eleven killed, and fifty-four
wounded. The friendly Indians lost several killed and wounded, but their loss "was
not great, as most of them sought places of safety at the commencement of the
action. From the Autosee towns, General Floyd, after resting several days, pro-
ceeded to Camp Defiance, fifty miles further to the west, into the enemy's country.
At this place, at 5 o'clock in the morning of the 2d of January, his camp was as-
sailed by a desperate band of hostile Indians, who stole unobserved upon the sen-
tinels, fired on them, and immediately rushed on the lines. In twenty minutes the
troops were formed in order of battle, and the action became general. The front
and both flanks were closely pressed once, but the skillful conduct of the officers,
and firmness of *he men, repulsed the enemy at every point."
On January 17, 1814, Gen. Jackson, finding himself in a situation to com-
ALABAMA. 579
mence further offensive operations, marched from his encampment at Fort
Strother, with 900 volunteers, who were soon afterward joined by 300 friendly
Indians. Marching against the Creeks, collected at the great bend of the
Tallapoosa, he was attacked by the Indians, on Jan. 22d, at Emuckfau, with
great fury. Gen. Jackson, being on the alert, encamped his men in a hollow
squ-ivc, stood his ground, and forced the enemy to retire. Being somewhat
crippled, and rather short of provisions, Jackson began a retreat to Fort
Strother. When at Enotochopko Creek, he was again attacked,' and he once
more succeeded in putting his enemies to flight. In these two conflicts, the
American loss was 20 killed and 75 wounded; among the killed were Maj.
Donaldson and Capt. Hamilton. The Indians lost at least 189 warriors.
The Creeks still continued to concentrate their forces at the great bend of
the Tallapoosa, usually called Horse Shoe by the whites, and Tohopeka by the
Indians, a word in their language said to signify a horse shoe. The penin-
sula formed by the bend contained about 100 acres, on which was a village
of some 200 houses. About 1,000 Indians, from the adjoining districts, had
fortified themselves on the peninsula with great skill, having a formidable
breastwork built of large logs. They had also an ample supply of provis-
ions and ammunition.
"On the 16th of March, 1814, General Jackson, having received considerable
reinforcements of volunteers from Tennessee, and friendly Indians, left Fort Stro-
ther with his whole disposable force, amounting to about three thousand of every
description, on an expedition against this assemblage of Indians. He proceeded
down the Coosa sixty miles to the mouth of Cedar Creek, where he established a
post called Fort Williams, and proceeded on the 24th across the ridge of land di-
viding the waters of the Coosa from the Tallapoosa; and arrived at the great bend
on the morning of the 27th, having the three preceding days opened a passage
through the wilderness of fifty-two miles. On the 26th he passed the battle ground
of the 22d of January, and left it three miles in his rear. General Coffee was de-
tached with seven hundred cavalry, and mounted gunmen, and six hundred friendly
Indians, to cross the river below the bend, secure the opposite banks, and prevent
escape. Having crossed at the Little Island ford, three miles below the bend, his
Indians were ordered silently to approach and line the banks of the river, while
the mounted men occupied the adjoining hights, to guard against reinforcements,
which might be expected from the Oakfusky towns, eight miles below. Lieutenant
Bean, at the same time, was ordered to occupy Little Island, at the fording-place,
to secure any that might attempt to escape in that direction. La the mean time,
General Jackson, with the artillery and infantry, moved on in slow and regular
order to the isthmus, and planted his guns on an eminence one hundred and fifty
yards in front of the breastwork. On perceiving that General Coffee had completed
his arrangements below, he opened a fire upon the fortification, but found he could
make no other impression with his artillery than boring shot-holes through the logs.
General Coffee's Indians on the bank, hearing the roaring of the cannon in front,
and observing considerable confusion on the peninsula, supposing the battle to be
nearly won, crossed over and set fire to the village, and attacked the Creeks in the,
rear. At this moment General Jackson ordered an assault upon the works in front.
The regular troops, led by Colonel Williams, accompanied by a part of the militia
of General Dougherty's brigade, led on by Colonel Russell, presently got possession
of a part of the works, amid a tremendous fire from behind them. The advance
guard was led by Colonel Sisler, and the left extremity of the line by Captain Gor-
don of the spies, and Captain M' Marry of General Johnson's brigade of West
Tennessee militia The battle for a short time was obstinate, and fought musket
to musket through the port-holes; when the assailants succeeded in getting posses-
sion of the opposite side of the works, and the contest ended. The Creeks were
entirely routed, and the whole margin of the river strewed with the slain. The
troops under General Jackson, and General Coffee's Indians, who had crossed over
into the peninsula, continued the work of destruction as long as
580 ALABAMA.
to be found. General Coffee, on seeing his Indians crossing over, had ordered their
places to be supplied on the bank by his riflemen; and every Indian that attempted
to escape by swimming the river, or crossing the Little Island below, was met and
alain by General Coffee's troops. The battle, as long as any appearance of resist-
ance" remained, lasted five hours; the slaughter continued until dark, and was re-
newed the next morning, when sixteen more of the unfortunate savages were
hunted out of their hiding-places and slain. Five hundred and fifty-seven warriors
were found dead on tne peninsula; among whom was their famous prophet jMana-
hell, and two* others, the principal instigators of the war ; two hundred and fifty
more were estimated to have been killed in crossing the river, and at other places,
which were not found. General Jackson's loss was twenty-six white men, and
twenty three Indians, killed; and one hundred and seven white men, and forty-
seven Indians, wounded.
This decisive victory put an end to the Creek war. In the short period -of five
months, from the first of November to the first of April, two thousand of their
warriors, among whom were their principal prophets and kings, had been slain,
most of their towns and villages burned, and the strong places in their territory
occupied by the United States troops. After this battle, the miserable remnant
of the hostile tribes submitted. Weatherford, the principal surviving chief and
prophet, who led the Indians at Fort Minims, accompanied his surrender with this
address to General Jackson :
'I fought at Fort Minims — I fought the Georgia army — I did yon all the injury I could. Had I been
vupported as I was promised, I would have done you more. But uiy warriors are all killed. I can fight
no longer. I look back with sorrow that I have brought destruction upon my nation. I am now in your
jower. Do with me as you please. I am a soldier.' **
Eastern View of Selma.
The above shows the appearance of S«lnv\ steaiiboat landing, as it is approached sailing down the river;
on the right, on the elevated limestone bank*, is s<vn the commencement of the Alabama and Tennessee
Railroad, also the apparatus for conveying coal to the boats below Tim warehouses for cotton, etc., from
which cotton bales are conveyed by slides to the steamboats, appear in the central part.
SELMA, Dallas county, on the right bank of the Alabama River, is
situated 82 miles westward of Montgomery, by the river, arid 10 miles
above Cahaba, and about 150 above Mobile. It has about 4000 in-
habitants, and several iron foundries and other manufacturing estab-
lishments. Two railroads, the Alabama and Mississippi and the Ala-
bama and Tennessee River, diverge from this place. It is situated in
themidst of a fertile cotton growing section, and large quantities of
cotron are shipped at this point.
ALABAMA. 581
MARION, the capital of Perry county, is situated 26 miles N. from
Selma, with which it is connected by railroad. It is in an elevated,
broken, and dry region, distant from any river, creek, or swamp, and
is remarkable for salubrity. The village contains about three thous-
and inhabitants.
At the commencement of hostilities with Great Britain in 1812, Te-
cumseh, the celebrated Shawnee chieftain, visited the southern Indians,
and by his arts of persuasion induced them to take up arms against
the United States. Gen. Claiborne, who was appointed to the de-
fense of the country in the vicinity of Mobile, proceeded to Fort Stod-
dart, situated ou the Mobile River, upward of forty miles above its
mouth. From this point he sent the soldiers under his command to
defend the settlements. The inhabitants of the* Tensaw district, on
the Alabama, fled to Fort Mimms, on that river, about 16 miles above.
This fort was built about the residence of Samuel Mimrns, a mile east
from the Alabama River, and two miles below the cut-off. It was gar-
risoned by 150 soldiers, under Major Beasly; these, with the white
settlers, the friendly Indians, and negroes, amounted to 553 persons,
who were crowded together in an Alabama swamp, in the month of
August. About 1000 Creek warriors stole up near the fort, and
there lay in ambush, ready for a bloody onset: among their leaders
was the celebrated Weatherford. On the 30th of August, 1813, in an
unsuspecting moment, while the soldiers were about dining, the In-
dians issued from their hiding-places and advanced to within a few rods
before the alarm was given.
"As the sentinel cried out 'Indians,' they gave a war-whoop, and rushed in at
the gate before the garrison had time to shut it This decided their fate. Major
Beasly was mortally wounded at the commencement of the assault; he ordered
his men to secure the ammunition, and retreat into the house ; he was himself
carried into the kitchen, and afterward consumed in the flames. The fort was
originally square, but Major Beasly had enlarged it by extending the lines upon
two sides about fifty feet, and putting up a new side, into which the gate was re-
moved; the old lines of pickets were standing, and the Indians, on rushing in at
the gate, obtained possession of the outer part, and through the port holes of the
old line of pickets, fired on the people who held the interior. On the opposite
side of the fort was an offset or bastion made round the back gate, which, being
open on the outside, was occupied by the Indians, who, with the axes that lay
scattered about, cut down the gate. The people in the fort kept possession of the
port holes on the other lines, and fired on the Indians who remained on the out-
side. iSome of the Indians ascended the block-house at one of the corners, and
fired on the garrison below, but were soon dislodged; they succeeded, however, in
setting fire to a house near the pickets, which communicated to the kitchen, and
from thence to the main dwelling-house. When the people in the fort saw the
Indians in full possession of the outer court, the gate open, the men fast falling,
and their houses in flames, they gave up all for lost, and a scene of the most dis-
tressing horror ensued. The women and children sought refuge in the upper
story of the dwelling house, and were consumed in the flames, the Indians dancing
and yelling round them with the most savage delight. Those who were without
the buildings were murdered and scalped without distinction of age or sex; sev-
enteen only escaped. The battle and massacre lasted from eleven in the forenoon
until six in the afternoon, by which time the work of destruction was fully com-
pleted, the fort and buildings entirely demolished, and upward of four hundred,
men, women, and children massacred.
" General Claiborne dispatched Major Joseph P. Kennedy, with a strong detach-
ment to Fort Mimms, from his headquarters at Mount Vernon, for the purpose
582
ALABAMA.
of burying the dead. Upon arriving there, Kennedy found the air darkened with
buzzards, and hundreds of dogs, which had run wild, gnawing upon tlje human
carcasses. The troops, with heavy hearts, succeeded in interring many bodies in
two large pits, which they dug. 'Indians, negroes, white men, women, and chil-
dren, lay in one promiscuous ruin. All were scalped, and the females of every
age were butchered in a manner which neither decency nor language permit me
to describe. The main building was burned to ashes, which were filled with bones.
The plains and woods around were covered with dead bodies. All the houses were
consumed by fire, except the block-house, and a part of the pickets. The soldiers
and officers, with one voice, called on Divine Providence to revenge the death of
our murdered friends.' "
Outline View of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
William Weatherford, one of the most conspicuous war chiefs of the Creek
Confederacy, was born in the Creek Nation : his father was an itinerant pedlar and
his mother a full blooded Indian of the Seminole tribe. He is said to have pos-
sessed the bad qualities of both his parents, combined with many traits peculiarly
his own. In person tie was tall, strait, and well proportioned. His judgment and
eloquence had secured the respect of the old ; his vices made him the idol of the
young and unprincipled. During the war of 1812 he entered fully into the views
of Tecuinseh, and was the principal leader at the massacre at Fort Minims. After
the final defeat, at the battle of the Horse-shoe, he voluntarily came into the can>o
of Gen. Jackson ; it was on this occasion that he made his celebrated speech
" 7 am in ymir powei — do with me a* you please — I am a soldier. I have done the whites all
the harm I could. I have fought them, and fought them bravely. If I had an army, I would yet
fight — I would contend to the la»t : but I have none. My people are all, gone. I can only weep
over the misfortunes of my nation."
General Jackson was pleased with his boldness, and told him that though he was
in his power, yet he would take no advantage ; that he might yet join the war party,
and contend against the Americans, if he chose, but to depend upon no quarter if
taken afterward; and that unconditional submission was Ins and his people s only
safety. Weatherford replied, in a tone as dignified as indignant:
" You can safely address me in such terms now. There was a time when I could have answered
you — there was a time when I had a choice — / have none now. I have not even a hope. I could
once animate my warriors to battle — but I can not animate the dead. My warriors can no longer
hear my voice. Their bone* are at Talladega, Talluxhatches, Emnckfaw, and Tohopeka. I have
not surrendered myself without thought. While there was a single chance of success, I never left
my post, nor supplicated peace. But my people arc gone, and I now ask it for my nation, not for
mi/self. I look back with deep sorrow, and wish to avert still greater calamities. If I had been
left to contend with the Georgia army, I would have raised my corn on one bank of the river, and
fought them on the other, lint your people have destroyed my nation. Yoit are a brave man. I
rely upon your generosity. You icill exact no terms of a conquered people, but such as they shoufd
accede to. Whatever they may be, it would noio be madness and folly to oppose them. If they are
opposed, yon shall find me amongst the sternest enforcers of obedience. Those who would still
hold out, can be influenced only by a mean spirit of revenge. To this they must not, and shall not
sacrifice the last remnant of their country. You have told our nation where we might go and be
»afe. This is good talk, and they ought to listen to it. They shall listen to it."
After the war was over, he became a citizen of Monroe county.
ALABAMA.
583
TUSCALOOSA is situated on the S. E. side of Black Warrior River, 94 N. W. of
Montgomery, 120 S. W. of Huntsvillc, and 217 from Mobile. It is regularly
built, on an ele'vated plain at the lower falls of the river, at the head of steamboat
navigation, and until 1847 was the capital of the state. It contains the old state
house, the University of Alabama; population about 3,000. The University of
Alabama went into operation in 1831.
View of the Public Sguare, Hnntnville.
The engraving shows the Court House in the center; on the right, in the distance, appears the front of
the Northern Bank of Alabama.
HUNTSVILLE, the shire town of Madison county, one of the most beautiful and
well built places in the gouthern States, is on the line of the Charleston and Mem-
phis railroad, about 10 miles N. of the Tennessee River, 217 N. from Montgomery,
and 211 from Memphis, Tenn. It has many handsome private dwellings, and
presents many attractions for a permanent residence. Population about 5,000.
Huntsville received its name from Capt. John Hunt, a revolutionary soldier, the
first settler, who located himself near the spring which supplies the cily.
Wetumpka is on the E. side of Coosa River, 13 miles northeasterly from Mont-
gomery. It has a fine site, at the head of steamboat navigation, and is a place
of considerable trade. The state penitentiary was located here in October, 1851.
Population about 3,000. The Harrowgate Springs, in the south border of the city,
are much resorted to during the summer months.
Florence, the capital of Lauderdale county, was laid out in 1818. It is on the
N. side of the Tennessee River, immediately below the Muscle Shoals, and 197
miles N. W. of Montgomery. It is on an elevated plain, 100 feet above the river,
which, when full, is navigable for steamboats to the Ohio. Population about
2,000.
Tuscumlia is on the left bank of the Tennessee, five miles below Florence, and
346 miles N. from Mobile. It is on the line of the Charleston and Memphis
railroad, 144 miles east from Memphis. Population 3,000. »•
MISSISSIPPI.
THE name of this state is from the Indian words Meach-Chassfppi, .signi-
fying "Father of Rivers?' The first Europeans who traversed its soil were
De Soto and his followers, in their
celebrated expedition in search of
gold, about the year 1540. The In-
dians inhabiting its territory were the
Choctaws, ChicJcasaws, Natchez* etc.
For a great part of the time until the
cession of 1763, most of these tribes
or nations were in a state of warfare
with the white intruders. La Salle,
descending the rivers from the Illinois
country, in 1681, visited the part of
the state bordering on the Mississippi,
but the first attempt to found perma-
nent settlements on this river were
made, in 1698, by Ibberville, the gov-
ernor of Louisiana. His colony ar-
rived at Ship Island in 1700, and after
exploring along and beyond the Mis-
sissippi, the parties returned and built a fort at Biloxi, at the mouth of a
river of that name, about 20 miles N. of the island.
In 1716, Bienville, one of the governors of Louisiana, sailed up the Mis-
sissippi as far as Natchez, erected and garrisoned a fortification, which he
called "Fort Rosalie." This spot had been marked down by Ibberville, in
1700, as an eligible site for a town, of which he drew a plan, and which he
called Rosalie, the maiden name of the Countess Ponchartrain, of France.
In 1729, the Natchez Indians formed a conspiracy against the French col-
onists, by whom they considered themselves aggrieved. On the 28th of
November, they fell upon the inhabitants by surprise, and about 700 hun-
dred Frenchmen were massacred. The French governor of Louisiana, M.
Perier, resolved on avenging the massacre, sent to the Choctaws, who fur-
nished a body of about 1,600 warriors to assist the French against the
Natchez. The Natchez, being besieged in their fort by the French, had the
address, during the night, to make their escape. Learning afterward, that
they had fortified themselves west of the Mississippi, the French followed
them thither, and compelled them to surrender. They were taken to New
585
ARMS OF MISSISSIPPI.
536 MISSISSIPPI.
Orleans, and afterward transported as slaves to St. Domingo. Thus perished
the Natchez nation, "the most illustrious in Louisiana."
The Chickasaws were the dread of the French colonists, as they had incited
the Natchez against them. They occupied a large and heautiful tract east
of the Mississippi, at the head of the Tombigbee. This they would not allow
the French to settle, but maintained their independence. In 1736, a force
from New Orleans, under Bienville, sailed for Mobile in thirty barges and
thirty large pirogues. Proceeding up the Tombigbee, they were joined by
1,200 Choctaw warriors, and the combined force moved up to the present site
of Cotto»-gin Port, nearly five hundred miles, by the river, from Mobile, to
within about 27 miles of the stronghold of the Chickasaws, in the present
county of Pontotoc. Having completed a stockade, and left a guard. Bien-
ville advanced against the enemy. As they came in sight of the Chickasaw
I'ort, on the 26th of May, the British flag was seen waving over its walls, and
j|. was known that British traders were in the fort conducting the defense.
The French column advanced to the assault, with the cheering shout of
f' Vive le Roi." Twice during the day was the assault renewed with fire and
sword, but they were repulsed by the terrible fire from the fort, and having
.lost about 100 men, in killed and wounded, Bienville soon after broke up
his encampment and took up the retrograde line of march. Having dis-
missed the Choctaws with presents, he threw his cannon into the Tombigbee,
and floated down the river to Fort Conde, and from thence to New Orleans.
One important part of the plan of the campaign against the Chickasaws,
was to have the co-operation of a force of French and Indians from Canada.
D'Artaguette, the pride and flower of the French at the north, procured the
aid of '• Chicago" the Illinois chief from the shore of Lake Michigan. His
lieutenant was the gallant Vincennes, from the settlement on the Wabash.
These heroes came down the river unobserved to the last Chickasaw bluff,
and from thence penetrated into the heart of the country. On the 10th of
May, they encamped, it is supposed, about six miles east of the present town
of Pontotoc, near the appointed place of rendezvous with the force of Bienville.
Having waited for some time in vain for intelligence from the chief commander,
the Indian allies of D'Artaguette became impatient for war and plunder, and
could not be restrained, when D'Artaguette consented to lead them to the
attack. He drove the Chickasaws from two of their fortified villages, but
was severely wounded in his attack on the third. His allies, the red men of
Illinois, dismayed at this check, fled precipitately, and D'Artaguette was
left weltering in his blood. Vincennes, his lieutenant, and the Jesuit Senat,
their spiritual guide and friend, refusing to fly, shared the captivity of their
gallant leader. They were treated with great care and attention ' by the
Chickasaws, who were in hopes of obtaining a great ransom from Bienville,
then advancing into their country. After his retreat, the Chickasaws, de-
spairing of receiving anything for their prisoners, tortured and burnt them
over a slow fire, leaving but one alive to relate their fate to their country-
men.
In 1763, France relinquished to Great Britain all her possessions east of
the Mississippi, and to Spain all west of that river, and also the Island of
Orleans. Spain, at the same time, gave up Florida to the British. In 1783,
the country north of the parallel of 31° north latitude, was included in the
limits of the United States, by the treaty acknowledging their independence,
and the Floridas reverted to the* Spanish crown. By its charter, the Georgia
limits extended to the Mississippi. In 1795, its legislature sold 22,000,000
MISSISSIPPI. 587
acres of land in Mississippi, called the Yazoo purchase, to four companies,
for $500,000, who after-ward sold it, at advanced prices, to various persons,
mostly in the eastern and middle states. The next year the legislature de-
clared the sale unconstitutional, and ordered the records of it to be burnt.
The southern section of the state was within the limits of Florida, and was
purchased of Spain in 1821. In 1798, a large part of the area now com-
prising the states of Mississippi and Alabama, constituted the "Mississippi
Territory." In 1817,. the state of Mississippi was admitted into the Union.
Mississippi is situated between 30° 10' and 35° N. Lat., and between 80°
30' and 81° 35' W. Long. It is 339 miles long from N. to S., and 150
broad, containing 47,151 square miles. The southern part of the state, for
about 100 miles from the Gulf shore, is mostly a sandy level pine forest, in-
terspersed with cypress swamps, open prairies, and a few slight elevations.
There are no mountains within the limits of the state, only numerous ranges
of hills of moderate elevation, some of which terminate abruptly upon a
level plain, or upon the banks of a river, bearing the name of "bluffs" or
river hills. The Mississippi River, in its various windings, forms the entire
western boundary of the state, and most of the lands bordering it, from the
northern line to the entrance of Yazoo River, consist of inundated swamps,
covered with a large growth of timber. From Memphis, just above the
northern line of Mississippi to Vicksburg, a distance of 450 miles by the
river, the uplands, or river hills, are separated by inundated bottom lands
of greater or less width, and afford no site suitable for a port. Below Vicks-
burg, the only eligible port is Natchez, 100 miles south.
The country in the south part of the state is rolling, healthy, and produc-
tive. The Yazoo is the largest river that has its whole course in the state,
and the lands drained by it are very fertile. The coast, which extends along
the Gulf of Mexico for about 60 miles, has no harbor for large vessels. A
chain of low sand islands, six or seven miles from the shore, inclose several
bays or sounds: the largest are Pascagoula Sound and Lake Borgne. Ship
and Cat Islands are eligible for ocean steamers. The ports on the Missis-
sippi are Vicksburg, Grand Gulf, and Natchez. The great staple of the
state is cotton. Indian corn, rice, tobacco, hemp, etc., are also important
productions. The fig and orange grow well in the lower part of the state,
and the apple tree flourishes in the higher hilly regions. Population, in
1800, 8,850; in 1820, 75,448; in 1840, 375,651; in 1850, 606,555; and in
1860, 887,258., of whom 479,607 were slaves.
JACKSON, the capital of Mississippi, is about 40 miles east of Vicks-
burg, with which it is connected by a railroad. It is on the left bank
of Pearl River, which is navigable to this place for small steamboats.
It contains the state buildings, and has about 4.000 inhabitants^,
NATCHEZ is on the E. bank of the Mississippi, 87 miles S. W. from
Jackson, the Capital of the state, and from New Orleans, by the river,
309 miles, but in a direct line 127 miles. This is usually consid-
ered the principal city of the state,*! ts importance arising from its
being the depot of cotton, the product of the lands around it, and
from being also one of the main entrepots of the internal commerce
of Mississippi. The principal part of the' city is built on a clayey
bluff, about 150 feet high. Natchez under the Hill, as it is called, is
588
MISSISSIPPI.
that part which lies upon the margin of the river, consisting of ware-
houses, stores, shops, etc., for the accomrnoilation of the landing. The
city contains about 7,000 inhabitants. It has long been considered
one of the most beautiful places on the Lower Mississippi.
Southern View of Jackson (Central Part.)
The view shows the southern front of tho State House. The Governor's House- is soen a little to the left
also the Bowman House.
Western view of Natchez.
The buildings near the shore comprise " Natchez under the Hill": part of the city above appears on the
bluff. The City Hotel and part of the promenade grounds on the edge of the precipitous cliffs are seen on
the left. The passage to the lauding appears in the central part.
Natchez was a very important point in the early history of Mississippi.
MISSISSIPPI. 589
In the year 1700, Iberville, the first colonist of Louisiana, ascended the
Mississippi 400 miles, as far as the Natchez tribe, on a voyage of explora-
tion. Here he selected an elevated bl.uff as the site for the future capital of
the province. It was the bluff where the city of Natchez now stands : this
place he named Rosalie. He was highly pleased with the Natchez tribe find
their country. This tribe was very powerful and highly improved, and in
many particulars differed from the neighboring tribes with whom they were
in alliance.
" Their religion, in some respects, resembled that of the fire-worshipers of Per-
sia. Fire was the emblem of their divinity ; the sun was their god : their chiefs
were called "suns," and their king was called the "Great Sun." In their princi-
pal temple a perpetual fire was kept burning by the ministering priest, who like-
wise offered sacrifices of the first fruits of the chase. In extreme cases, they offered
sacrifices of infant children, to appease the wrath of the deity. When Iberville
was there, one of the temples was struck by lightning and set on fire. The keeper
of the fane solicited the squaws to throw their little ones into the fire to appease
the angry divinity, and four infants were thus sacrificed before the French could
prevail on them to desist from the horrid rites.
After Iberville reached the Natchez tribe, the Great Sun, or king of the con-
federacy, having heard of the approach ofi the French commandant, determined
to pay him a visit in person. As he advanced to the quarters of Iberville, he was
borne upon the shoulders of some of his men, and attended by a great retinue of
hjs people. He bade Iberville a hearty welcome, and showed him the most
marked attention and kindness dtiring his. stay. A treaty of friendship was con-
cluded, with permission to build a fort and to establish a trading-post among them;
which was, however, deferred for many years."
A few stragglers soon after took up their abode among the Natchez ; but
no regular settlement was made until 1716, when Bienville, governor of Lou-
isiana, erected Fort Rosalie, which is supposed to have stood near the east-
ern limit of the present city of Natchez.
Grand or Great Sun, the chief of the Natchez, was at first the friend of
the whites, until the overbearing disposition of one man brought destruction
on the whole colony. The residence of the Great Sun was a beautiful vil-
lage, called the White Apple. This village spread over a space of nearly
three miles in extent, and stood about twelve miks south of the fort, near
the mouth of Second Creek, and three miles east of the Mississippi. M. de
Chopart, the commandant, was guilty of great injustice toward the Indians,
and went so far as to command the "Great Sun" to leave the village of his
ancestors, as he wanted the ground for his own purposes. The Great Sun,
finding Chopart deaf to all his entreaties, formed a plot to rid his country of
the tyrant who oppressed them. Previous to the tragedy, the Sieur de Mace,
ensign of the garrison, received advice of the intention of the Natchez,
through a young Indian girl who loved him. She told him, crying, that her
nation intended to massacre the French. Amazed at this story, he ques-
tioned his mistress. Her simple answers, and her tender tears, left him no
room to doubt of the plot. He informed Chopart of it, who forthwith put
him under arrest for giving a false alarm. The following is from Monette's
History of the Valley of Mississippi:
"At length the fatul day arrived. It was Nov. 29, 1729. Early in the morning
Great Sun repaired, with a few chosen warriors, to Fort Rosalie, and all were well
armed with knives^and other concealed weapons.
The company had recently sent up a large supply of powder and lead, and pro-
visions for the use of the post. The Indians had recourse to stratagem to procure
a supply of ammunition, pretending that they were preparing for a great hunting
excursion. Before they set out they wished to purchase a supply of ammunition,
590 MISSISSIPPI.
and they had brought corn and poultry to barter for powder and lead. Having
placed the garrison off their £;uard, a number of Indians were permitted to enter
the fort, and others were distributed about the company's warehouse. Upon a
certain signal from the Great Sun, the Indians immediately drew their concealed
wpapons, and commenced the carnage by one simultaneous and furious massacre
of the garrison, and all who were in and near the warehouse.
Other parties, distributed through the contiguous settlements, carried on the
bloody work in every house as soon as the smoke was seen to rise from the houses
near the fort
The massacre commenced at nine o'clock in the morning, and before noon the
whole of the male population of the French colony on St. Catharine (consisting of
about seven hundred souls) were sleeping the sleep of death. The slaves were
spared for the service of the victors, and the females and children were reserved
as prisoners of war. Chopart fell among the first victims ; and, as the chiefs dis-
dained to stain their hands with his despised blood, he was dispatched by the hand
of a common Indian. Two mechanics,, a tailor and a carpenter, were spared, be-
cause they might be useful to the Indians.
While the massacre was progressing, the Great Sun seated himself in the spa-
' cious warehouse of the company, and, with apparent unconcern and complacency,
sat and smoked his pipe while his warriors were depositing the heads of the
French garrison in a pyramid at his feet The head of Chopart was placed in the
center, surmounting those of his officers and soldiers. So soon as the warriors in-
formed the Great Sun that the last Frenchman had ceased to live, he commanded
the pillage to commence. The negro slaves were employed in bringing out the
plunder for distribution. The powder and military stores were reserved for pub-
lic use in future emergencies.
While the ardent spirits remained, the day and the night alike presented one
continued scene of savage triumph and drunken revelry. With horrid yells they
spent their orgies in dancing over the mangled bodies of their enemies, which lay
strewed in every quarter where they had fallen in the general carnage. Here,
unburied, they remained a prey for dogs and hungry vultures. Every vestige of
thj houses and dwellings in all the settlements were reduced to ashes.
Two soldiers only, who happened to be absent in the woods at the time of the
massacre, escaped to bear the melancholy tidings to New Orleans. As they ap-
proached the fort and heard the deafening yells of the savages, and saw the col-
umns of smoke and flame ascending from the buildings, they well judged the fate
of their countrymen. They concealed themselves until they could procure a boat
or canoe to descend the river to New Orleans, where they arrived a few days after-
ward, and told the sad story of the colony on the St. Catharine.
The same fate was shared by the colony on the Yazoo, near Fort St Peter, and
by those on the Washita, at Sicily Island, and near the present town of Monroe.
Dismay and terror were spread over every settlement in the province. New Or-
leans was filled with mourning and sadness for the fate of friends and country-
men.
The whole number of victims slain in this massacre amounted to more than.two
hundred men, besides a few women and some negroes, who attempted to defend
their masters. Ninety-two women and one hundred and fifty-five children were
taken prisoners. Among the victims were Father Poisson, the Jesuit missionary;
Laloire, the principal agent of the company; M. Kollys and son, who had pur-
chased M. Hubert's interest, and had just arrived to take possession."
When the news of this terrible disaster reached New Orleans, the French
commenced a war of extermination against the Natchez. The tribe eventu-
ally were driven across the Mississippi, and finally scattered and extirpated.
The Great Sun and his principal war chiefs, falling into the hands of the
French, were shipped to St. Domingo and sold as slaves. Some of the poor
prisoners were treated with excessive cruelty, four of the men and two of
the women were publicly burned to death at New Orleans. Some Tonica
Indians, who had brought down a Natchez woman, whom they had discov
MISSISSIPPI. 591
ered in the woods, were allowed to execute her in the same manner. The
unfortunate woman was led forth to a platform erected near the levee, and,
surrounded by the whole population, was slowly consumed by the flames!
She supported her tortures with stoical fortitude, not shedding a tear. " On
the contrary," says Gayarre, ''she upbraided her torturers with their want
of skill, flinging at them every opprobrious epithet she could think of."
"The scattered remnants of the tribe sought an asylum among the Chickasaws
and other tribes who were hostile to the French. Since that time, the individual-
ity of the Natchez tribe has been swallowed up in the nations with whom they
were incorporated/ Yet no tribe has left so proud a memorial of their courage,
their independent spirit, and their contempt of death in defense of their rights and
liberties. The city of Natchez is their monument, standing upon the field of their
glory. Such is the brief history, of the Natchez Indians, who are now considered
extinct. In refinement and intelligence, they were equal, if not superior, to any
other tribe north of Mexico. In courage and stratagem they were inferior to none.
Their form was noble and commanding ; their stature was seldom under six feet,
and their persons were straight and athletic. Their countenance indicated more
intelligence than is commonly found in savages. The head was compressed from
the os frontis to the occiput, so that the forehead appeared high and retreating,
while the occiput was compressed almost in a line with the neck and shoulders,
This peculiarity, as well as their straight, erect form, is ascribed to the pressure
of bandages during infancy. Some of the remaining individuals of the Natchez
tribe were in the town of Natchez as late as the year 1782, or more than half n
century after the Natchez massacre."
By the peace of 1763, the Natchez District came into possession of Great
Britain, and the next year it was included in West Florida. In 1783, when
Florida was ceded to Spain, Natchez came under the dominion of that power.
In 1796, by the treaty of Madrid, the Natchez district .was ceded to the
United States. That treaty defined the boundary of the Floridas to be the
thirty-first parallel of north latitude, from the Mississippi eastward to the
Chattahoochee River; thence along a line running due east from the mouth
of Flint River to the head of St. Mary's River, and thence down the middle
of that river to the Atlantic Ocean. This left to Spain, west of the present
boundary of Florida, a narrow strip along the Gulf of Mexico, of about CO
miles in width, of the present states of Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana,
to the Mississippi, beside all of the present Florida and a strip of about 25
miles in width of the present southern part of Georgia. Spain was forced
to this cession through her political embarrassments, and, from the delay in
abandoning the territory, it was evident she had hopes that circumstances
would arise which would enable her to retain possession. Foiled in her in-
trigues to accomplish this end, the Spanish governor general at New Orleans,
in January, 1798, ordered the evacuation of the only Spanish forts remain-
ing, Natchez and Nogales. The post at the mouth of Wolf River, near the
present site of Memphis, had been evacuated the preceding autumn.
On the 29th. of March, 1798, about midnight, the Spanish drums in the
fort at Natchez sounded the note of preparation, and before morning the
garrison had embarked on the Mississippi, on their way to New Orleans.
On the 7th of the following month, the territory surrendered, comprising the
present states of Mississippi and Alabama, north of the 31st parallel of
north latitude, was erected into the Mississippi Territory, and on the 10th
of 'May, organized a territorial government. Winthrop Sargent, the first
territorial governor, and the territorial judges, arrived at Natchez the fol-
lowing August, and proceeded to establish the- government. General Wil-
kinson also arrived with the Federal troops, and established his headquarters
592 MISSISSIPPI.
t
at Natchez. Soon after he founded the present Fort Adams, on the Missis-
sippi, six miles above the Florida line.
In 1801, Gov. Sargent was succeeded by Wm. C. C. Claiborne as governor
of the territory, which at that time had about 12,000 inhabitants, of whom
some 2,000 were slaves. The next year the seat of the territorial govern-
ment was removed to the town of Washington.
On the 10th of March, 1803, Natchez received a city charter from the
territorial legislature. It was then a large village, consisting chiefly of small
wooden buildings of one story, distributed over an irregular, undulating sur-
face, with but little regard to system or cleanliness. The' year previous, the
Natchez Gazette, the first newspaper in Mississippi, was established by Col.
Andrew Marschalk, who had been an officer in Wayne's army. This paper,
under different forms and names, was published by this father of the press
in Mississippi for nearly forty years afterward.
Previous to the extension of the America., jurisdiction over the Natchez
district, the Catholic powers forbade Protestant worship, hence publ'c preach-
ing was unknown. The first Protestant preacher was Tobias Gibson, of the
South Carolina Conference, who arrived at Natchez in the summer of 1799,
and proceeded to organize societies at Washington, Kingston, on Cole's
Creek near Greenville, and on the Bayou Pierre. After his death he was
succeeded, in 1806, by Learner Blackburn. Thus was Methodism first in-|
troduced into the territory. Rev. Mr. Bowman, also a Methodist, settled in
Natchez in 1803. In 1802 came the first Presbyterian missionaries, Messrs.
Hall and Montgomery, the first of whom labored several years at Natchez.
In 1802 came David Cooper, the first Baptist missionary, to Natchez, and
also, about the same time, Rev. Dr. Cloud, of the Episcopal church.
"The Mississippi Territory, for several years afterward, with its wide extent of
Indian country, was traversed by only three principal roads, or horse-paths.
These were, first, the road from the Cumberland settlements through the Chicka-
saw and Choctaw nations to the Natchez District; second, from Knoxville through
.the Cherokee and Creek nations, by way of the Tombigbee, to Natchez; third,
that from the Oconee settlements of Georgia, by way of Fort Stoddart, to Natchez
and New Orleans. The Chickasaw, or Nashville Trace, was frequented more than
any other, it being the traveled route for the return journeys of all the Ohio boat-
men and traders from New Orleans and Natchez."
Natchez was the residence of Hon. Sergeant S. Prentiss and Gen. John A.
Quitman, each of whom, in their time, were men of national reputation.
Mr. Prentiss was born in Portland, Maine, in 1810, and^ft eighteen years of
age settled in Natchez, where he studied law and became the acknowledged
head of his profession in this region. As a jury lawyer he had no equal in
the southwest, and he was one of the most brilliant of stump orators. In
1838 and 1839, he was a representative in congress. He died in 1850, at
the age of 40 years, and is buried near the city. Gen. Quitman was born in
Dutchess county, New York, in 1799, was educated for the bar, and when
about twenty-one years of age he removed to Natchez. About the year 1840,
he was appointed judge of the high court of errors and appeals. He was a
major general in the Mexican war, and gained great credit in several battles.
In 1850, he was elected governor of Mississippi, and afterward served in
congress, where he was at the head of the committee on military affairs. His
strict integrity and kindness of heart won him troops of friends among all
parties. He was spoken of often as the Democratic candidate for vice pres-
ident, and was the recognized leader of those favorable to the annexation of
Cuba. He died in July. 1858.
MISSISSIPPI.
593
VICKSBURG, so named from Mr. Vicks, an extensive landholder, is on the
eastern bank of the Mississippi, 41 miles W. from Jackson, and by the river,
513 from New Orleans. The city is principally built on a bluff, broken into
several eminences, and elevated about 200 feet above the river. The build-
ings are situated on and among the shelving declivities of the hills, and the
View of Vickibvrg, fro.n the West bank of the Mississippi.
The view shown the appearance of tlv; uniitr-il p:irt of Vicksliurg, iv* seen from thc< Louisiana Hide of the
Mississippi. The Car House of the Jackson It.R. is on tho right. The Catholic and Borne other churches
are seen on tho higlits in the central part.
many clusters of dwellings present a picturesque appearance. The city cou.-
taiiis the usual public buildings, several academies, five churches, and about
4,500 inhabitants. It was incorporated as a town in 1825, and as a city in
1836. Great quantities of cotton are annually shipped from this place to
New Orleans and elsewhere. The surrounding country is remarkably fertile,
well adapted to the culture of cotton, grain, etc. The Walnut Hills, be-
tween two and three miles from the city, rise to an elevation of 500 feet
above the river.
OXFORD, the capital of Lafayette county, is on tho line of the Cen-
tral railroad, in the northern part of the state. It is considered one
of the healthiest places in Mississippi, and is noted as the seat of the
University of Mississippi. This institution is about a mile from the
village, and the buildings are excellent. Its origin was a grant of 36
sections of land given for this purpose, by Congress, in 1819.
Columbus, the shire town of Lowndes county, is on the left bank of
the Tombigbee, ;it. an elevation of 120 feet above the river, at the or-
dinary head of steamboat navigation, 150 N. E. from Jackson, and,
by the river, 480 miles from Mobile. It has about 4,000 inhabitants*
Aberdeen, on the right bank of the Tombigbee, 25 miles from Col-
umbus, is the center and shipping place for a fertile region.
Canton is 25 miles N. from Jackson, on the line ef the railroad, and
has about 2,000 inhabitants.
Yazoo City is a large shipping point for cotton on the Yazoo
38
594
MISSISSIPPI.
50 miles N. N. W. from Jackson. It is in a rich cotton district, and
has about 2,500 inhabitants.
Holly Springs, the capital of Marshall county, is on the line of the
Mississippi Central railroad, 210 miles north of Jackson, and has sev-
eral educational institutions of fine repute, and about 4,000 inhabi-
tants.
The Lauderdale Springs, sulphur and chalybeate, are in Lauderdale
county, in the extreme northwestern corner of the state. Cooper's
Well, 12 miles west of Jackson, is noted for its mineral qualities.
Outline view of the Observatory of the University of Mississippi.
THE LYMAN COLONY IN MISSISSIPPI.
Phineas Lyman, a major general in the French Canadian war, was one of the
first of the Anglo Saxon race who attempted a settlement in the present limits of
Mississippi. He was a native of Durham, Conn., a graduate of Yale College, a
distinguished lawyer, and became commander of the Connecticut forces in 1755.
He visited England as the agent for an association, called the "Military Adventur-
ers," whose design was the colonization of a tract of country upon the Mississippi.
After sustaining a series of mortifications and delays from those in power, for more
than ten years, the grant upon me Mississippi was made, and he returned home in
1773.
In Dec., 1773, Gen. Lyman sailed from New England, in two vessels, for New
Orleans, accompanied by the following emigrants: Daniel and Roswell Magguet
and Capt. Ladley, of Hartford; Thomas and James Lyman, of Durham; Hugh
White, Capt. Ellsworth, Ira Whitmore, and Sage, of Middletown ; Thaddeus
and Phineas Lyman, James Harman and family, Moses, Isaac Sheldon, Roger
Harmon, Hanks, Elnathan Smith, and eight slaves, from Suffield; Thomas
Comstock, Weed, of New Hartford; Capt. Silas Crane, Robert Patrick, Ash-
bel Bowen, John Newcomb, and James Dean, of Lebanon ; Abram Knapp, and
Capt. Matthew Phelps, of Norfolk; Giles and Nathaniel Hull, James Stoddart, and
Thaddeus Bradley, of Salisbury; Maj. Easley, of Weathersfield ; John Fisk, and
Elisha Hale, Wallingford, Timothy and David Hotchkiss, Waterbury; John Hyde,
William and Jonathan Lyon, and William Davis, of Stratford or Derby; Al-
cott of Windsor. All these were from Connecticut. The following were from
Massachusetts : Moses Drake, Buggies Winchel, and Benjamin Barber, of West-
field ; Seth Miller, Elisha and Joseph Flowers, William Hurlbut, and Elisha Leon-
ard, with a number jf slaves, of Springfield
Gen. Lyman and his company arrived at New Orleans in 1774, and after a labori-
ous passage up the Mississippi, reached the Big Black River, in the "Natchez
Country," as it was called. Here he settled his grant, but was too old to cultivate
it In a short time he and his son died. Capt. Phelps returned to Connecticut,
MISSISSIPPI. 595
and by his representations of the fertility of the new country, induced many of
the citizens to return with him. After some delay, he sailed from Middletown in
1776. Among the emigrants were Madame Lyman, the widow of the late general,
with three sons and two daughters, Maj. Timothy, Sereno, and Jonathan Dwight,
of Northampton ; Benjamin Day and family, Harry Dwight and three slaves, Jos-
eph Leonard and Joshua Flowers, with their families, from Springfield; Rev. Mr.
Smith and his family, from Granville, Mass.; Mrs. Elnathan Smith and children,
John Felt, with his family, Capt. Phelps and family, from Suffield, and many
others.
After a voyage of three months, they reached New Orleans on the 1st of August.
Here, having obtained boats, they proceeded up the Mississippi. Capt. Phelps and
all his children becoming prostrated by disease, his boat was tied to the willows,
while the others continued the voyage. The boat containing the Lymans and the
Rev. Mr. Smith reached Natchez. Mr. Smith and Maj. Dwight died in a short
time. Those of the party who were left arrived at the Big Black and the improve-
ments made by Gen. Lyman. Here Madame Lyman soon died, and was buried
by the side of her husband. Capt. Phelps remained in his boat, which was an-
chored fifteen miles above Point Coupee, where his son and daughter died and he
•was compelled to bury them with his own hands : his wife soon after died, and he
was left alone with two little children. These were subsequently drowned as he
came in sight of the mouth of the Big Black River.
The remaining members of the Lyman family continued in the country until
it was invaded by the Spaniards in 1781—82. With a number of their friends, they
planted themselves in the neighborhood of Natchez. Being British subjects, and
having everything to fear from the Spaniards, they determined to flee through the
wilderness to Savannah, the nearest British post. The mother country and her
colonies being at war, rendered a direct course to Savannah too perilous to be
hazarded. To avoid danger they were compelled to take a very circuitous route,
wandering, according to their reckoning, nearly fourteen hundred miles. Their
journeyings occupied one hundred and forty-nine days.
The caravan was numerous, including men, women and children, with some at
the breast. They were mounted on horseback, but the ruggedness of the ground
obliged such as were able to walk, to make a great part of their way on foot. They
were in constant apprehensions from hostile Indians. Often they suffered from
extreme thirst and hunger. The first Indian town they ventured to approach was
on the " Hickory ground" — the site of Wetumpka, Ala. Supposing the company
were whigs, and enemies to King George, their "Great Father," the Creeks appear
to have determined to put them to death. But, by the cunning and address of
Paro, the black servant of McGillivray, the Creek chief, who understood the Eng-
lish language, they escaped. The Indians told Paro that, if they were English-
men, "they could make the paper talk," i. e. they must have kept a journal. Paro
took the hint, and as they had kept none, he told them any piece of paper that had
writing upon it would serve the purpose. An old letter was produced, from which
one of the company pretended to read the adventures of the company since they
left Natchez. This was interpreted to the Indians by Paro, sentence by sentence.
As the recital went on, their countenances began to relax, and before the reading
was finished, their ferocity was succeeded by friendship, and all the wants of the
wanderers kindly supplied.
THE BAXDIT MASOX.
" Among the incidents in the early history of the Mississippi Territory was the
violent death of the notorious robber Mason. This fearless bandit had become
the terror of the routes from New Orleans and Natchez through the Indian na-
tions. After the organization of the territorial government, and the opening of
roads through the wilderness to Tennessee, the return of traders, supercargoes,
and boatmen to the northern settlements, with the proceeds of their voyage, was
on foot and on horseback, in parties for mutual protection, throwgh the Indian na-
tions; and often rich treasures of specie were packed on mules and horses over
596 MISSISSIPPI.
these Jong and toilsome journeys. Nor was it a matter of surprise, in a dreary
wilderness, that bandits should infest such a route. It was in the year 1802, when
all travel and intercourse from New Orleans and the Mississippi Territory was ne-
cessarily by way of this solitary trace, or by the slow-ascendiug barge and keel,
that Mason made his appearance in the Mississippi Territory.
Long accustomed to robbery and murder upon the Lower Ohio, during the Spnn-
ish dominion on the Mississippi, and pressed by the rapid approach of the Auifri-
can population, he deserted the 'Cave in the Rock,' on the Ohio, and began to in-
fest the great Natchez Trace, where the rich proceeds of the river tiade were the
tempting prize, and where he soon become the terror of every peaceful traveler
through the wilderness. Associated with him were his two sons and a few other
desperate miscreants; and the name of Mason and his band was known and
dreaded from the morasses of the southern frontier to the silent shades of the Ten-
nessee Kiver. The outrages of Mason became more frequent and sanguinary.
One day found him marauding on the banks of the Pearl, against the life and for-
tune of the trader ; and before pursuit was organized, the hunter, attracted by the
descending sweep of the solitary vulture, learned the story of another robbery and
murder on the remote shores of the Mississippi. Their depredations became at
last so frequent and daring, that the people of the territory were driven to adopt
measures for their apprehension. But such was the knowledge of the wilderness
possessed by the wily bandit, and such his untiring vigilance and activity, that for
a time he baffled every attempt for his capture.
Treachery at last, however, effected what stratagem, enterprise and courage had
in vain attempted. A citizen of great respectability, passing with his sons through
the wilderness, was plundered by the bandits. Their lives were, however, spared,
and they returned to the settlement. Public feeling was now excited, and the gov-
ernor of the territory found it necessary to act. Governor Claiborne accordingly
offered a liberal reward for the robber Mason, dead or alive! The proclamation
was widely distributed, and a copy of it reached Mason himself, who indulged in
much merriment on the occasion. Two of his band, however, tempted by the large
reward, concerted a plan by which they might ohtain it. An opportunity soon
occurred ; and while Mason, in company with the two conspirators, was counting
out some ill-gotten plunder, a tomahawk was buried in his brain. His head was
severed from his body and borne in triumph to Washington, then the seat of the
territorial government.
The head of Mason was recognized by many, and identified by all who read the
proclamation, as the head entirely corresponded with the description given of cer-
tain scars and peculiar marks. Some delay, however, occurred in paying over the
reward, owing to the slender state of the treasury. Meantime, a great assemblage
from all the adjacent country had taken place, to view the grim and ghastly head
of the robber chief. They were not less inspired with curiosity to see and con-
verse with the individual whose prowess had delivered the country of so great a
scourge. Among those spectators were the two young men, who, unfortunately for
these traitors, recognized them as companions of Mason in the robbery of their
father.
It is unnecessary to say that treachery met its just reward, and that justice was
also satisTied. The reward was not only withheld, but the robbers were imprisoned,
and, on the full evidence of their guilt, condemned and executed at Greenville,
Jefferson county.
The band of Mason, being thus deprived of their leader and two of his most
efficient men, dispersed and fled the country. Thus terminated the terrors which
had infested the route through the Indian nations, known to travelers as the ' Nat-
chez and Nashville Trace.' "
COTTOX.
Cotton, only within the memory of man, hns assumed much importance in
the agriculture and commerce of the world. With our fathers, cotton cloth waa
almost entirely unknown, linen being universally worn. This change haa been
MISSISSIPPI.
597
erring to the invention of the cotton gin by Whitney* in 1793. Prior to this time
it was in vain to think of raising cotton for the market for separating the seed
from a single 'pound of cotton was a day's work for a single hand. At this period
the whole interior of the southern states was languishing, and the people emigrated
for want of some object to engage their attention and employ their industry, when
the invention of this machine at once opened new views to them which set the
whole country in motion.
Harvesting Cotton.
In 1784, an American vessel arrive.d at Liverpool, having on board, for part of
her cargo, eight bngs of cotton, which were seized by the officers of customs
nnder the conviction that they could not be. the growth of America, although
the plant is natural to the soil. Now cotton is our great article of export, amount-
ing in value, in 1859, to $161,000,000, and in total product to about $250,000,-
000 !! The demand is increasing in a greater ratio than we can supply; such
*" Eli Whitney, the great benefactor of the south, in the invention of the cotton gin, was
born in Massachusetts, and was early distinguished for his mechanical genius. After grad-
uating at Yale CoJlege, he visited Georgia in the prospect of securing a situation of private
tutor. He was disappointed in the hope, and was received, almost in charity, under the
benevolent roof of Mrs. Green, the widow of General Nathaniel Green, of the Revolution.
A party of gentlemen, conversing incidentally on the subject, were lamenting that there
•was no means of separating the seed from the cotton ; and remarked, that until ingenuity
could devise some machine to effect the purpose, it was vain to think of raising cotton to
export. " Gentlemen," said Mrs. Green, " apply to my young friend, Mr. Whitney, he can
make anything." When the matter was proposed to Whitney, he replied that he had never
seen cotton or cotton seed in his life. The subject was thus, however, suggested to his
mind, and with tools most inadequate, and much of the materials made by himself, in the
course of a few months, he perfected a machine which answered every desired purpose.
Thus, by the force of intuitive genius, one man called into practical being the staple of an
entire country, revolutionized its affairs, and added millions to its wealth. When the fact
of such a discovery w,os known, the populace was so determined to possess the machine,
that they broke open his hou.se and seized it. Before Wffitney was able to make his model
and procure his patent, many machines were already in operation. This violent procedure
robbed the inventor of much of the benefit of his discovery. It was emphatically stated
by Whitney, in a subsequent application to congress for remuneration, " that his invention
had been the source of opulence to thousands of the citizens of the United States, and that
as a labor-saving machine, it would enable one man to perform the work of one thousand
men."
598 MISSISSIPPI.
are our advantages of soil and climate, that none can compete with us. Instead
of measuring the value of this invention by hundreds of millions of dollars, thous-
ands of millions could scarce compass it. But for it, it is probable that the cotton-
growing states would have remained in a wilderness condition, and our country,
as a whole, immeasurably behind her present state, in wealth, power, and popula-
tion.
The earliest seat of the cotton manufacture known to us was Hindostan, where
it continues to be carried on by hand labor. America and Europe are now pour-
ing back upon Asia her original manufacture, and underselling her in her own
markets. In the manufacture of no one article has the genius of invention been
more called into exercise. It has not only built up our own Lowell and other
thriving towns, but large cities in other lands, as Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow,
Paisley, etc. It is estimated to give employment to over a million of persons, and
an amount of capital of millions upon millions of dollars.
" Cotton goods, to a great extent, may be seen freighting every vessel, from Chris-
tian nations, that traverses the globe; and filling the warehouses and shelves of
the merchants, over two thirds of the world. By the industry, skill, and enter-
prise employed in the manufacture of cotton, mankind are better clothed; their
comfort better promoted; general industry more highly stimulated; commerce
more widely extended; and civilization more rapidly advanced than in any pre-
ceding age. When the statistics on the subject are examined, it appears that
nearly all the cotton consumed in the Christian world, is the product of the slave-
labor of the United States." The London Economist says: "The lives of nearly
two millions of our countrymen are dependent upon the cotton crops of America;
their destiny may be said, without any kind of hyperbole, to hang upon a thread.
Should any dire calamity befall the land of cotton, a thousand of our merchant
ships would rot idly in dock; ten thousand mills must stop their busy looms; two
hundred thousand mouths would starve, for lack of fbod."
There appears to be no limits to the varieties of cotton. The varieties familiar to our
southern states, and known to commerce, are divided into "short" and "long staple."
The short staple, or upland cotton, was originally procured from the West Indies, and is
familiar to every household in the form of sheetings and shirtings. The long staple, or
Sea Island cotton, is supposed to have originated in Persia. It is the finest cotton in the
world, commanding four or five times the price of the other, and is used only for the finest
fabrics. Combined with silk it often deceives the most practiced eye to discover the mix-
ture.
An immense area of the Union is adapted to the cultivation of cotton, including all the
slave states excepting the northern tier. What are particularly denominated the cotton
states, are South Carolina, Georgia, and those on the Gulf of Mexico. These include
great varieties of scenery, and often the cotton plantations are rendered picturesque by the
combinations of hill and dale. Preparations for planting the cotton begin in January, by
collecting the old stalks of the previous season in piles, and destroying them by fire. The
planting takes place about the last of March, two or three bushels of seed being used to
the acre. In about a week the yonng plants are seen making their way above ground in
lines of solid masses. " The field hand, however, will single one delicate shoot from the
surrounding multitude, and with his rude hoe he will trim away the remainder with all the
boldness of touch of a master; leaving the incipient stalk unharmed and alone in its glory;
and at nightfall you can look along the extending rows, and find the plants correct in line,
and of the required distance of separation from each other. Through the month of July
the crop is worked over the last time, with the plow and the hoe, and makes rapid advances
to perfection.
The " cotton bloom," under the matured sun of July, begins to make its appearance.
The announcement of , the " first blossom " of the neighborhood is a matter of general in-
terest. It should, perhaps, be here remarked, that the color of cotton in its perfection is
precisely that of the blossom — a beautiful light, but warm cream color. In buying cotton
cloth, the "bleached" and "unbleached" are perceptibly different qualities to the most
casual observer; but the dark hues and harsh look of the "unbleached domestic" comes
from the handling of the artisan and the soot of machinery. If cotton, pure as it looks in
the field, could be wrought into fabrics, they would have a brilliancy and beauty never yet
accorded to any other material in its natural or artificial state.
The ' cotton-picking season' is generally brought to a close by the middle of December.
The crop ready for shipment, the negroes are permitted to relax from their labors, and are
in fine spirits, because 'the work of the year is finished.' The Christmas holidays are
strictly kept, and is the great gala season of the negro.
LOUISIANA.
THE territory of Louisiana was first traversed by the Spaniards under De
Soto, who died at the mouth of Red River, in May, 1542. This celebrated
adventurer, finding that the hour of
death was come, appointed a succes-
sor, and with his dying breath, ex-
horted his desponding followers to
" union and confidence," words later
emblazoned on the arms of Louisiana.
De Soto, it is said, expended 100,000
ducats in this expedition, arid thus
like the fabled pelican of old, gave
his own blood for the nourishment of
his brood of followers.
In 1682, La Salle, a French naval
officer, discovered the three passages
by which the Mississippi dicharges
its waters into the Gulf. La Salle,
having ascended the river to a dry
spot, above inundation, erected a col-
umn with the arms of France affixed,
and took possession of the country,
"in the name of the Most High, mighty, invincible, and victorious Prince,
Louis the Great, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre, four-
teenth of that name." After the °Te Deum was chanted, a salute of fire-
arms, and cries of vive le roi, La Salle declared that his majesty, as eldest son
of the church, would annex no country to his crown, without making it his
chief care to establish the Christian religion therein: its symbol must now
be planted. Accordingly a cross was erected, before which religious services
were performed. The country was named Louisiana, in honor of the French
king.
La Salle attempted a settlement, but it failed. In 1699, a more successful
attempt was made by Iberville and others. He entered the mouth of the
Mississippi, and after making considerable explorations, he returned to the
Bay of Biloxi, where he erected a fort, which he left in charge of his broth-
ers, Souvolle and Bienville, and then returned to France. In 1712, the King
of France granted a charter to M. Crozat, which covered the whole province,
with the exclusive privilege of trade, etc., for twenty years. This grant was
599
ARMS OF LOUISIANA.
Motto— Union and Confidence.
LOUISIANA.
surrendered, after five years, with bitter complaints that from the imbecility
of the colony, the strength of the Indians, the presence of the British, and
the sterility of the soil, it had proved of no value to him, b>it rather a ruin-
ous expense.
About the year 1717, John Law, a Scotchman, but settled in Paris as a
financier, obtained a charter for a bank. With this was connected a great
commercial company, to whom was granted the extensive territory of Louis-
iana, the mines of which, near the Mississippi, would, it was represented, re-
imburse any investment. The Royal Bank stock went up to six hundred
times its par value, and dividends were rendered at 200 per cent. This bank-
ing and stock jobbing bubble soon burst, involving vast numbers of persons
in every rank of life in ruin, and the "Mississippi Scheme' was a by -word
for a long period. Despairing of finding gold, and having but poor success
in colonizing their lands, this "Western Company" gave up their charter in
1732, which the king accepted, and declared the commerce of Louisiana
free.
In 1760, war broke out between Great Britain and France. Canada fell
into the hands of the English, and rather than submit to their government,
many of the inhabitants sought a home in southern climes, fixing themselves
on the Acadian coast of Louisiana, or, taking their course westward of the
river, formed the settlements of Attakapas, Opelousas, and Avoyelles. In
1762, France ceded the territory of Louisiana west of the Mississippi, with
New Orleans, to Spain, and soon afterward abandoned her possessions east-
ward to Great Britain. When the news of the transfer of Louisiana fell
upon the French inhabitants, they were filled with mourning. O'Reilly, witfc
a Spanish military force, arrived and landed in New Orleans, and took formal
possession of the country in the name of his king. This commander soon
proved himself a tyrant. Some of the first citizens were arrested, thrown
into prison, declared guilty of treason, and tried under the statute of Al-
phonso, making it death to incite insurrection against the king. Sentence
and execution followed. "Posterity," says Martin, the historian, "will doom
this act to public execration."
The laws of Spain were gradually extended over Louisiana. During the
American Revolution, Galvez, governor of Louisiana, captured the British
garrison at Baton Rouge. The treaties between Great Britain, France and
Spain and the United States, concluded in 1783, opened the navigation of
the Mississippi, and ceded the Floridas to Spain. These treaties, however,
were followed by embarrassing disputes, particularly respecting the naviga-
tion of that part of the Mississippi which passed through their territories.
Any attempt to navigate the river, to inlroduce merchandise into New Or-
leans, was resisted by the authorities, and the property seized. About the
year 1787, Gen. Wilkinson conceived the design of making a settlement of
American families in Louisiana, for which he expected to receive commer-
cial favors from the Spaniards.
In 1800, Spain reconveyed the province of Louisiana to France. Bona-
parte, in 1803, sold the territory to the United States, for fifteen millions of
dollars. On the 20th of December, 1803, "the American flag waved over
the city of New Orleans — the same day having witnessed the descent
of the Spanish ensign, and the elevation of the tri-color, the latter
only having been raised to be replaced by the stars and stripes. Gov. Clai-
borne. on taking the chair of authority, organized a judiciary. The act of
Congress, in 180-1, established a territorial government. The conflicting
LOUISIANA. 601
claims of flic United States and Spain, to the strip of territory lying east of
the Mississippi River, were brought to something like a crisis, in 1810, by
the seizure of the Spanish post at Baton Rouge. In 1812, Louisiana • was
admitted into the Union as a sovereign state. Upon the declaration of war
with Great Britain, Gen. Wilkinson took possession of the country west of
the Perdito, then in the occupation of Spain. The memorable battle of
New Orleans was fought on the 8th of January, 1815. The British troops,
about 8,000 strong, were entirely defeated by a body of about 6,000 Ameri-
can militia, with a loss of about 2,600 men, killed, wounded, and prisoners;
the American loss was only six killed and seven wounded, a disparity rarely
if ever before known. Since this period, Louisiana has steadily advanced in
wealth and population.
Louisiana extends from 29° to 33° N. latitude, and from 88° 40' to 94°
25' W. longitude; bounded N. by Arkansas and Mississippi, E. by Missis-
sippi, W. by Texas, and S. by the Gulf of Mexico. Its length is 250 miles,
its breadth on the Gulf of Mexico 300 miles, and at its northern boundary
is 180, having an area computed at 46,431 square miles. The whole surface
of the state consists mostly of low grounds, with some hilly ranges in the
western part. The southern portion of the state, occupying about one fourth
part of its territory is seldom elevated more than ten feet above the sea, and
is annually inundated by the spring floods. This section is an alluvial de-
posit from the waters of the Mississippi and its branches. The territory be-
tween the Atchafalaya on the west, and the Iberville, etc., on the east, is
called the Delta of the Mississippi, from its resemblance to the Greek letter
of that name. .
The immense alluvial soil of Mississippi may be arranged into four classes
— the first, about two thirds of the whole, has a heavy growth of timber,
with an almost impenetrable undergrowth of canes, etc., and a soil of the
richest fertility. The second class consists of. cypress swamps; these are
basins or depressions of the surface from which there is no outlet, and the
waters which they receive from the annual floods remain until they are car-
ried off by evaporation ; the third class consists of the sea marsh, a belt of
land partially covered by the common tides, and generally without timber;
the fourth class consists of small bodies of prairie land.
The richest tract in the state is a narrow belt, called "the coast," lying
along the Mississippi, -on both sides, extending from 150 miles above to 140
below New Orleans, and one to two miles wide. This belt was formed from
the annual deposits of the river, and is a little above the ordinary level of
the floods. To prevent the river from inundating the valuable tracts in the
rear, an artificial embankment has been built, six or eight feet high, called
the Levee, which is sufficiently broad for a highway. The whole of this tract
is under cultivation, and large quantities of sugar are annually produced.
Below the mouth of Red River, the Mississippi separates into several branches
or outlets, which, diverging from each other, slowly wend their way into the
Gulf of Mexico, and divide the southwestern portion of the state into islands.
The climate in the vicinity of New Orleans is similar to that of Charleston,
S. C., although two degrees further south. The great agricultural produc-
tions of the state are sugar, indiari corn, rice and cotton. Louisiana is di-
vided into two districts, the eastern and western; the eastern contains 21,
the western 26 parishes. Improved lands, 1,590,025 acres; xinimproved,
3,939,018. Population, in 1810, 76,556 ; in 1820, 153,407 ; in 1850, 511,974;
in I860, 666,431, of whom 312,186 were slaves.
602
LOUISIANA.
NEW ORLEANS, the great commercial emporium of the south and west,
and the greatest cotton mart on the globe, is situated on the E. or left bank
of the Mississippi, 105 miles above its rr;outh, 1,438 S.W. from Washington,
1.663 from N. York, 2,025 miles from Pittsburgh, via Ohio and Mississippi
Soiith- Eastern view of Jackson Square, New Orleans.
The Cathedral, with its spires, appears in the central part, the Statue of Gen. Jackson within the
square in front. The Court buildings on cither side.
Rivers, and 2,000 from St. Anthony's Falls, in Lat. 29° 57' 30" N., Lon. 90°
W. from Greenwich. The city is built around the river, which here forms
a curve somewhat in the form of a crescent, from which circumstance it is
View on the Levee at New Orleans.
often called the ' Crescent City."" The Mississippi, opposite New Orleans, is
half a mile wide, and 100 to 160 feet deep, and continues this depth to near
the Gulf, where there are bars having only 13 to 16 feet of water. The lo-
cation is on a piece of land which inclines gently from the river to the marshy
grounds in the rear. At high water it is from three to nine feet below the
LOUISIANA.
603
water surface. To protect the country against inundations, an embankment, or
levee, fifteen feet wide and six feet high, has been raised, extending 120 miles
above, and 43 below the city to Fort Plaqueinine.
View in New Orleans.
The engraving is a representation in St. Charles-street, showing the widely known St. Charles Hotel,
with the adjacent buildings.
The New Orleans levee is one continuous landing-place, or quay, four
miles in extent, and of an average width of 100 feet. It is 15 feet above
low water mark, and six feet above the level of the city, to which it is grad-
uated by an easy descent. During the business season, from November to
July, the river in front of the levee is crowded with vessels, of all sizes and
from all quarters of the world, with hundreds of large and splendid steam-
boats, barges, flat-boats, etc. The levee presents a most busy and animated
prospect. Here are seen piles of cotton bales, vast numbers of barrels of
pork, flour, and liquors of various kinds, bales of foreign and domestic man-
ufactures, hogsheads of sugar, crates of ware, etc., draymen with their carts,
buyers, sellers, laborers, etc. Valuable products from the head waters of
the Missouri, 3.000 miles distant, center here. The Illinois, the Ohio, the
Arkansas and Red Elvers, with the Mississippi, are all tributaries to this
commercial depot. Upward of two hundred millions of dollars worth of
604 LOUISIANA.
merchandise are annually brought to this market. Upward of 2,000 vessels,
with a tunnage of more than 1,000,000, enter and clear from this port an-
nually.
The change in the course of the river at New Orleans, causes vast alluvial
deposits, particularly at that point where the commerce of the city chiefly
centers. Here it has been found necessary to erect quajs, extending from
50 to 100 feet in the river. In consequence of the new formations, the levee
has been widened, and an additional row of warehouses erected between the
city and the river. The city is built along the river over seven miles, and
extends toward Lake Ponchartrain, nearly four miles from the river. The
houses are mostly of brick, and many of the residences in the suburbs are
ornamented with orange trees and gardens. The city was originally laid out
by the French, in an oblong rectangular shape, 1,320 yards in length, and
700 yards in breadth. In 1836, New Orleans was divided into three muni-
cipalities, but in 1852, this division was abrogated-, and the faubourgs, with
the village of La Fayette, are now incorporated under one city government.
Algiers, which may be regarded as one of the suburbs, is a flourishing village
on the opposite side of the river, and has several shipyards and extensive
manufacturing establishments. The inhabitants of New Orleans are nearly
equally composed of Americans, Creoles, and Spaniards. Population, in
1850, 116,375; in 1860, 170,766.
Jackson Square, with its beautiful statuary, trees, shrubbery, etc., in. front
of the Cathedral, is one of the most attractive places in the city. Formerly
it was known as Place* d? Arms, and in early days was used for military pur-
poses. In 1850 it was changed to its present name, since which time it has
been tastefully laid out in walks, and ornamented with the rarest plants and
flowers of the south. In the center of the square is a fine statue of Jack-
son, the hero of New Orleans, on horseback. In either corner of the square
is a statue representing the seasons. The Catholic Cathedral, fronting the
square, was erected in 1792. The style of its architecture is duplex — the
first story front is of the- Doric order, and the second, the Tuscan. The
belfry was erected in 1850. The founder, Don Andre, built and dedicated
this imposing structure to the church, on condition that masses be offered
every Saturday evening at sunset for the repose of his soul.
Lafayette Square, adorned with shade trees, is now used as a military pa-
rade.ground, and has several fine public edifices around it — the Odd Fellows'
Hall fronts the west side of the square. It is a noble building, erected at
a cost of $200,000. The City Hall, on the opposite side of the square, is
a superb edifice of the Grecian Ionic order, after the Erectheum at Athens:
it is built of white marble, the basement being of granite. The finest por-
tion of the building is the portico, with its nAssive marble columns. The
pediment contains a groupe in marble, representing Justice supported by
Liberty and Commerce. It was commenced in 1847, and completed in 1850, at
an expense of about $300, 000. Since the consolidation of the city, it has been
known as the City Hall. The First Presbyterian Church, on the south side
of the square, is an architectural ornament to the city of the first order. It
is of Gothic style, and the largest building of the kind in the city, being
nearly 100 feet in breadth and 194 in depth, having a steeple 210 feet high.
It occupies the site of the old church, which was destroyed by fire, Oct. 30,
1854. The following inscription is within the vestibule:
In memory of REV. SYLVESTKR LARNED, First Pastor of the Presbyterian Church in this
City, who died of the yellow fever, Aug. 31, 1820 ; aged 24 years. His last sermon was
LOUISIANA.
605
preached on the 27th of Aug., from Phil. I, 21. For to me to jjive is Christ, and to die ia
gain. j
There are about 50 churches in New Orleans, about one third of which
are Catholic. The Charity Hospital is a large building, three stories high
and 290 feet in length. It was instituted in 1832, and the citizen and stranger
Northern View of Lafayette Square, Neiv Orleans.
The first Presbyterian Church is seen in the central part, on the south side of the Squire. Tart of the
Odd Fellows' Hall and Catholic Cnurch on the left, and the trout of the City Hall uii the extreme right.
alike find admission and receive the benefits of this institution during sick-
ness. Its average yearly admissions have been latterly about 11,000, and its
discharges about 9,000. Its disbursements are about $100,000. The Uni-
versity of Louisiana was founded in 1849. The medical department has 8
Situation of New Orleans.
The outline shows the general appearance of New Orleans, as seen from the south, on the east bank of
tho Mississippi. The localities of Algiers, MacDonoiigh.etc., appear on the left ; part of the Levee in front.
professors, the academic 4, and the law 4. The U. S. Marine Hospital is at
MacDonough, on the opposite side of the river. The hotels and theaters of
New Orleans, are among the most splendid buildings in the city. St. Charles
606 LOUISIANA.
Theater is 132 feet long and 170 feet deep, and cost about $350,000; the
French theater is a large and expensive building ; the American theater cost
about $130,000. These three theaters will, in the aggregate, accommodate
about 4,500 persons, and are nightly filled, often to suffocation.
The New Orleans Custom House is stated to be "the largest structure of
the kind under one roof in the world." The corner stone was laid by Henry
Clay, in 1849. The building covers a whole square, an area of two acres.
The whole cost, when completed, it is supposed will amount to nearly four
millions of dollars.
The statue of Henry Clay is one of the objects of interest in New Or-
leans. It is in bronze, after the design of Joel T. Hart. It is about twelve
feet in hight, and is mounted on a lofty pedestal. Mr. Clay is represented
in the act of addressing the senate, the left hand resting on the pedestal, the
right gracefully extended. The corner stone was laid on the 12th of April,
1856, and on the 12th of April, 1860, it was inaugurated in the presence of
one of the largest concourses of people ever assembled in the city. It stands
in the heart of the metropolis, overlooking the Mississippi. New Orleans
was a place of favorite resort to Mr. Clay, and his memory is endeared to
her citizens by many valued recollections of his social life among them.
The history of New Orleans, in its earlier epochs, embraces that of the
whole French settlements in lower Louisiana. It received its name from
the Duke of Orleans, Regent of France.
" In many respects New Orleans is regarded as the most remarkable and attrac-
tive city of the United States, especially by those foreigners who are partial to the
life of Southern Europe. Its almost tropical climate, its semi-French tone, its lux-
uries and pleasures, and its being, so to speak, the headquarters of the southwest-
ern states, whose inhabitants are famed for their frank, courteous, and hospitable
manners, all combine to render New Orleans to the one who perfectly appreciates
it a place of most delightful memori-es and associations. Previous to the be-
ginning of the present century, the history of New Orleans was intimately con-
nected with that of France and Spain. It was settled by the French in 1717, and
owed its existence to the famous, and until recently but imperfectly understood
genius, John Law. The settlement of the country did not succeed, however, under
the Mississippi scheme, though immense sums were expended upon it, and many
colonists sent there. All possible protection and privilege failed to produce remu-
nerative returns, principally because gold and silver were more sought for than
crops. In 1727, New Orleans received a great number of Jesuit priests and Ursu-
line nuns, who remained there until 1764. It was in 1769 that the first cases of
yellow fever occurred — introduced, it is said, by a slaver. Its commerce with the
United States began in 1777, and during the following year it was nearly destroyed
by a vast conflagration. The population of New Orleans in 1785 amounted to
four thousand seven hundred; m 1853 it was. one hundred and forty-five thousand
four hundred and forty-nine, of whom twenty-nine thousand one hundred and sev-
enty-four were either slaves or 'f.p.c.,' 'free people of color.' In 1762, by secret
treaty, Louisiana was conveyed to Spain. Several years elapsed before the occu-
pation took place. The new Spanish government was odious to the French settlers,
and so aggravating to their American neighbors that our general government had
at one time to use strenuous exertions to prevent a regular war between the west-
ern people and the Spaniards. New Orleans was reconveyed to the French in
1800, and included in our purchase of Louisiana. Napoleon saw that the loss of
the country was inevitable, and wisely sold it to the United States. Never was a
monarch so willing to sell out, or a government so anxious to buy as ours, the only
difficulty was the price. It was finally transferred for the valuable consideration
of eighty millions of livres, deducting twenty millions for spoliations of our mer-
chant marine. In 1804 New Orleans was incorporated as a city; in 1805 it be-
came a port of entry. From the period of its passing under 'American' govern-
LOUISIANA. 607
merit, its progress was wonderfully rapid, its population more than doubling within
seven years. It was on January 8, 1815, that the most interesting event in its
history occurred. It was on that day that General Pakenham approached the city
through Lakes Borgne and Ponchartrain, and was defeated by General Jackson.
Battle Field of Plaine Chalmette, or New Orleans.
The memorable battle of New Orleans was fought about four miles below
the city, at a spot washed by the Mississippi, and surrounded by cypress
swamps and cane-brakes. The following account is from Perkins' History
of the War:
" On his arrival in the city, General Jackson, in conjunction with Judge Hall,
and many influential persons of the city, on the 16th of December, issued an order
declaring the city and environs of New Orleans to be under strict martial law.
Every individual entering the city was required to report himself to the adjutant-
general, and no person by land or water was suffered to leave the city without a
passport. The street lamps were ordered to be extinguished at nine o^ clock; after
which any persons found in the streets, or from their homes without permission in
writing, and not having the countersign, were ordered to be apprehended as spies.
This measure at once converted the whole city into a camp, and subjected the per-
sons and property of the citizens to the will of the commanding general. Writs
of habeas corpus, and all other civil process by means of which the lives and
properties of the people are protected, were for the time suspended. Such was the
alarm and confusion of the moment, that few inquiries were made whence the
commanding general of a military station derived such powers, to be exercised
over the inhabitants of the adjacent country, in nowise connected with his camp.
Although the brilliant success which afterward attended the operations of General
Jackson seemed to justify the measure, yet the people saw in it a precedent, which
though it might have saved New Orleans, might at some future period extinguish
their liberties. A most rigid police was now instituted. Spies and traitors, with
which, the governor complained, the city abounded, and who had been industri-
ously employed in seducing the French and Spanish inhabitants from their alle-
giance, now fled ; and the remaining citizens cordially co-operated with the gen-
eral in the means of defense. Fort St. Philips, which guarded the passage of the
river at the Detour la Plaquemine, was strengthened and placed under the com-
mand of Major Overton, an able and skillful engineer. A site was selected for
works of defense, four miles below the city, where its destinies were ultimately to
be determined.- The right rested on the river, and the left was flanked by an im-
penetrable cypress swamp, which extended eastward to Lake Ponchartrain, and
westward to within a mile of the river. Between the swamp and the river was a
large ditch or artificial bayou which had been made for agricultural objects, but
which now served an important military purpose. On the northern bank of this
ditch, the entrenchments were thrown up.
608 LOUISIANA.
Each flank was secured by an advance bastion, and the latter protected by batte-
ries in the rear. These works were well mounted with artillery. Opposite this
position, on the west bank of the river, on a rising ground, General Morgan, with
the city and drafted militia, was stationed; and Commodore Patterson, with (he
crews of the Caroline and Louisiana, and the guns of the latter, formed another,
near General Morgan's; both of which entirely enfiladed the approach of an ene-
my against the principal works. A detachment was stationed above the town to
guard the pass of the Bayou St. John, if an attempt should be made from that
quarter. These arrangements, promptly and judiciously made, gave entire confi-
dence to the citizens, and inspired them with zeal to second the general's exertions.
Reinforcements were daily arriving, and as they arrived were immediately con-
ducted to their respective stations.
Landing of the British. — In the meantime the British were actively employed
in making preparations for the attack; believing the pass from Lake Borgne to
Lake Pontchartrain to be defended according to General Wilkinson's plan, bv the
fortress of Petit Coquille, they determined to land from Lake Borgne by the Bavou
Bienvenue. For this purpose they concentrated their forces on Ship Island, eighty
miles distant from the contemplated place of landing. The depth of water in Lake
Borgne was such that this distance could be traversed only by boats and small
craft, and must necessarily be passed several times in order to bring up the whole
armament. The first object of the British general, was to clear the lake of the
American gun-boats; and fur this purpose, forty British launches were sent in pur-
suit of them, and, after a desperate resistance, captured and destroyed the whole
American flotilla, stationed on Lakes Borgne and Pontchartrain, for the defense of
New Orleans, consisting of five gun-boats and a small sloop and schooner. Bv thi.-i
success, they obtained the undisturbed possession of the lake; and on the ±2d of
December, proceeded from their rendezvous on Ship Island, with all their boats
and small craft capable of navigating the lake, to the Bayou of Bienvenue; and
having surprised and captured the videttes at tho mouth of the bayou, the first di-
vision accomplished their landing unobserved. Major General Villiere, of the New
Orleans militia, living on the bayou, to whom the important service of making the
first attack, and giving notice of the enemy's approach was intrusted, found them
on his plantation, nine miles below the city, without any previous knowledge of
their approach.
Skirmishes on the 23d. — Notice was immediately given to General Jackson, who
came out and attacked them on the evening of the 23d. In this affair the British
sustained a loss, in killed, wounded and missing, of five hundred. The British
entrenched themselves at the Bienvenue plantation, four miles from the American
camp, making the plantation house, in the rear of their works, their head-quarters.
General Jackson established his head-quarters at M'Carty's plantation, on the bank
of the river, and in full view of the British encampment Two armed schooners,
the Caroline and Louisiana, constituting all the American naval force on the river,
dropped down from the city, anchored opposite the British encampment, and opened
a brisk fire upon their lines with considerable effect. On the 27th, the Caroline,
Captain Henly, got becalmed within reach of the British batteries, and was sot fire
to and destroyed by their hot shot: the other succeeded in getting out of their
reach. On the 28th, the British advanced within half a mile of the American
lines, and opened a fire of shells and rockets; but were driven back by the artil-
lery with considerable loss. On the night of the 31st of December, the enemy
again advanced to within six hundred yards of General Jackson's position, and
erected three batteries, mounting fifteen guns, and at eight o'clock in the morn-
ing opened a heavy fire. In the course of the day, under cover of these batteries,
three unsuccessful attempts were made to storm the American works. By four in
the afternoon, all their batteries were silenced, and in the following night they re-
turned to their former position. On the 4th of January, General Adair arrived
with four thousand Kentucky militia, principally without arms. The muskets and
munitions of war destined for the supply of this corps, were provided at Pitts-
burgh, and did not leave that place until the 2~>th of December; passed Louisville
the 6th of January, and arrived at New Orleans, several days afler the battle of
LOUISIANA. 609
the 8th. On the Gth, the last reinforcement of three thousand men arrived from
England, under Major General Lambert. Before the final assault on the American
lines, the British general deemed it necessary to dislodge General Morgan and
Commodore Patterson from their positions on the right bank. These posts so ef-
fectually enfiladed the approach to General Jackson's works, that the army advanc-
ing to the assault must be exposed to the most imminent hazard. To .accomplish
this object, boats were to be transported across the island from Lake Borgne to the
Mississippi; for this purpose the British had been laboriously employed in deep-
ing and widening the canal or bayou Bienvenue, on which they first disembarked.
On the 7th, they succeeded in opening the embankment on the river, and complet-
ing a communication from the lake to the Mississippi. In pushing the boats
through, it was found at some places the canal was not of sufficient width, and at
others the bunks fell in and choked the passage, which necessarily occasioned great
delay and increase of labor. At length, however, they succeeded in hauling
through a sufficient number to transport five hundred troops to the right bank. At
dawn of day on the 8th, was the period fixed for the final assault on the American
lines. Colonel Thornton was detached with five hundred men, to cross the river
and attack the batteries on that side, at the same time that the main assault was to
be made, of which he was to be informed by a signal rocket. The American gen-
eral had detached Colonel Davis, with three hundred Kentucky militia, badly armed,
to reinforce General Morgan. These were immediately ordered to the water-edge,
to oppose the enemy's landing. Unable in their situation to contend with a supe-
rior force of regular troops well armed, they soon broke and fled, and the Louisi-
ana militia at General Morgan's battery followed their example. Commodore I'at-
terson's marine battery, being now unprotected, his crews were obliged to yield to
an overwhelming force, and the British succeeded in silencing both ; but the oppo-
sition which Colonel Thornton met with prevented this operation from being com-
pleted until the contest was nearly ended on the opposite side of the river.
At day-light on the morning of the 8th, the main body of the British under their
commander-in-chief, General Pakenham, were seen advancing from their encamp-
ment to storm the American lines. On the preceding evening they had erected a
battery within eight Imndred yards, which now opened a brisk fire to protect their
advance. The British came on in two columns, the left along the levee on the bank
of the river, directed against the American right, while their right advanced to the
swamp, with a view to turn General Jackson's left. The country being a perfect
level, and the view unobstructed, their march was observed from its commence-
ment. They were suffered to approach in silence and unmolested, until within
three hundred 'yards of the lines. This period of suspense and expectation was
employed by General Jackson and his officers, in stationing every man at his post,
ana arranging everything for the decisive event. When the British columns had
advanced within three hundred yards of thn lines, the whole artillery at once
opened upon them a most deadly fire. Forty pieces of cannon deeply charged with
grape, canister, and musket balls, mowed them down by hundreds, at the same
time the batteries on the west bank opened their fire, while the riflemen in perfect
security behind their works, as the British advanced, took deliberate aim, and
nearly every shot took effect. Through this destructive fire, the British left column,
under the immediate orders of the comraander-in-chief. rushed on with their
fascines and scaling ladders to the advance bastion on the American right, and
succeeded in mounting the parapet ; here, after a close conflict with the bayonet,
they succeeded in obtaining possession of the bastion, when the battery planted in
the rear for its protection, opened its fire and drove the British from the ground.
On the American left, the British attempted to pass the swamp, and gain the rear,
but the works had been extended as far into the swamp as the ground would per-
mit. Some who attempted it, sunk into the mire and disappeared ; those behind;
seeing the fate of their companions, seasonably retreated and gained the hard
ground. The assault continued an hour and a quarter: during the whole time the
British were, exposed to the deliberate and destructive fire of the American artil-
lery and musketry, which lay in perfect security behind their earthen breastworks,
through which no balls could penetrate. At eight o'clock, the British columns
drew off in confusion, and retreated behind their works. Flushed with success,
39
610 LOUISIANA.
the militia were eager to pursue the British troops to their entrenchments, and
drive them immediately from the island. A less prudent and accomplished general
might have been induced to yield to the indiscreet ardor of his troops; but Gen-
eral Jackson understood too well the nature, both of his own and his enemy's
force, to hazard such an attempt. Defeat must inevitably have attended an assault
made by raw militia upon an entrenched camp of British regulars. The defense
of New Orleans was the object; nothing was to be hazarded which would jeopard-
ize the city. The British were suffered to retire behind their works without moles-
tation. The result was such as might be expected from the different positions of
the two armies. General Packenham, near the crest of the glacis, received a ball
in his knee. Still continuing to lead on his men, another shot pierced his body,
and he was carried off the field. Nearly at the same time, Major General Gibbs,
the second in command, within a few yards of the lines, received a mortal wound,
and was removed. The third in command, Major General Keane, at the head of
his troops near the glacis, was severely wounded. The three commanding generals,
on marshaling their troops at five o'clock in the morning, promised them a plenti-
ful dinner in New Orleans, and gave them booty and beauty as the parole and
countersign of the day. Before eight o'clock the three generals were carried off
the field, two in the agonies of death, and the third entirely disabled; leaving up-
ward of two thousand of their men, dead, dying, and wounded, on the field of
battle. Colonel Raynor, who commanded the forlorn hope which stormed the
American bastion on the right, as he was leading his men up, had the calf of his
leg carried away by a cannon shot. Disabled as he was, he was the first to mount
the parapet, and receive the American bayonet Seven hundred were killed on
the field, fourteen hundred wounded, and five hundred made prisoners, making a
total on that day of twenty-six hundred. But six Americans were killed and seven
wounded. Of General Morgan's detachment on the west bank, and in a sortie on
the British lines, forty-nine were killed, and one hundred and seventy-eight
wounded.
After the battle, General Lambert, who had arrived from England but two days
before, and was now the only surviving general, requested a truce for the purpose
of burying his dead. This was granted until four o'clock ia the afternoon of the
9th. Lines were drawn one hundred rods distant from the American camp, within
which the British were not permitted to approach. In the ditch, and in front of
the works, within the prescribed lines, four hundred and eighty-two British dead
were picked up by the American troops, and delivered to their companions over the
lines for burial. The afternoon of the 8th and the whole of the 9th, was spent
by the British army is burying their dead. The American sentinels guarding the
lines during this interval, frequently repeated in the hearing of the British, while
tumbling their companions by hundreds into pits, 'Six killed, seven wounded.'
Retreat of the British. — On the night of the 18th, they broke up their encamp-
ment, and commenced their retreat to the place of their first landing. To accom-
plish this with safety, it was necessary that the army should move in one body.
With this view, immediately after the battle of the 8th, large working parties had
been employed in constructing a road through a quagmire, for a considerable dis-
tance along the margin of the bayou : by binding together large quantities of reeds,
and laying them across the mire ; in the course of nine days, these parties had
constructed something resembling a road from their encampment to the place of
debarkation. Along this insecure track, the British army silently stole their march
in the night of the 18th of January. By the treading ot the first corps, the bun-
dles of reeds gave way, and their followers had to wade up to their knees in mire.
Several perished in the sloughs, the darkness of the night preventing their compan-
ions from affording relief. At the mouth of the bayou were a few huts, which
afforded shelter for fishermen in the season of catching fish for the New Orleans
market; here the troops halted and bivouacked previous to their embarkation.
Their provisions being exhausted, a few crumbs of biscuit and a small allowance
of rum was their only support. Here they were eighty miles from their ships, the
whole of which distance they had to traverse in small open boats; and having but
few of these, the embarkation occupied ten days. On the 27th, the whole land
and naval forces which remained of this disastrous expedition, to their great joy,
LOUISIANA. 611
found themselves on board their ships. Their ranks thinned, their chiefs and
many of their companions slain, their bodies emaciated with hunger, fatigue, and
sickness, they gladly quitted this inauspicious country. The surviving command-
ing general observes, ' that the services of both army and navy, since their landing
on this coast, have been arduous beyond anything he ever before witnessed, and
difficulties have been gotten over with an assiduity and perseverance beyond ex-
ample by all ranks.' A British officer of distinction, an actor in the scene, thus
describes his tour from the encampment to the embarkation: 'For some time, our
route lay along the high road beside the brink of the river, and was agreeable
enough ; but as soon as we began to enter upon the path through the marsh, all
comfort was at an end. Being constructed of materials so slight, and resting upon
a foundation so infirm, the treading of the first corps unavoidably beat it to pieces :
those which followed were therefore compelled to flounder on in the best way they
could; and by the time the rear of the column gained the morass, all trace o"f a
way had entirely disappeared. But not only were the reeds torn asunder and sunk
by the pressure of those who had gone before, but the bog itself, which at first
might have furnished a few spots of firm footing, was trodden into the consistency
of mud. The consequence was, that every step sunk us to the knees, and fre-
quently higher. Near the ditches, indeed, many spots occurred which we had the
utmost difficulty of crossing at all; and as the night was dark, there being no moon,
nor any light, except what the stars supplied, it was difficult txvselect our steps, or
even to follow those who called to us that they were safe on the other side. At
one of these places, I myself beheld an unfortunate wretch gradually sink, until
he totally disappeared. I saw him flounder in, heard him cry for help, and ran
forward with the intention of saving him ; but before I had taken a second step, I
myself sunk at once as high as the breast. I could feel no solid bottom under me,
and continued slowly to go deeper and deeper till the mud reached my arms. In-
stead of endeavoring to help the poor soldier, of whom nothing now could be seen
except the head and hands, I was forced to beg assistance for myself, when a
leathern canteen strap being thrown me, I laid hold of it, and was dragged out
just as my fellow sufferer became invisible. Over roads such as these, did we
continue our march during the whole of the night, and in the morning arrived at
a place called Fishermen's huts, consisting of a clump of mud-built cottages,
standing by the edge of the water, on a part of the morass rather more firm than
the rest Here we were ordered to halt ; wearied with exertions and oppressed
with want of sleep, I threw myself on the ground without so much as taking off
my muddy garments, and in an instant all cares and troubles were forgotten. Nor
did I awake from that deep slumber for many hours; when I arose, cold and stiff,
and addressed myself to the last morsel of salt pork my wallet contained. With-
out tents or huts of any description, our bed was the morass, and our only cover-
ing the clothes which had not quitted our backs for more than a month; our fires
were composed solely of reeds, which, like straw, soon blaze up and expire again,
without communicating any degree of warmth. But above all, our provisions were
expended, and from what quarter an immediate supply was to be obtained, we
could not discover. Our sole dependence was upon the boats. Of these a flotilla
lay ready to receive us, in which were already embarked the black corps and the
44th ; but they had brought with them only food for their own use, it was there-
fore necessary that they should reach the fleet and return again before we could
be supplied. But as the nearest shipping was eighty miles distant, and the weather
might become boisterous, or the winds obstinate, we might starve before any sup-
ply could arrive. As soon as the boats returned, regiment after regiment embarked
and set sail for the fleet ; but the distance being considerable, and the wind foul,
many days elapsed before the whole could be got off; by the end of the month, we
were all once more on board our former ships.' " /
The following respecting New Orleans, is extracted from a small work, en-
titled "Travels in Louisiana and the Floridas in the year 1802, etc.," a very
popular volume, published in Paris, Aug., 1803. Translated by John Davis:
"New Orleans ... on the east side of the Mississippi, thirty-five leagues from
the sea. . . . The river forms, before the city, a large creek, or kind of semi-circu-
612 LOUISIANA.
lar basin, here and there widening. It is equivalent for a port on the east, where
vessels anchor close to each other, and so near the water side, thai by means of a
couple of forts, in the form of a bridge, there is an easy communication from the
land to each vessel, and their cargoes are discharged with the greatest care.
The depth of the river, taken at the middle of its bed, in front of the city, is
about forty fathoms; about half a century ago its depth at the same place was sev-
enty fathoms. Hence it follows ( if these measurements be not faulty ) that the
bed of the river loses in depth what it gains in breadth; it is considerably wider
than it was. Its breadth at the same pface is about five hundred fathoms, propor-
tionate to the elevation and depression of its waters.
Behind the city is a communication by water with Lake Ponchartrain, which is
not more than two leagues distant in a right line toward the north-east from whence
small vessels come up with sails, by the way of the Bayou Saint John, which there
empties itself. At this confluence is an open canal, which was made some years
ago, under the direction of Mons. Carondelet, a work truly useful; which, in pro-
curing to the city the advantages of a double port, purged and drained the neigh-
boring swamps. Formerly, those very vessels navigated the canal which now
anchor before the city, but it having been neglected since the departure of the
governor, it has lost its advantages in being choked up, and is now the receptacle
of only the most diminutive barks.
The city is about 3,600 feet in length : to which may be superadded the suburbs
extending like the city along the river, and about half as long ; but, strictly speak-
ing, both the city and suburbs are mere outlines, the greater part of the houses
being constructed of wood, having but one" story, erected often on blocks, and
roofed with shingles, the whole being of very combustible wood, that is of cypress.
Hence this city has been twice on fire, accidentally, in the interval of a small
number of years, in the month of March, 1788, and the month of December, 1794.
Yet, notwithstanding, the inhabitants every day build wooden houses, regardless
of the consequences.
There are a few houses, more solid and less exposed, on the banks of the river,
and in the front streets. Those houses are of burnt brick, some one, others two
stories high, having the upper part furnished with an open gallery, which sur-
rounds the building. In the heart of the town one sees nothing but the bar-
racks.
The streets are well laid out and tolerably spacious, but that is all. Bordered
by a footway of four or five feet, and throughout unpaved, walking is inconvenient;
but what more particularly incommodes the foot-passenger is the projecting flight
of steps before every door. The streets being flat, the filth of the houses remains
where it was thrown ; and during a great part of the year, they are a common
sewer, a sink of mistiness, dirt, and corruption.
With regard to the public buildings, these are only the Hotel de Ville and the
Parochial Church (a plain building of the Ionic order), both built of brick ; the
former has, however, but one story. They stand near each other, on a spot con-
tiguous to the river' At both times they offered asylums to the inhabitants, many
seeking safety under their roofs, instead of exerting themselves to extinguish the
flames.
Nearly in the center of the town is a small theater, where, on my arrival, I saw
several dramas performed with considerable ability. The company was coin-
posed of half a dozen actors and actresses, refugees from the theater of Cape
Francais, in the Island of St. Domingo. Nor is this the first instance of Louisiana
having profited by the calamities of that island. But by some misunderstanding
between the civil and military of the colony, and the indifference of the citizens
and colonists, the theatrical troop has been dispersed, and the theater shut. Not
long ago, however, some of the citizens were seized with a fit of play acting, and
a display of their dramatic talents was made in the Death of Caesar. They in
consequence stabbed with great vigor, rage, and perseverance, this enemy of Roman
liberty, in the person of an old colonist, bald headed from years and corpulent
from good living. The venerable colonist sustained his part well. But the spec-
tators, who could not yield themselves to the theatrical illusion, ceased not to see,
through the representation, in the hero of ancient Rome, raised from the dead anJ
LOUISIANA.
#13
transported from the banks of the Tiber to those of the Mississippi, they did not
cease a moment to behold the venerable and portly Mr. B******.
In winter, during the Carnival, there is a public ball open twice a week, one day
for the grown people, and another for children. Jt is nothing but a kind of hall
made out of a huge barrack, and stands in such an unfortunate part of the city,
that it is only accessible through mud and mire. Each side is accompanied with
boxes, where the mammas form a tapestry,- and where ladies of younger date, who
come merely as spectators, are accommodated with seats. The latter in irony are
called Bredouilles The musicians are half a dozen gypsies, or else people
of color, scraping their fiddles with all their might Jt is hither, in the
months of January and February, but seldom sooner or later, that the inhabitants
repair, men and women, to forget their cares in dancing; nor will they tire at
their country dances, groso modo, from seven at night till cock-crowing the next
morning. The price of admittance is four Dutch shillings, or half a piastre, for
every individual."
The French or Catholic Cemetery, in New Orleans, is an interesting spot.
On account of the wet nature of the soil, almost all the dead are interred
above ground. The principal cemetery (which is within the city limits), is
in three divisions, each of which is covered with a profusion of elevated
tombs. Many of these are beautifully constructed, embracing a great va-
riety of architecture. A large portion of the tombs are built against the
View in the French Cemetery, New Orleans.
•walls which surround each division of the cemetery, having tiers of
ovenlike recesses, one above each other, in each of which a body is
placed and then walled up by masonry, with a marble slab in front
having inscriptions to the memory of the deceased within.
BATON ROUGE, the capital of Louisiana, and the oldest town in the
state next to New Orleans, is situated on the east or left bank of the
Mississippi, 130 miles above New Orleans, and 1,120 miles S. W. from
Washington. It is mostly built on an elevated plain or bluff, some
30 or 40 feet above high water, being the first elevation on the Mis-
sissippi from its entrance into the gulf of Mexico. The city contains
about 4,000 inhabitants.
The first settlement of Baton Rouge was made by the French, but
the difficulty in navigating the river with sail vessels to such a distance
from the Gulf was such that it never increased to any great extent. At
614
LOUISIANA.
the purchase of Louisiana, Baton Rouge being then in the hands of the
Spaniards, was taken by Gen. Thomas, and the Spanish rule annihilated.
The place is said to have derived its name from the symbols of a bloody
massacre by the Chickasaw Indians. A Spanish family, residing here, were
murdered by the Indians, and their heads placed on poles along the margin
of the river. A party of French, under La Salle, shortly afterward ap-
proached the place, and were appalled by the ghastly sight, and named it
finton Rouge (Red Stick.)
General Zachary Taylor had his family residence, for many years, at
Baton Rouge. It was a small cot-
tage built house, standing upon the
bank of the Mississippi, and was
originally inhabited by the com-
mandant of the old Spanish fort.
"It contained but three large rooms,
to which were added in course of
time a surrounding veranda, and
some out-buildings devoted to do-
mestic purposes. Here Col. Taylor,
when ordered to take a command in
the army south, refusing the more
ostentatious quarters of 'the garri-
son,' established himself, and here
the members of his family resided,
more or less, for the quarter of a
century that preceded his translation
to the ' White House.' At the time
of the ' Presidential contest,' the
thousands who traveled upon the
great highway of the south and west,
the Mississippi, were accustomed to
stop their steamers in front of this
humble looking house, and make the
GEN. TAYLOR'S KKIDENCK. Welkin ""g with exulting cheers ;
and nothing could exceed the enthu-
siasm-when 'old Whitey,' grazing in his retirement, would start at the enli-
vening sounds, and sweep along the bluff in graceful movements, as if cor
dially acknowledging the honors paid to his master."
Western view of Baton Rouge.
LOUISIANA. 615
PURCHASE OF LOUISIANA.*
Tn 1763, Louisiana was ceded to Spain, and by a secret article in the treaty of
St. Ildefonso, concluded in 1800, that power ceded it back to France. Napoleon,
however, wished to keep this cession secret until he should have — as he hoped to
do — reduced St. Domingo to submission. Failing in this, he was rendered indif-
ferent to his new acquisition. In January, 1803, he sent out Laussat as prefect of
the colony, which was the first intimation that the inhabitants had of the transfer
which gave them great joy;
On being informed of this retrocession, President Jefferson had dispatched in-
structions to Robert Livingston, the American minister at Paris, to represent to
the First Consul that the occupation of New Orleans by France would endanger
the friendly relations between the two nations, and, perhaps, even oblige the United
States to make common cause with England; as the possession of this city by the
former, by giving her the command of the Mississippi, the only outlet to the pro-
duce of the western states, and also of the Gulf of Mexico, so important to Amer-
ican commerce, would render it almost certain that the conflicting interests of the
two nations would lead to an open rupture. Mr. Livingston was therefore in-
structed not only to insist upon the free navigation of the Mississippi, but to nego-
tiate for the acquisition of New Orleans itself and the surrounding territory; and
Mr. Monroe was appointed with full powers to assist him in the negotiation.
Bonaparte, who always acted promptly, soon came to the conclusion that what
he could not defend, he had better dispose of on the best terms ; but before decid-
ing, he summoned two of his ministers in council, on the 10th of April, 1803, and
thus addressed them:
"I am fully sensible of the value of Louisiana, and it was my wish to repair the
error of the French diplomatists who abandoned it in 1763. I have scarcely re-
covered it before I run the risk of losing it; but if I am obliged to give it up, it
shall hereafter cost more to those who force me to part with it than to those to
whom I yield it The English have despoiled France of all her northern posses-
sions in America, and now they covet those of the south. I am determined that
they shall not have the Mississippi. Although Louisiana is but a trifle compared
to their vast possessions in other parts of the globe, yet, judging from the vexation
they have manifested on seeing it return to the power of France, 1 am certain that
their first object will be to gaiix possession of it. They will probably commence
the war in that quarter. They have twenty vessels in the Gulf of Mexico, and our
affairs in St. Domingo are daily getting worse since the death of Le Clerc. The
conquest of Louisiana might be easily made, and I have not a moment to lose in
putting it out of their reach. I am not sure but what they have already begun an
attack upon it. Such a measure would be in accordance with their habits; and in
their place I should not wait. I am inclined, in order to deprive them of all pros-
pect of ever possessing it, to cede it to the United States. Indeed, I can hardly
say that I cede it, for I do not yet possess it; and if I wait but a short time, my
enemies may leave me nothing but an empty title to grant to the Republic I wish
to conciliate. They only ask for one city of Louisiana, but I consider the whole
colony as lost; and I believe that in the hands of this rising power it will be more
useful to the political, and even the commercial interests of France, than if I
should attempt to retain it Let me have both your opinions on the subject"
One of the ministers, Barbe Marbois, fully approved of the cession, but the other
opposed it They debated the matter for a long time, and Bonaparte concluded the
conference without making his determination known. The next day, however, .he
sent for Marbois, and said to him :
" The season for deliberation is over : I have determined to renounce Louisiana.
I shall give up not only New Orleans, but the whole colony, without reservation.
That 1 do not undervalue Louisiana I have sufficiently proved, as the object of my
first treaty with Spain was to recover it. But, though I regret parting with it, I
am convinced it would be folly to persist in trying to keep it. I commission you,
*This article is extracted from Bonner's History of Louisiana.
616 LOUISIANA.
therefore, to negotiate this affair with the envoys of the United States. Do not
wait the arrival of Mr. Monroe, but go this very day and confer with Mr. Livings-
ton. Remember, however, that I need ample funds for carrying on the war, and I
do not wish to commence it by levying new taxes. For the last century France
and Spain have incurred great expense in the improvement of Louisiana, for which
her trade has never indemnified them. Large sums have been advanced to differ-
ent companies, which have never returned to the treasury. It is fair that I should
require repayment for these. Were I to regulate my demands by the importance
of this territory to the United States, they would be unbounded; but, being obliged
to part with it, I shall be moderate in my terms. Still, remember, I must have fifty
millions of francs, and I will not consent to take less. I would rather make somo
desperate effort to preserve this fine country."
The negotiations commenced that very day. Mr. Monroe arrived at Paris on
the 12th of April, and the two representatives of the United States, after holding
a private conference, announced that they were ready to treat for the cession of
the entire territory, which at first Mr. Livingston had nesitated to do, believing the
proposal of the First Consul to be only a device to gain time.
On the 30th of April, 1803, the treaty was signed. The United States were to
pay fifteen million dollars for their new acquisition, and be indemnified for some
illegal captures; while it was agreed that the vessels and merchandise of France
and Spain should be admitted into all the ports of Louisiana free of duty for
twelve years.
Bonaparte stipulated in favor of Louisiana that it should as soon as possible be
incorporated into the Union, and that its inhabitants should enjoy the same rights,
privileges, and immunities as other citizens of the United States; and the third
article of the treaty, securing to them these benefits, was drawn up by the First
Consul himself, who presented it to the plenipotentiaries with these words:
"Make it known to the people of Louisiana that we regret to part with them;
that we have stipulated for all the advantages they could desire; and that France,
in giving them up, has insured to them the greatest of all. They could never have
prospered under any European government as they will when they become inde-
pendent. But, while they enjoy the privileges of liberty, let them ever remember
that they are French, and preserve for their mother-country that affection which a
common origin inspires."
The completion of this important transaction gave equal satisfaction to both
parties. " I consider," said Livingston, "that from this day the United States takes
rank with the first powers of Europe, and now she has entirely escaped from the
power of England; " and Bonaparte expressed a similar sentiment in these words:
"By this cession of territory I have secured the power of the United States, and
given to England a maratime rival, Avho at some future time will humble her
pride." These words appeared prophetic when the troops of Britain, a few years
after, met so signal an overthrow on the plains of Louisiana.
The boundaries of the colony had never been clearly defined, and one of Bona-
parte's ministers drew his attention to his obscurity. "No matter," said he, "if
there was no uncertainty, it would, perhaps, be good policy to leave some; " and,
in fact, the Americans, interpreting to their own advantage this uncertainty, some
few years after seized upon the extensive territory of Baton Rouge, which was in
dispute between them and the Spaniards.
On the 30th of November, 1803, Laussat took possession of the country, when
Casa Calvo and Salcedo, the Spanish commissioners, presented to him the keys of
the city, over which the tri-colored flag floated but for a short time. The colony
ha$ been under the rule of Spain for a little more than thirty-four years.
On the 20th of December, in the same year, Gen. Wilkinson and Gov. Claiborne,
who were jointly commissioned to take possession of the country for the United
States, made their entry into New Orleans at the head of the American troops.
Laussat gave up his command, and the star-spangled banner supplanted the tri-
colored flag of France.
The purchase of Louisiana, which gave the United States their sole claim to the
vast territory west of the Mississippi, extending on the north through Oregon to
the Pacific, and further south to the Mexican dominions, was the most important
LOUISIANA.
617
event to the nation which has occurred in this century. From that moment, the
interests of the whole people of the Mississipi valley became as one, and its vast
natural resources began to be rapidly developed. So great are they that it is
destined to become the center of American power — " the mistress of the world."
CULTIVATION OF S0GAR CANE.*
Louisana. before the rebellion, produced about half the amount of sugar used
in the Union, or more than 350,000 bogheads yearly. Sugar is a modern
production: it was unknown to the
ancients, and even in the middle ages
was a luxury seldom indulged in even
by the wealthiest. It is generally
conceded that the plant originated in
China. The cane was first introduced
into Europe by the Saracens, who cul-
tivated it in Sicily, and the islands in
the vicinity : by the middle of the
13th century, it became generally
known to the European world. Soon
after the discovery of America the
sugar cane was introduced by the
early colonists of St. Domingo and
other West India islands, which soon
became famous for its cultivation and
the extraordinary improvements in-
troduced there in the manufacture of
sugar. In 1751, the cane was intro-
duced into Louisianaby Jesuit priests
from St. Domingo, who, by the indus-
try of negroes familiar with its cul-
tivation, planted it upon lands now
occupied by the most densely popu-
lated part of New Orleans. The cli-
mate of Louisiana is far inferior to
that of the West Indies for the pro-
duction of sugar; but the cane in time
becomes acclimated and insensible to
the cold which would destroy that
grown farther south.
Until within the memory of those
now living, the cultivation of the cane
was confined to the vicinity of New
Orleans. A great change has taken
place: for over two hundred miles on
either side of the Mississippi, and on
the banks of many of its tributaries, together with the rich country — almost un-
known except to its inhabitants — of Opelousas and Attakappas, lying westwardly
on the (lulf coast, the sugar cane nourishes in the greatest perfection. A large
number of the great cotton farms on lower Red River, have been successfully
changed into the cultivation of cane, and the "high lands," which mean those
above the annual rise of the Mississippi, have gratefully rewarded the labor of the
sugar planter.
Sugar cane is classed by botanists among the grasses. Its technical description,
except to the initiated, gives but an indefinite idea to the general reader. Super-
ficially, it resembles, in the field, the growing corn; but, on examination, it will be
found to be very different. The stem, in every species of cane, is round and hard,
and divided, at short, irregular intervals, with joints. When it is considered, that
GATHERING SUGAR CANE.
*AbrU<<ed from an article in Hnrper, by Tft. B. Thorpe, entitled "Sugar and the Sugar
Region of Louisiana," and from Olmsted's " Seaboard Slave States."
618 LOUISIANA.
in Louisiana, the sugar crop has to be gathered and manufactured in ninety days,
or be destroyed by the frost, and that one third of the entire crop has to be put
into the ground for "seed." and that in the West Indies the season is always favor
able for the perfection of the cane, a tolerably correct idea can be formed of the
disadvantages under which the Louisiana planter labors, compared to those simi-
larly engaged in more tropical regions.
The largest and most important sugar plantations of Louisiana lie, with few ex-
ceptions, upon the low lands of the Mississippi and its outlets. The consequence
is, that they are beautifully level, and present a different appearance from any other
agricultural portion of the Union. The prairies of the West roll like the swells of
the sea, but the fields of Louisiana spread out with an evenness of surface that
finds no parallel, except in the undisturbed bosom of the inland lake.
One of the most interesting and picturesque portions of Louisiana devoted to
the cultivation of sugar, lying off the banks of the Mississippi River, is the coun-
try of " the Attakappas." This earthly paradise — for such a name it really deserves
— lies west of the Mississippi River, and borders upon the Gulf of Mexico. It
would be almost impossible to describe its character, it is so composed of bayous,
lakes, rivers, prairies, and impenetrable swamps. To even a large portion of the
oldest inhabitants of the state, Attakappas is an unknown region, and so it is des-
tined to remain, except to its immediate inhabitants, if artificial means are not
adopted to facilitate communication. Jn the spring you can reach the Attakappas
in a comfortable steamer; later in the season all direct communication is cut off
by the ''low water."
Here, upon the borders of the Teche, is the most enchanting scenery and the
richest sugar farms of Louisiana. Unlike the Mississippi, the Teche has no levees :
its waters never overflow. The stately residences of the planters are surrounded
by gardens, the shrubbery of which reaches to the water's edge, and hedges of rose
and hawthorn, of lemon and orange, every where meet the ravished eye. Along
its shores the magnificent live oak rears itself in all the pride of vigorous "ancient
youth," and gives to the gently undulating landscape, the expression so often wit-
nessed in the lordly parks of England.
The pleasant town of FRANKLIN lies upon the Teche, and is the shipping port
of the richest sugar parish of the state. Vessels of large size while in the Gulf
of Mexico turn aside from the mud-choked mouths of the Mississippi, and floating
and cordelling through innumerable bays and bayous, finally work their way into
the ''interior, and mingle their rigging with the foliage of the forest. Here these
argosies, born in the cold regions of the Aroostook, fill their holds with sugar and
molasses, and, once freighted, wing their way to the north.
Running parallel with the Teche are magnificent lakes, that consequently lie
upon the rear of the plantations. Tt is the mists from these inland seas, with
those of the rivers, that rise over the sugar cane in winter, and protect it from
frosts which in less favored regions destroy the planter's prospects. To the acci-
dental location of a plantation with regard to water, it is often indebted fora com-
parative exemption from freezing cold.
Immediately after the business of one year is closed, and the holidays are at an
end, one of the first things attended to, as a commencement of the year's labor, is
the clearing out of the d itches, that have become choked up by vegetation in the course
of the summer and fall months. The ditches form one of the most important and ex-
pensive necessities of a sugar estate; for, with the exception of frost, standing water
is the most destructive thing to cane. Rains that fall in torrents in these latitudes,
not only have to be guarded against, but also the more insidious and ever-encroach-
ing " transpiration water. ' To form an idea of what is meant by this term, it
must be remembered that the lands on the Mississippi River ate protected from
annual inundation by embankments known as " levees." In the spring of the year,
the Mississippi, as the conductor to the ocean of more than half the running water
of the North American continent, rises not only until its banks are full — but would,
if left to itself, overflow for a season the whole lower country through which it
passes. To remedy this evil, from below New Orleans and up toward the north
for hundreds of miles, the river is lined with an embankment, which, in times of
flood, confines its waters within its usual channel These embankments vary from
LOUISIANA. 619
six to twelve feet in hight. When the river is full, it will be noticed that there is
an inconceivable pressure made by this artificial column upon the water that lies
Tinder the soil of the plantations. Consequently, there is a constant percolation
up to the surface; and if this were not provided against by the most liberal and
scientific method of ditching, although the sun might shine uninterruptedly for
weeks, the cane crop would sicken and die, not as we have seen by the descending
rains, but by the ascending flood that at these particular times literally boils and
billows under the earth.
The highest lands upon the Mississippi River are those forming the banks; as
you go inland, they gradually sink. In draining a plantation, it is customary to
cut parallel ditches about two hundred feet apart, from the front to the rear of the
plantation, with cross ditches every six hundred feet. This complication of artifi-
cial canals requires not only an enormous outlay of capital and occupation of val-
uable land, but also taxes the scientific engineer to give them their proper levels.
In many instances, it is found impossible to accomplish this, and costly draining-
rnachines have to be called into service. There is erected the steam-engine, that
in every revolution tumbles the superabundant water that is running so merrily in
the ditches over the back levee into the swamp.
There are plantations on which within a square mile can be found from twenty
to thirty miles of ditching. Often the "bayous" of the country are cleared out,
and form an important natural adjunct in carrying off the surplus water, but to
the labor of man is to be .ascribed the making of the most formidable channels;
for on some plantations can be seen a regular system of deep and carefully con-
structed canals. It may be with truth said, that the industry and capital expended
in Louisiana alone, to preserve the state from inundation, have erected works of
internal improvement which, united, far surpass in extent, and if concentrated
within the vision of a single eye, would be superior in magnificence to the re-
nowned pyramids of Egypt.
This extensive ditching has required the labor of years to accomplish. At first
very little was needed, foi*only the highest lands of the river were cultivated. As
plantation after plantation was opened, and the levees increased, this ditching be-
came more important — in fact, the value of the plantation for productiveness de-
pended upon their construction. Where the " plantation force " is large, the negroes
do most of this important work, and generally are able to keep all clean when
once they are made. But the same hardy and improvident son of Erin that levels
mountains at the north, or tunnels through their rocky hearts, that flourishing
cities may be built, and railways be constructed, finds his way to the distant south;
and with spade and wheelbarrow, is ever ready to move about the rich soil with
an energy and ease that finds no rival except in the labors of an earthquake.
For planting, new or fallow ground is prepared by plowing the whole surface.
The ground being then harrowed, di-ills are opened with a double mold-board plow
seven feet apart. Cuttings of cane for seed are to be planted in them. These are
reserved from the crop in the autumn, when some of the best cane on the planta-
tion is selected for this purpose, while still standing. This is cut off at the roots,
and laid up in heaps or stacks, in such a manner th'at the leaves and tops protect
the stalks from frost. The heaps are called mattresses ; they are two or three feet
high, and as many yards across. At the planting season they are opened, and the
cane comes out moist and green, and sweet, with the buds or eyes, which protrude
at the joints, swelling. The immature top parts of the stalk are cut off, and they
are loaded into carts, and carried to the ground prepared for planting. The carts
used are large, with high side-boards, and are drawn by three mules — one large
one being in the shafts, and two lighter ones abreast, before her. The drivers are
boys, who use the whip a great deal, and drive rapidly. In the field, says Olmsted,
in his book, I found the laborers working in three divisions — the first, consisting
of light hands, brought the cane by armsfull from the cart, and laid it by the side
of the furrows; the second planted it, and the third covered it. Planting is done
by laying the cuttings at the bottom of the furrow, in such a way that there shall
be three always together, with the eyes of each a little removed from those of the
others — that is, all " breaking joints." They are thinly covered with earth, drawn
over them with hoes. The other tools woro so well selected on this plantation.
620 LOUISIANA.
that I expressed surprise at the clumsiness of the hoes, particularly as the soil
was light, and entirely free from stones. " Such hoes as }TOU use at the north
would not last a negro a day," said the planter.
Cane will grow for several years from the roots of the old plants, and, when it
is allowed to do so, a very considerable part of the expense is avoided ; but the
vigor of the plant is less when growing from this source than when starting from
cuttings, and the crop, when thus obtained, is annually less and less productive,
until, after a number of years, depending upon the rigor of the seasons, fresh
shoots cease to spring from the stubble. This sprouting of cane from the stools
pf the last crop is termed "ratooning." In the West India plantations the cane
*s frequently allowed to ratoon for eight successive crops. In Louisiana it is usual
to plant once in three years, trusting to the ratooning for two crops only, and this
was the practice on Mr. R.'s plantation. The cost of sugar growing would be very
greatly increased if the crop needed planting every year: for all the cane grown
upon an acre will not furnish seed for more than four acres — consequently one
twelfth of the whole of each crop has to be reserved for the planting of the fol-
lowing crop, even when two thirds of this is to be of ratoon cane.
Planting is finished in a favorable season — early in March. Tillage is com-
menced immediately afterward, by plowing from the rows of young cane, and sub-
sequently continued very much after the usual plan of tillage for potatoes, when
planted in drills, with us. By or before the first of July, the crop is all well
earthed up, the rows of cane growing from the crest of a rounded bed, seven feet
wide, with deep water-furrows between each. The cane is at this time five or six
feet high ; and that growing from each bed forms arches with that of the next, so
as to completely shade the ground. The furrows between the beds are carefully
cleaned out; so that in the most drenching torrents of rain, the water is rapidly
carried off into the drains, and thence to the swamp; and the crop then requires
no further labor upon it until frost is apprehended, or the season for grinding
arrives.
The nearly three months' interval, commencing at the«ntensest heat of summer,
corresponds in the allotment of labor to the period of winter in northern agricul-
ture, because the winter itself, on the sugar-plantations, is the planting-season.
The negroes are employed in cutting and carting wood for boiling the cane-juice,
in making necessary repairs or additions to the sugar-house, and otherwise pre-
paring for the grinding-season.
The grinding-season is the harvest of the sugar- planter; it commences in Octo-
ber, and continues for two or three months, during which time, the greatest possi-
ble activity and the utmost labor of which the hands are capable, are required to
secure the product of the previous labor of the year. Mr. R. assured me that
during the last grinding-season nearly every man, woman, and child on his planta
tion, including his overseer and himself, were at work fully eighteen hours a day.
From the moment grinding first commences, until the end of the season, it is never
discontinued; the fires under the boiler never go out, and the negroes rest only
for six hours in the twenty-four, by relays — three quarters of them being constantly
at work.
Notwithstanding the severity of the labor required of them at this time, Mr. R.
said that his negroes were as glad as he was himself to have the time for grinding
arrive, and they worked with greater cheerfulness than at any other season. How
can those persons who are always so ready to maintain that the slaves work less
than free laborers in free countries, and that for that reason they are to be envied
by them, account for this? That at Mr. R.'s plantation it was the case that the
slaves enjoyed most that season of the year when the hardest labor was required
of them, I have, in addition to Mr. R.'s own evidence, good reason to believe, which
I shall presently report And the reason of it evidently is, that they are then bet-
ter paid; they have better and more varied food and stimulants than usual, but
especially they have a degree of freedom, and of social pleasure, and a variety of
occupation which brings a recreation of the mind, and to a certain degree gives
them strength for, and pleasure in, their labor. Men of sense have discovered
that when they desire to get extraordinary exertions from their slaves, it is better
to offer them rewards than to whip them; to encourage them rather than drive them.
LOUISIANA. 621
ll tb,> season has been favorable, so that the cane is strong, and well matured,
it w!'. ci.Jure a smart early frost without injury, particularly if the ground is well
draiius-, but as rapidly as possible, after the season has arrived at which frosts
are to be expected, the whole crop is cut, and put in mattresses, from which it is
taken t.i the grinding-mill as fast as it can be made to use it.
The business of manufacturing sugar is everywhere carried on in connection
with the planting of the cane. The shortness of the season during which the cane
•.fan be used is the reason assigned for this: the proprietors would not be willing
x> trust to custom mills to manufacture their produce with the necessary rapidity.
If cane should be cultivated in connection with other crops — that is, on sma!!
!arms, instead of great "sugar only" plantations — neighborhood custom-mills
wnold probably be employed.
The other prominent towns of Louisiana are Opelousas, Nachitoches, Alexan-
dria, and Shreveport, the last named, on Red River, being the most important
commercial town in Western Louisiana, and with a population of about 3,000.
i
TENNESSEE.
TENNESSEE was originally included within the limits of North Carolina
The first establishment of the Anglo-Saxon race within its borders was Fort
Loudon, on the north bank of Lit-
tle Tennessee or Watauga River, about
a mile above the mouth of Tellico
River, and some 30 miles south-west-
erly from Knoxville. This fortifica-
tion was erected by Andrew Lewis, in
1756, who was sent here for that pur-
pose by the Earl of Loudon, the go^-
ernor of Virginia and commander •;*'
the King's troops in America. Tlie
fort was garrisoned by British troons.
and this, with other fortified places
established afterward, induced large
numbers of emigrants to settle in the
vicinity. In the spring of 1758, the
garrison of Fort Loudon was augment-
ed to 200 men. In a few months, by
the arrival of traders and hunters, it
grew into a thriving village. At the time Tennessee was first explored, its
territory was a vast and almost unoccupied wilderness, over which the Indian
hunters seldom roamed. Being equi-distant from the settled territories of
the southern and northern tribes, it remained a kind of neutral ground. By
reason of the mildness of the climate, and the rich pasturage furnished by
its varied ranges of plain and mountain, in common with Kentucky, it had
become a great park in which the beasts of the forest ranged without much
molestation. The Cherokees, in the south-east corner of the territory, appear
to have been the only Indian tribe who had any permanent location in the
state. The other parts of Tennessee were either claimed or occupied as
hunting grounds by the Chickasaws, Choctaws, and Shawnees. The Six
Nations also claimed a right to the grounds north and east of the Tennessee
Kiver, and the first cession of lands by any of the r.boiiginal tribes was made
cy them.
The second fort built in Tennessee was m the north east corner of the
eifate, within the present limits of Sullivan county, near the Virginia line, in
1758, by Col. Bird, in the French and Ip'^ian war. It was erected on »
623
STATE ARMS OF TENNESSEE,
TENNESSEE.
beautiful eminence on the north bank of the Holston, opposite the upper end
of Long Island, and from this circumstance called Long Island Fort. The
anny wintered here in 1758. It was at that time supposed to be within the
limits of Virginia. After the treaty with the Indians in 1768, many emi-
grants flocked into Tennessee, and settled on the banks of the Holston and
Watauga Rivers. North of Holston, in what is now Sullivan and Hawkins
counties, was believed to be in Virginia; south of the Holston was admitted
to be within North Carolina. Of those who ventured furthest into the wilder-
ness, with their families, was Capt. William Bean. Pie came from Virginia,
and settled early in 17(39 on Boone's Creek, a tributary of the Watauga. His
son, Russel Bean, was the first white child born in Tennessee.
In 1769 or 1770, a company of ten hunters built two boats and trapping
canoes, loaded them with the results of their hunting, and descended the
Cumberland River — the first navigation and the first commerce probably ever
carried on upon that stream by the Anglo-Americans. Where Nashville now
stands they discovered the French Lick, and found immense numbers of buf-
falo and other wild game. Descending the river to the Ohio, they met with
Indians, who, while they stole a few articles, offered them no personal injury.
On descending the Ohio they met with Frenchmen trading to the Illinois,
who treated them with friendship. From thence they sailed down the Mis-
sissippi as far as the then Spanish town of Natchez. Here some of them
remained while the others returned.
In 1760, the Cherokees besieged Fort Loudon, with its garrison of 200
men. The garrison, having subsisted for a month principally on the flesh
of horses and dogs, agreed to capitulate, on condition they should be allowed
to return to Virginia or Fort Prince George. After marching about fifteen
miles from the fort, they were surrounded and treacherously attacked by
nearly 500 warriors; with horrid yells they rushed, tomahawk in hand, upon
the feeble and emaciated troops, and massacred nearly all of them on the
spot. The next year, Col. Grant, with a body of 2,600 men (Highlanders,
Provincials and friendly Indians), marched into the Cherokee country, gave
battle to the Indians, burned their dwellings, and laid waste their country.
The celebrated Francis Marion was a subordinate officer in this campaign, and
in writing to a friend, he gave the following touching and picturesque account:
'• We arrived at the Indian towns in the month of July. As the ground was rich
and the season had been favorable, the corn was bending under the double weight
of lusty roasting cars and pods and clustering beans. The furrows seemed to re-
joice under their precious loads — the fields stood thick with bread. We encamped
the first night in the woods, near the fields, where the whole army feasted on the
young corn, which, with fat venison, made a most delicious treat. The next morn-
ing, we proceeded, by order of Col. Grant, to burn down the Indian cabins. Some
of our men seemed to enjoy this cruel work, laughing very heartily at the curling
flames, as they mounted, loud crackling, over the tops of the huts. But to me, it
appeared a shocking sight. 'Poor creatures!1 thought I, 'we surely need not
grudge you such miserable habitations.' But when we came, according to orders
to cut down the fields of corn, 1 could scarcely refrain from tears. For who could
see the stalks, that stood so stately, with broad, green leaves, and gayly tasseled
shocks, filled with sweet, milky fluid, and flour, the staff of life — who, I say, with-
out «;rief, could see these sacred plants sinking under our sword, with all their pre-
cious load, to wither, and rot untasted in the mourning fields! I saw everywhere
around, the footsteps of little Indian children, where they had lately played under
the shelter of the rustling corn. No doubt they had often looked up with joy, to
the swelling shocks, and srladdened v/hen they thought of their abundant cakes
for the coming winter. When we are gone, thought I, they will return, and, poep-
TENNESSEE. . 625
ing through the weeds with tearful eyes, will mark the ghastly ruin poured over
their homes, and the happy fields where they had so often played."
The result of these measures was decisive, and a deputation of chiefs visited
the camp to sue for peace. • Among them was Attakulla, a chief who had been
opposed to the war, and who thus addressed Col. Grant:
" You live at the water side, and are in light. We are in darkness ; but hope all will be
clear. I have been constantly going about doing good; and though I am tired, yet I ain
come to see what can be done for my people, who are in great distress. As to what has
happened, I believe it has been ordered by our Father above. We are of a different color
from the white people. They are superior to us. But one God is Father of us all, and we
hope what is past will be forgotten. God Almighty made all people. There is not a day
but that some are coining into, and others going out of the world. The Great King told
me the path should never be crooked, but open for every one to pass and repass. As wt all
live in one land, I hope that we shall all live as one people."
Peace was formally ratified, and both expressed the hope that it might last as
long as the sun would shine and the rivers run.
In 1773, the population of Tennessee was found to have increased to a
very considerable extent. In the succeeding year a war broke out with, the
northern Indians, residing across the Ohio, and terminated by their suing for
peace. The year 1776 is rendered memorable by a formidable invasion of
the Cherokees, whom the British had incited to attack the infant settlements.
A strong force from Virginia and the Carolinas soon dispersed the Indians,
and peace was again restored. When the constitution of North Carolina
was formed, in 1776, Tennessee (then the District of Washington) sent
deputies to the convention. In the southern campaign of 1780. at the bril-
liant exploit at King's Mountain, when the British troops under Col. Fer-
guson, were either taken or slain, the Tennessee settlers, under Col. Sevier,
bore a most important share in the conflict. Col. Sevier's command was 240
men, all well mounted and nearly all armed with a Deckkard rifle.* The fol-
lowing relative to this period is from Ramsay's Annals of Tennessee:
"The camp on Watauga, on the twenty-fifth of September, presented an ani-
mated spectacle. With the exception of a few colonists on the distant Cumber-
land, the entire military force of what is now Tennessee was assembled at the
Sycamore Shoals. Scarce a single gunman remained, tht.t day, at his own house.
The young, ardent and energetic had generally enrolled themselves for the cam-
paign against Ferguson. The less vigorous and more aged, were left, with the in-
ferior guns, in the settlements for their pwtection against the Indians; but all had
attended the rendezvous. The old men were there to counsel, encourage and
(stimulate the youthful soldier, and to receive, from the colonels, instructions for
the defense of the stations during their absence. Others were there to bring, in
rich profusion, the products of their farms, which were cheerfully furnished gratu-
itously and without stint, to complete the outfit of the expedition. Gold and silver
they had not, but subsistence and clothing, and equipment and the fiery charger —
anything tlie frontierman owned, in the cabin, the field or the range, was offered,
unostentatiously, upon the altar of his country. The wife and the sister were
there, and, with a suppressed sigh, witnessed the departure of the husband ami the
brother. And there, too, were the heroic mothers, with a mournful but noble
pride, to take a fond farewell of their gallant sons.
The sparse settlements of this frontier had never before seen assembled together
« concourse of people so immense and so evidently agitated by great excitement.
The large mass of the assembly were volunteer riflemen, clad in the home-spun of
t'aeir wives and sisters, and wearing the hunting shirt so characteristic of the
liack-\voo;ls soldiery, and not a few of them the moccasins of their own manufac-
ture. A lew of the officers were better dressed, but all in citizens' clothing. The
* This rifle was remarkable for the precision anJ distance of its shot. It was generally
three feet six inches long, weighed about seven pounds, and ran about sevonty bullets t«
the pound of load. It wai su called from Dockh ir 1, tlrj maker, in Lanaaster, Pa.
40
(52(5 . TENNESSEE.
mien of Campbell was stern, authoritative and dignified. Shelby was grave, taci-
turn and determined. Sevier, vivacious, ardent, impulsive and energetic. Mc-
Dowell, moving about with the ease and dignity of a colonial magistrate, inspiring
veneration for his virtues and an indignant sympathy for the wrongs of himself
and his co-exiles. All were completely wrapt in the absorbing subject of the rev-
olutionary struggle, then approaching its acme, and threatening the homes and
families of the mountaineers themselves. Never did mountain recess contain
within it, a loftier or a more enlarged patriotism — never a cooler or more deter-
mined courage."
At the peace these brave men again sought their mountain homes and de-
voted themselves to the improvement of their settlements. In 1782, com-
inis^sioners were appointed by government to explore Davidson county (at that
time quite extensive), and report which part was best for the payment of the
bounty promised to officers and soldiers of North Carolina during the Revolu-
tion. A settlement had been made in this part of Tennessee, by Col. Rob-
ertson and some two or three hundred followers, at Nashville, in 1780, and
the county received its name in honor of Gen. Davidson, who fell in oppos-
ing Cornwallis in 1781. The military warrants were made out, many of the
officers and soldiers came to this section to secure and settle their lands, and
many purchasers from various states of the Union became settlers.
In 1785, the inhabitants of the counties of Sullivan, Washington, and
Greene, lying directly west of the Alleghany Mountains, feeling the incon-
veniences of having a government so remote as that of North Carolina,
framed a constitution, elected their governor, and erected themselves into an
independent state by the name of the State of Franklin. This premature
state was to comprehend "all that tract of country which lies between the
mountains and the suck or ichirl of Tennessee River." The legislature of
the new state met at Jonesboro' : John Sevier was elected governor ; a judi-
ciary system was established, David Campbell, Joshua Gist, and John An-
derson were appointed judges. These proceedings occasioned great confu-
sion and warm disputes, which continued until 1788, when the thoughts of
independency were relinquished and tranquillity was restored. The territory
was finally ceded to the United States in 1790, and a territorial government
was established under the name of the "Territory of the United States
south-west of the river Ohio." William Blount, of North Carolina, was
appointed the first governor.
In 1794, Tennessee was constituted a separate territory, the general assem-
bly of which met at Knoxville. In 1795, the inhabitants of the territory
numbered 77,262, of which number 10,613 were slaves. The next year,
1796, a convention met at Knoxville and formed a constitution for state gov-
ernment, and the name of Tennessee was adopted for the new state. The
constitution was approved by congress, June 1, 1796, and Tennessee en-
tered the Union. John Sevier was elected the first governor. "William
Blount and William Cocke were elected the first senators to congress. The
first constitution remained unaltered for about forty years. The present con-
stitution was adopted in 1835.
Tennessee is bounded N. by Kentucky and Virginia, S. by Georgia, Ala-
bama and Mississippi, E. by North Carolina, and W. by Arkansas and Mis-
souri, from which it is separated by the Mississippi River. It extends east
and west between 81° 37' and 90° 28' W. long., and between 35° and 36°
35' N. lat. Its mean length from east to west is 400 miles, breadth, 114.
Its area is computed at about 45,000 square miles.
The state is usually considered as being divided into three nominal divisions,
TENNESSEE.
627
severally known as East, West, and Middle Tennessee. East Tennessee, bor-
dering on North Carolina, is an elevated region, containing numerous lofty
and picturesque ranges of the Cumberland and Laurel Mountains, and other
conspicuous branches of the 'Alleghany range, mostly covered to their sum-
mits with noble forests. West Tennessee, between the Mississippi and
Tennessee Rivers, has generally an undulating surface, though some parts are
quite level, with a light but productive soil, producing large quantities of
cotton. Middle Tennessee is uneven and hilly, though not mountainous, and
the lands are of good quality.
Tennessee is watered in various directions by important streams. The
Mississippi washes its western borders; the Tennessee crosses the state be-
tween Middle and Western Tennessee ; the Cumberland has its principal
course in this state; the Holston, Clinch, French, Broad, and Hiwassee, are
branches of the Tennessee. The mineral resources of the state are very great,
consisting of iron, coal, copper, lead, etc. Indian corn, tobacco and cotton
are the principal staples. In 1851, at the World's Fair, the wool of Ten-
nessee was awarded the premium of the "Golden Fleece."* The climate is
mild and genial, being free from the extremes of heat and cold. Population
in 1790,35,791; in 1820,422,813; in 1840,829,215; in 1850,1,002,725,
in 1860, 1,146,640, of whom 287,112 were slaves.
Northern view of Nashville. *
The view shows tho appearance of Nashville as it is cntored upon the TxMiisviHc and Nashville Railroad.
On the left is seen the suspension bridge over Cumberland Jiiver, with part of the steamboat landing
and the steam printing establishment of the Methodist Kplscop:il Church South. The State House appears
on I he extreme right.
NASHVILLE, city, port of entry, county seat for Davidson county, and cap-
ital of the state of Tennessee, is situated on the left bank of Cumberland
Iliver, at the head of steamboat navigation, about 200 miles, following the
#" The mountain district of Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia combine evf»ry chief
feature which adapts a country to the raising of sheep on a large scale. The warm and
sheltered valleys where little snow ever falls, afford a winter home for the flocks, where lit-
tle defense from storms and cold is required, and where much of their food can be .obtained
628
TENNESSEE.
Slate House of Tennessee, Nashville.
The State House, a most noblo find magnificent structure, stand* on the highest {ground of tlie cit.v, one
hundred and seventy-five feet above the river. Its dimensions are 240 by 135 fcet, and cost about a million
of dollars.
in the fields and woodlands ; while the hill slopes and mountain sides will afford precisely
the kind of pasture most conducive to the health of the animals and the excellence of the
fleece. In such a climate, and in such circumstances, the finest and softest wools of the
•world are produced. In proof of this, it may be stated that at the World's Fair, in Lon-
don, when all the world was engaged in competition, the wool which received the prize as
the best which the nations then could boast, was sheared from the flocks which had been
reared in this very region, on the hills of East Tennessee. Mark R. Cockrell, Esq., an ex-
tensive wool grower of Tennessee, attended the World's Fair in London, in 1851, and pre-
sented some of his wool in competition with the wools of Europe. The contest, under the
rules, was between countries, not individuals. The premium of the ' Golden Fleece ' was
awarded to Tennessee. The legislature of that state, the winter following, passed a reso-
lution tendering Mr. C. its thanks, and ordering the preparation of1 a gold medal, to be
given to him as a token of respeot. On its presentation he said, ' Germany, Spain, Saxony
and Silesia were there ; the competition was honorable, strong and fair. Nature gave me
the advantage in climate, but the noble lords and worthy princes of Europe did not know
it until we met in the Crystal Palace, in London, before millions of spectators. While their
flocks were housed six months in the year, to shelter them from the snow of a high latitude,
mine were roaming over the green pastures of Tennessee, warmed by the genial influence
of a southern sun — the fleece thus softened and rendered oily by the warmth, and green
food producing a fine, even fiber.' " — Prof. Chrixty's Report.
The mountain regions of this section, elevated above the front belt, it is believed, possess
the very b£st climate and soil east of the Rocky Mountains, for the production of fruit,
particularly the peach and the grape. On the elevations grapes and peaches are as certain
a crop, as is corn generally elsewhere. In some instances, European grapes have, for twenty
years, borne twenty consecutive crops, without mildew or rot, and producing a third moro
than in France. The dried peaches of Tennessee and North Carolina havo an unrivaled
reputation in northern markets. In time this will probably become the great wool growing,
wine producing, and fruit raising region of the Atlantic states. Population, capital, and
improved railroad facilities are alone wanting to soon bring this consummation. The groat
tide of emigration has now nearly reached the brond belt of arid land that stretches for
hundreds of miles across the continent, east of the Rocky Mountains. When its streams
are diverted southward, to the beautiful climate of the south-western Alleghanies, we shall
see this noble country rapidly developing its natural riches to the hand of industry and en-
terprise.
TENNESSEE.
629
course of the river, from its entrance into the Ohio; it is 684 miles
W. by S. from Washington, 230 N. E. from Memphis, and 206 S. W.
of Lexington, Ky. The city, built on an elevated bluff of limestone,
from 50 to 175 feet above the river, presents an imposing appearance,
and is surrounded by a beautiful and fertile country. On the public
square is the court-house, market-house, and other fine buildings.
The University of Nashville, founded in 1806, and iis medical school
long have had a fine reputation. Population in 1880. 23,715.
In 1779, Capt. James Robertson, with two or three hundred others,
left the Holston country for the purpose of making a settlement at
French Lick, where it appears that some Frenchmen had a station
as early as 1764. This was on 'the spot where the city of Nashville is
now built. Capt. Kobertson's company brought with them a good
many horses and cattle. Tht-ir route la}' through the Kentucky
country, and as there were no roads, and being impeded with snow
storms, they did not arrive at the French Lick until January, 1780.
The snow was of great depth and continued for an extraordinary
length of time, So that it was with much difficult}* that men and beasts
could travel, and they suffered greatly iu obtaining food, or died of
want and cold combined. In 1783, the Legislature of North Carolina
established a town here calling it Nashville, in honor of Col. Francis
Nash, who fell at the head of his regiment at the battle of German-
town. •
The following is the inscription on the monument standing in the front yard of
the Polk mansion, on Vine-street in the city of Nashville:
"The mortal remains of JAMES Kxox POLK are resting i'n the vault beneath. lie
was born in Mecklenburgh Co., North Carolina, and emigrated with his father,
Samuel Polk, to Tennessee
in 1806. The beauty of vir-
tue was illustrated in his
life: the excellence of Christ-
ianity was exemplified in his
death. His life was devoted
to the public service. He
was elevated successively to
the first places in the State
and Federal Government : :i
member of the General As-
sembly; a member of Con-
gress, and chairman of the
most important Congression-
al Committees; Speaker of
the House of Representa-
tives; Governor of Tennes-
see, and President of the
United States. By his pub-
lic policy he defined, estab-
lished and extended the
boundaries of his Country.
He planted the Laws of the
American Union on the
shores of the PACIFIC. His
influence and his'covinsels tended to organize the National Treasury on the princi-
ples of the Constitution, and apply the rnles of Navigation, Trade and Industry.
James Knox Polk, I Oth President of the U. S., born Nov. 2, 1795, died June 15,
1849."
MANSION' AKD MONUMENT "F Pi:i>i:>r.xT I'O:,K.
630
TENNESSEE.
MEMPHIS, city, is on the east bank of the Mississippi, beautifully situated
on a bluff some twenty to thirty feet above the highest floods, 191 miles
W.S.W. from Nashville; 420 below St. Louis, and 781 miles above New Or-
leans. It lies on one of the only three bluffs on the Lower Mississippi,
where it is possible, without great expense for artificial works, to build a
View of Memphis from the West bank of the Mississippi.
The Exchange, or Court Honse building, is seen on the left : the principal Steamboat Landing on tlie ex-
treme right. The front row of mercantile buildings appear on the summit of the Bluff. The view shows
the city us seen from the Memphis and Little Itock Railroad, on the Arkansas side of the Mississippi.
large town. It has great commercial advantages, and is on the line of im-
portant railroads, built or contemplated, in almost every direction. Mem-
phis, since 1850, when its population was 6,427, has taken an astonishing
stride in commercial prosperity, it being now the most growing and prosper-
ous city of the south-west, and second in importance only to New Orleans.
It has a superior system of free schools, and a large number of mercantile
and manufacturing establishments. Connected with the rich cotton growing
region of North Mississippi, it is a great point for the shipment of cotton.
Population is about 35,000.
The adjacent country is one of the most beautiful and extensive bodies of
tillable land contiguous to the Mississippi River, between the mouth of the
Ohio and New Orleans. It is elevated, dry and level, possessing a fertile
and productive soil, and extending east, north-east, south and south-east for
nearly one hundred miles. Corn, cotton, wheat, and tobacco, can be culti-
vated to great advantage.
As early as 1736, the Bluff on' which Memphis now stands, was, on ac-
count of its superior advantages, selected by the French as a suitable posi-
tion for a garrison. It appears, however, to have been inhabited by uncivil-
ized Indians and wild beasts, in 1782. In 1783, the Spanish government
directed W. H. Gayoso, then acting governor of the Territory of Louisiana,
to take steps for the occupation of this point. The following historical items
are extracted from Raincy's Memphis City Directory for 1855-6 :
TENNESSEE. 631
"The Indians manifesting a disposition to receive the officers of the Spanish
Government, Gov. Gayoso came up with a sufficient number of troops and built
Fort St. Fernando, on the bluff, at the mouth of Wolf River, the site of which is
now covered by a portion of the Navy Yard. The Spanish continued in occupa-
tion of this garrison, until the ratification of the treaty by which Louisiana was
ceded to the United States Government, and 33 degrees of north latitude estab-
lished as the boundary line between the two governments.
Soon after this, Gen. Pike (then Lieut. Pike), was sent by the government of the
United States, with troops, to occupy Fort St. Fernando, and the Spanish troops
evacuating it, crossed the river and established Camp 'Lesperance (afterward
called Camp Good Hope), at or near the termination of the Military Road. Gen.
Wilkinson came on soon after Lieut. Pike arrived, and dismantled Fort St Fer-
nando, and established Fort Pickering.
In 1783, the government of the United States granted to John Rice the tract of
land on which Memphis stands, who devised it to Elisha Rice, and he sold it to
John Overton.
In 1819, John Overton sold one undivided half of the tract to Gen. Andrew
Jackson and Gen. James Winchester, and these three (Overton, Jackson and Win-
chester), laid out the town of Memphis."
The first public sale of lots was made in 1820, at which front lots were
deemed high at one hundred dollars each, and back lots in proportion. The
principal business of the place was confined to the Indian trade for several
years afterward, and the new town attracted but little attention until after
1830, iu which year it was but a village of 704 inhabitants.
"In 1841, Congress appointed Commissioners to select and survey a site fora
Navy Yard upon the Mississippi River, who, after a toilsome examination of its
whole length, from New Orleans to the mouth of the Ohio, reported the position
at the mouth of Wolf, as being the most suitable one they could find for the pur-
pose; and, at the session of 1842-3, Congress passed a bill for the erection of a
Navy Yard at Memphis.
The principal portion of the ground which the Navy Yard occupies, has been
formed by deposites of sand and mud from the river, since 1830.
KNOXVILLE is situated on the north bank of Holston River, 4 miles be-
low the junction of the French Broad River, 185 miles east from Nashville,
and 204 from Lexington, Ky. It is quite a flourishing place, a central point
of intersection of all the '.creat railroads of the country, east, west, north and
south. Fine marble quarries and iron ore abound in this section, and beds
of bituminous coal on the line of the railroads. The river is navigable
downward for steamboats at all seasons, and in the spring some 30 or 40 miles
above to Dandridge. Few places possess such a variety of scenery as can
be found within the limits of Knoxville, exhibiting on the banks of the
Holston the wild and picturesque beauty of nature, the hills and valleys of
the cultivated country, the manufacturing village, and the features of the
city. Knoxville contains six churches, the county buildings, of which the
jail, a castellated building, makes a striking appearance, the University
buildings, and the State Deaf and Dumb Asylum. Population about 9,000.
East Tennessee College, or University, is located on a commanding eminence,
upward of 200 feet high, and about half a mile from the court house. This
institution was founded in 1792.
Knoxville was first laid out by Gen. James White, the first patentee. East
Knoxville was laid out by Moses White, his son, and at first was called
Mechanicsburg. The west end of the town was laid out by Col. John Wil-
liams, and was for some time called Williamsburg. Gov. Blount's residence
was on Barbara Hill, where the University buildings now stands. The hill
received its name from Barbara, the daughter of the governor, who was
632
TENNESSEE.
born on its summit. The Presbyterian church was the first house of wor-
ship erected in the place, Rev. Wm. Carrick the first minister. Dr. Strong,
the first physician, was previously a surgeon on board the U. S. frigate Con-
stitution. John Crosier, it is believed, was the first post-master. The Hon.
South-western view of Knoxville.
The view shows the appearance of Knoxville, descending the hill on tlie old country road in front of the
University. Part of Cumberland-street is seen on the left ; Main-street mi the right; the Cupola of the
Court House in the central part ; Humpden Sidney Academy on the extreme left ; the Female Institute on
the right.
Hugh L. White, U. S. senator, who died in 1840, was the son of Gen. White.
Robert Huston was the first sheriff, and Robert Armstrong the first surveyor.
John Hood was the first, or one of the first printers in Knoxville; he printed
the Knoxville Gazette.
The following are towns of local note in different parts of Tennessee, of
from 1,000 to 4,000 inhabitants each: Chattanooga is situated on the left or
south bank of Tennessee River, in the south part of the tate, and near the
boundary lines of GeoVgia and Alabama, 150 miles S.K. of Nashville, 447
from Charle^on, S. C., and 432 from Savannah, Geo. It is the center of
several important railroads, both completed and progressing, which extend
from Richmond, Charleston and Savannah on the Atlantic, to the Mississippi
and Ohio Rivers. The place is, for the most part, situated in a narrow val-
ley, in the midst of hills or mountainous elevations on almost every side.
Murfree8b<xro\ the county seat of Rutherford county, is on the line of the
Nashville and- Chattanooga Railroad, about 30 miles S.E. from Nashville.
It was the capital of the state from 1817 to 1827. It contains several
(•Lurches, the county buildings, an academy, and Union College, under the
patronage of the Baptist denomination, established in 1848. Murfreesboro'
is well laid out, in the midst of a fertile region of corn and tobacco land, and
has a large trade in the products of an extensive and highly cultivated dis-
trict. Joneslorv', the county seat of Washington county, about 100 mules
north-easterly from Knoxville, contiins about 700 inhabitants. It was laid
off and established as a seat of justice for Washington county, in 1779, by
TENNESSEE. 633
the legislature of North Carolina: it is the oldest town in Tennessee. It
was named in honor of Willie Jones, Esq., of Halifax county, North Caro-
lina, a friend to the growth and prosperity of the western counties, and an
active patriot of the Revolution. Lebanon, capital of Wilson county, 30
miles east of Nashville, is distinguished as a seat of learning. Here is Cum-
berland University, a nourishing institution, founded in 1844, under the di-
rection of the Cumberland Presbyterians; the law school attached to it was
founded in 1847, and has more students than any other in the Union. Shcl-
liycille, capital of Bedford county, is on Duck River, and at the end of a
branch of the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, 59 miles S.S.E of Nash-
ville. McMinmrille, capital of Warren county, on the McMinnville and
Manchester Railroad, 75 miles S.E. from Nashville. Winchester, capital of
Franklin, on the Winchester and Alabama Railroad, 2 miles south from the
Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad, and 84 miles S.E. of Nashville. A
branch of the Winchester and Alabama Railroad connects this place with
Huntsvillo, Alabama. The tunnel which has been cut in this county,
through' the Cumberland Mountains, for the Nashville and Chattanooga Rail-
road, is one of the most magnificent works of the kind in the Union, extend-
ing 2200 feet, mostly through solid rock. Fayettevitte is the capital of Lin-
coln county, 73 miles S. by E. from Nashvil'e. Cleveland, county seat of
Bradley, on the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, 83 miles S.W. of
Knoxville, is the shipping point for the rich copper mines of East Tennes-
see. Athens, capital of McMinn county, 154 miles E.S.E. of Nashville.
Greenville, capital of Green county, is t>6 miles E. by N. from Knoxville.
Columbia, the capital of Maury county, is 41 miles S. by W. from Nashville,
on the Tennessee and Alabama Railroad. It is the seat of Jackson College,
founded in 1833, and also three female seminaries. The town is in a beau-
tiful country, is noted for its educational institutions, has a fine trade, and
was the residence of President. Polk, previous to his election in 1844. Gal-
latin, county seat of Sumner, is 25 miles N.W. of Nashville. ClarJesville is
on the Cumberland, at the mouth of Red River, about 50 miles N.W. of
Nashville: it is an important point for the manufacturing and shipping of
tobacco, and a very flourishing business town. Jackson, capital of Madison
county, in West Tennessee, is on the line of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
The COPPER MINES of East Tennessee are proving a most important
element in the industry of the country. The famous Ducktown mines are in
Polk county, forty miles easterly from the little thriving town of Cleveland,
on the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad, which is their point of ship-
ment. The first mine was discovered in 1850, and, for want of roads, it was
a long time before any ore could be sent away. The earlier shipments had
to be made to Dalton, Georgia, a distance of seventy-four miles. Notwith-
standing these inconveniences, there had been 14,291 tuns of copper ore
shipped from these mines before the close of 1855, which was sold for more
than a million of dollars. In September of 1855, seven of the mines pro-
duced ore to the value of 880,000, or at the rate of nearly a million of dol-
lars per annum. The discovery of these mines led to great excitement and
large expectations when it was known that the supply of copper throughout
the world was not equal to the demand. Lands which were nearly quite
worthless before the veins were discovered rose to a great value. In one in-
stance, a tract of one hundred acres with a mine fully developed, sold for
$460,000. A late visitor at Ducktown thus gives us his experience there:
631 TENNESSEE.
The Diicktown copper mines have been opened in some low ranges of hills which
seem to form the highest point in a broad, rolling plain, surrounded on all sides,
apparently, by lofty mountains, so distant as to be clothed with blue, and lifting
many a bold peak 'far into the sky. The scene is one of great beauty, when seen
as we first beheld it, at sunset, when the western crests of the far-away hills seemed
to blaze in the sunbeams, while their bases lay in a shadow of the deepest blue,
deepening every moment into the evening gloom, and the eastern ridges were yet
purple with the fading glory of the day. Woodlands thinned by the ax, and spoiled
of half their beauty, were near at hand, but at a little distance the dark, dense
forest seemed to begin and stretch away almost unbroken to the distant mountains.
The few clearings scarcely broke the continuity of the woods, and man seemed not
much to have marred the beauty of the works of God. Before us, as we approached
Ducktown, tall columns of smoke, from the furnaces, marked its situation, and this
smoke was already settling into and filling to the brim the eastern valley.
It presents, however, the usual aspect of a mining village, and the buildings, per-
haps, are all that circumstances require. The people had comfortable, though not
elegant dwellings, plenty of proper food, schools for their children, and preaching
on the Sabbath. There 'is here a population of about five thousand, many of whom
are English and Scotch, with a few Irish and Welsh. The mines are mostly con-
trolled by English capitalists, and no slaves are employed in them. There is, in-
deed, no mechanical work in which slaves as a body can be profitably used.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, MISCELLANIES, ETC.
Gen. James Robertson, one of the principal fathers of Tennessee, was a native
of North Carolina, the patriarch of Watauga, and the founder of the Cumberland
settlements. He emigrated to Watauga in 1769. "To his wife he was indebted
for a knowledge of the alphabet, and for instruction how to read and write. To
his Creator he was indebted for rich mental endowments — to himself for mental
improvement. To his God he was indebted for that firmness and indomitable cour-
age which the circumstances that surrounded him called so constantly into exer-
cise. A detail of his acts in behalf of his country, and an enumeration of his suffer-
ings by personal exposure in the wilderness, in the field of battle, in the besieged
'fort and the assaulted station, in losses of relatives and of private property, would
fill a volume. Previous to ar.d at the time of his death, Gen. Robertson was the
United States agent at the Chickasaw nation." He continued to the close of his
useful life an active friend to his country, and by his services to the western settle-
ments, in peace and in war, he has caused his name to be remembered with grati-
tude and veneration. He died at the Chickasaw agency, Sept. 1, 1814.
John Sevier, the first governor of Tennessee, the compatriot and colleague of
Gen. James Robertson, was born in Shenandoah county, Va., in 1744. His ances-
tors were French Huguenots; the family name in France is Xavier. The Earl of
Dunmore, then governor of Virginia, appointed young Sevier a captain in the mili-
tary service of the colony. Not long after the family emigrated to the west to the
Holston, and finally to the Watauga. Inheriting the sprightliness, gallantry and
generosity of his French ancestry, Capt. Sevier soon became a favorite in the wilds
of Watauga In the revolution, when the British troops were sweeping the friends
of liberty before them in the southern states, Sevier and his companions in arms
hastened to the rescue. His services in the important conflict at King's Mountain
arc well known. He was the first to introduce the Indian war-whoop among the
soldiery. The British prisoners at King's Mountain said they could stand the fight-
ing, but the hallooing confused them, making them believe that "the mountains
had regiments instead of companies." Sevier was the idol of his soldiers, who were
generally his neighbors and the members of his own family. Often no public pro-
vision was made for their pay and equipments. These were furnished by himself,
he being at once commander, commissariat and paymaster. On the formation of
the new "State of Franklin," Sevier was chosen governor. In the trouble and con-
TENNESSEE. 635
fusion whichTollowed that event, he was seized by an armed poss'e, and conveyed
to Morgantown on a charge of treason against the state of North Carolina. At the
time of his trial he was rescued by his friends, and his return was everywhere wel-
comed with joy. He was afterward restored to favor, and was elected the first
member of congress from the great valley of the Mississippi. In 1815, he was ap-
pointed commissioner by President Monroe to run the boundary of territory ceded
by the Creeks to the United States. He left his home, near Knoxville, in June, for
that purpose, and died of a fever September 24th, in the 71st year of his age. He
was buried, with the honors of war, on the east bank of the Tallapoosa, near Fort
Decatur, in Alabama.
William Btoitnt, the first governor of the " Territory south-west of the River
Ohio," was a native of North Carolina, and his relatives were distinguished during
the revolutionary period. He received the appointment of governor under the ad-
ministration of Washington in 1790. He was remarkable for his urbanity, hospi-
tality and commanding presence. At first he made his residence in the fork of
Holston and VV'atauga Kivers, at the house of Wm. Cobb, where he held his courl
in the ancient woods of Sullivan. After he removed to Knoxville, the friendly In
dian chiefs paid frequent visits to the new capital. Mrs. Blount, the wife of the
governor, an accomplished lady, became much interested in them, and by her ad
dress and persuasion induced them to restrain their young warriors from aggres-
sion upon the frontier people. Grainger county and Fort Grainger, at the mouth
of the Tennessee", were named from the maiden name of Mrs. Blount. Governor
Blount was cut off in the prime of life, and his remains were interred in the bury-
ing ground of the First Presbyterian Church, having a slab with the simple inscrip-
tion: ''William Blount. died March 21, 1800, aged 53 years."
Andrew Jackson. " 'Ask nothing but what is right — submit to nothing wrong,'
was Andrew Jackson's great political maxim, and it was an abiding principle in
his character from his earliest youth until the close of his life. That noble princi-
ple was the key to his great success in whatever he undertook, and is worthy of
adoption by every young man when he sets out upon the perilous voyage of active
life. Jackson's parents were from the north of Ireland, and were among the early
Scotch-Irish settlers in the upper part of South Carolina, in the vicinity of Waxhaw
creek. Jackson's father lived north of the dividing line between North and South
Carolina, in Mecklenburg county, and there Andrew was born on the 15th of
March, 1797. His father died five days afterward, and a month later his mother
took up her abode in South Carolina, near the meeting-house of the Waxhaw set-
tlement. H§ received a fair education, but his studies were interrupted by the tu-
mults of the on-coming revolution, and soon after the fall of Charleston the Wax-
•haw settlement became a terrible scene of blood, in the massacre of Buford's regi-
ment by the fiery Tarleton. Every element of the lion in young Jackson's nature
was aroused by this event, and, boy as he was, not yet fourteen years of age, he
joined the patriot army and went to the field. One of his brothers was killed at
Stono, and himself and another brother were made captives in 1781. The widow
was soon bereaved of all her family but Andrew, and after making a journey of
mercy to Charleston, to relieve sick prisoners, she fell by the wayside, and 'the
place of her sepulcher is not known unto this day.' Left alone at a critical period
of life, with some property at his disposal, young Jackson commenced a career
that promised certain destruction. He suddenly reformed, studied law, and was
licensed to practice in 17S6. He was soon afterward appointed solicitor of the
western district of Tennessee, and journeying over the mountains, he commenced,
636
TENNESSEE.
in that then wilderness, that remarkable career as attorney, judge"?* legislator and
military commander, which on contemplation assumes the features of tlie wildest
romance, viewed from any point of appreciation. His lonely journeyings, his col-
lisions with the Indians, his difficulties with gamblers and fraudulent creditors and
land speculators, and his wonderful personal triumphs in hours of greatest danger,
make the record of his life one of rare interest and instruction.
In 1790, Jackson made his residence at Nashville, and there he married an ac-
complished woman, who had been divorced from her husband. In 1795, he as-
sisted in forming a state constitution for Tennessee, and was elected the first rep-
resentative in congress of the new state. In the autumn of 1797, he took a seat in
the United States senate, to which he had been chosen, and was a conspicuous sup-
porter of the democratic party. He did not remain long at Washington. Soon after
leaving the senate, he was appointed judge of the supreme court of his state. He
resigned that office in 1804, and retired to his beautiful estate near Nashville.
There he was visited by Aaron Burr, in 1805, and entered warmly into his schemes
for invading Mexico. When Burr's intentions were suspected, Jackson refused
further intercourse with him until he should prove the purity of his intentions.
For many years Jackson was chief military commander in his section, and when
war against Great Britain was proclaimed in 1S12, he longed for employment in
the field. He was called to duty in ISlo. Early the following year he was made
a major-general, and from that time until his great victory at New Orleans, on the
8th of January, 1815, his name was identified with every military movement in the
south, whether against the hostile Indians, Britons or Spaniards. In 1818, he en-
gaged successfully in a campaign against the Seminoles and other southern Indi-
ans, and, at the same time, he taught the Spanish authorities in Florida some use-
ful lessons, and hastened the cession of that territory to the United States.
In 1821, President Monroe appointed General Jackson governor of Florida, nnd
in 1823 he offered him the
station of resident minister in
Mexico. He declined the
honor, but accepted a seat in
the United States senate, to
which the legislature of Ten-
nessee had elected him. He
was one of the four candidates
for president of the United
States in 1824, but was un-
successful. He was elevated
to that exalted station in 1828,
by a large majority, and was
re-elected in 1832. His ad-
ministration of eight years
was marked by great energy,
and never were the affairs of
the Republic, in its domestic
and foreign relations, more
prosperous than at the close
of his term of Office. In the
spring of 1S37, he retired from public life forever, and sought repose after a long
and laborious career, devoted to the service of his country. He lived quietly at
his residence near Nashville, called the Hermitage, until on a calm Sunday, the 8th
of June, 1845, his spirit went home. He was then a little more than seventy-eight
years of age. The memory of that great and good man is revered by his country-
men, next to that of Washington, and to him has been awarded the first equestrian
statue in bronze ever erected in this country. It is colossal, and occupies a con-
spicuous place in President's Square, Washington City, where it was reared in
1852.*"
Parton, in his three volume biography of Jackson, has given some facts
* Lossing's Eminent Americans.
TUP: HERMITAGE.
TENNESSEE. 637
upon his boyhood days, that interesting era in the history of great men.
These we find grouped to our hand by a reviewer, and so present them, with
his dove-tailing paragraphs:
His parents were Scotch Trish emigrants from Carrackfergus, of the humblest
condition in life, and to add to the struggles of the family with adversity, his father
died just after the birth of his son. His mother was obliged to find a home, as
housekeeper and poor relation, in the family of a brother-in-law, and here young
Andrew passed the first ten or twelve years of his life. He soon acquired the rep-
utation of being the most mischievous boy in the neighborhood, always full of
pranks and getting into trouble. His school-days were not of the most promising
character; nor, judging from Mr. Parton's lively description, was his youthful brain
in danger of being turned by any superfluity of book-learning.
'In due time the boy was sent to an 'old-field school,' an institution not much
unlike the road side schools in Ireland of which we read. The northern reader
is, perhaps, not aware that an 'old-field' is not a field at all, but a pine forest.
When crop after crop of cotton, without rotation, has exhausted the soil, the
fences are taken away, the land lies waste, the young pines at once spring up, and
soon cover the whole field with a thick growth of wood. In one of these old fields,
the rudest possible shanty of a log house is erected, with a fire-place that extends
from side to side, and occupies a third of the interior. In winter, the interstices
of the log walls are filled up with clay; which the restless fingers of the boys make
haste to remove in time to admit the first warm airs of spring. An itinerant
schoolmaster presents himself in a neighborhood; the responsible farmers pledge
him a certain number of pupils, and an old field school is established for tho
season. Such schools, called -by the same name, exist to this day in the Carolinas,
differing little from those which Andrew Jackson attended in his childhood. Head-
ing, writing and arithmetic were all the branches taught in the early day. Among
a crowd of urchins seated on the slab benches of a school like this, fancy a tall,
slender boy, with bright blue eyes, a freckled face, an abundance of long, sandy
hair, and clad in coarse, copperas-colored cloth, with bare feet dangling and kick-
ing, and you have in your mind's eye a picture of Andy as he appeared in his old-
field school days in the Wax haw settlement.'
His mother seems to have had more ambitious views for her son, and hoped that
by being enabled to obtain for him a liberal education she would have the pleasure
to see him 'wag his pow in a pulpit' as a clergyman of the Presbyterian Church.
He was not destined, however, to 'beat the drum ecclesiastic,' though if his good
mother's wishes could have been realized, he would doubtless have proved a valiant
soldier of the 'church militant,' and dealt thick and heavy blows on the sinner
and heretic with as much unction as he subsequently discomfited the invaders of
his country at New Orleans. He was a fighter from his earliest boyhood. Not a
drop of tame blood ran in his veins.
'Andy was a wild, frolicsome, willful, mischievous, daring, reckless boy; gen-
erous to a friend, but never content to submit to a stronger enemy. He was pas-
sionately fond of those sports which are mimic battles — above all, wrestling. Be-
ing a slender boy, more active than strong, he was often thrown.
'I could throw him three times out of four,' an old schoolmate used to say, 'but
he would never stay throwed. He^was dead game, even then, and never would
give up.'
He was exceedingly fond of running foot races, of leaping the bar, and jumping,
and in such sports he was excelled by no one of his years. To younger boys, who
never questioned his mastery, he was a generous protector; there was nothing lie
would not do to defend them. His equals and superiors found him self-willed,
somewhat overbearing, easily offended, very irascible, and, upon the whole, 'difficult
to get along with.' One. of them said, many years after, in the heat of controversy,
that of all the boys he had ever known, Andrew Jackson was the only bully who
was not also a coward.
But the boy, it appears, had a special cause of irritation in a disgraceful disease,
name unknown, which induces a habit of — not to put too fine a point oil it — 'slob-
bering.' Woe to any boy who presumed to jest at this misfortune! Andy was
638 TENNESSEE.
upon him incontinently, and there was either a fight or a drubbing. There is a
story, too, of some boys secretly loading a gun to the muzzle, and giving it to young
Jackson to fire off, that they might have the pleasure of seeing it 'kick' him over.
They had that pleasure. Springing up from the ground, the boy, in a frenzy of
passion, exclaimed: 'By , if one of you laughs I'll kill him!'
lie soon had an opportunity for pursuing higher game. He was nine years old
when the declaration of 'independence was signed. By the time the war approached
the obscure settlement in the region of the Catawba, where he was born, he was a
little more than thirteen. A change now came over his rustic life. The school-
house was closed, the peaceful labors of the people interrupted. His elder brother
Hugh had already mounted his horse and ridden southward to meet the bloody
strife. 'It was on th6 29fh of May, 1780, that Tarleton, with three hundred horse-
men, surprised a detachment of militia in theWaxhaw settlement, and killed one
hundred and thirteen of them, and wounded a hundred and fifty. The wounded;
abandoned to the care of the settlers, were quartered in the houses of the vicinity,
the old log Waxhaw meeting-house itself being converted into a hospital for the
most desperate cases. Mrs. Jackson was one of the kind women who ministered
to the wounded soldiers in the church, and under that roof her boys first saw Avhat
war was. The men were dreadfully mangled. Some had received as many as
thirteen wounds, and none less than three. For many
days Andrew and his brother assisted their mother in
waiting upon the sick men; Andrew, more in rage
than pity, though pitiful by nature, burning to avenge
their wounds and his brother's death.
Tarleton's massacre at the Waxhaw settlement
kindled the flames of war in all that region of the Car-
olinas. Andrew, with his brother Robert, was present
at Sumpter's attack on the British post at Hanging
Rock, where he might have received his first lesson in
the art of war. Soon after he passed his fourteenth
birth day there ensued a fierce, intestine warfare in
the vicinity of his home — a war of whig and tory,
neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother,
and even father against son. Among other instances
of the madness that prevailed, a case is related of a
whig, who, having found a friend murdered and mu-
tilated, devoted himself to the slaying of tories. He
TOMB OP JACKSON hunted and lay in Avait for them, and before the war
ended had killed twenty, and then, recovering from
that insanity, lived the rest of hisdays a conscience-stricken wretch. Andrew and
his brother soon began to take a personal share in the eventful conflict. Without
.enlisting in any regular corps, they plunged into the fight on their own hook, join-
ing small parties that went out on single enterprises of retaliation, mounted on their
own horses, and carrying their own weapons. Mr. Parton gives a description of
one of his adventures in this line which illustrates both the time and the boy:
'In that fierce, Scotch-Indian warfare, the absence of a father from home was
often a better protection to his family than his presence, because his presence in-
vited attack. The main object of both parties was to kill the fighting men, and to
avenge the slaying of partisans. The house of the quiet hero Hicks, for example,
was safe until it was noised about among the tories that Hicks was at home. And
thus it came to pass, that when a whig soldier of note desired to spend a night with
his family, his neighbors were accustomed to turn out and serve as a guard to his
house while he slept. Behold Robert and Andrew Jackson, with six others, thus
employed one night in the spring of 1781, at the domicil of a neighbor, Capt. Sands.
The guard on this occasion was more a friendly tribute to an active partisan than
a service considered necessary to his safety. In short, tho night was not far ad-
vanced before the whole party were snugly housed and stretched upon the lloo :•. all
sound asleep except one, a British deserter, who was restless, and dozed at inter-
vals.
Danger was near. A band of tories, bent on taking the life of Capt. Sands, ap
TENNESSEE. 6-50
preached the house in two divisions, one party moving toward the front door, the
other toward the back The wakeful soldier, hearing a suspicious noise, rose, went
out of doors to learn its cause, and saw the foe stealthily nearing the house. He
ran in in terror, and seizing Andrew Jackson, who lay next the door, by the hair,
exclaimed : 'The tories are upon us ! '
Andrew sprang up and ran out. Seeing a body of men in the distance, he placed
the end of his gun in the low fork of a tree near the door and hailed them. No
reply. He hailed them a second time. No reply. They quickened their pace, and
had come within a few rods of the door. By this time, too, the guard in the
house had been roused, and were gathered in a group behind the boy. An-
drew discharged his musket, upon which the tories fired a vcHIey, which killed the
hapless deserter who had given the alarm. The other party of tories, who were ap-
proaching the house from the other side, hearing this discharge, and the rush of
bullets above their heads, supposed that the firing proceeded from a party that had
issued from the house. They now fired a volley, which sent a shower of balls
whistling about the heads of their friends on the other side. Both parties hesitated
and then halted. Andrew having thus, by his single discharge, puzzled and sto{ ped
the enemy, retired to the house, where he and his comrades kept up a brisk fire
from the windows. One of the guard fell mortally wounded by his side, and an-
other received a wound less severe. In the midst of this singular contest, a bugle
was heard, some distance off, sounding the cavalry charge, whereupon the tories,
concluding that they had come upon an ambush of whigs, and were about to be as-
sailed by horse and foot, fled to where they had left their horses, mounted, dashed
Eell-mell into the woods, and were seen no more. It appeared afterward that the
ugle charge was sounded by a neighbor, who, judging from the noise of musket-
ry that Captain Sands was attacked, and having not a man with him- in his
house, gave the blast upon the trumpet, thinking that even a trick so stale, aided
by the darkness of the night, might have some effect in alarming the assailants.'
After peace was restored to his neighborhood, young Jackson embraced every
opportunity to engage in a 'free fight,' beside sharing largely in the fun and frolic,
which were almost as congenial to his disposition as the drubbing of an adversary.
Several Charleston families of wealth and distinction were waiting in the settlement
for the evacuation of their city. With the young men whose acquaintance he thus
made, Andrew led a life in the summer and autumn of 1782 that was more merry
than wise. He now began to betray that taste for horse-flesh which became such a de-
cided passion in after life. He ran races and rode races, gambled a little, drank a
little, indulged in a cock-fight occasionally, and presented a glorious specimen of
the young America at that day. He seems to have had but a faint love for his Car-
olina relations, and was probably regarded as the scapegrace of the family.
It is credibly related that his first attempt at earning a living for himself was in
the capacity of a country schoolmaster, but after trying his hand in this unconge-
nial employment for a short time he resolved to study law. Gathering together his
scanty earnings, he mounts his horse, sets his face to the northward in quest of a
master with whom to pursue his law studies, and finally enters an office in Salis-
bury, N. C., at the age of eighteen. Of his residence in that pleasant old town,
Mr. Parton has succeeded in bagging some characteristic if not altogether edifying
reminiscences:
'Salisbury teems with traditions respecting the residence there of Andrew Jack-
son as a student of law. Their general tenor may be expressed in the language of
the first old resident of the town, to whom I applied for information : 'Andrew
Jackson was the most roaring, rollicking, game-cocking, horse-racing, card-playing,
mischievous fellow that ever lived in Salisbury.' Add to this such expressions as
these: 'He did not trouble the law books mucn,' 'he was more in the stable than in
the office,' 'he was the head of all the rowdies hereabouts.1 That is the substance
of what the Salisbury of 1X59 has to say of the Andrew Jackson of 1785.
Nothing is more likely than that he was a roaring, rollicking fellow, overflowing
with life and spirits, and rejoicing to engage in all the fun that was going, but I do
not believe that he neglected his duties at the office to the extent to which Salis-
bury says he did. There are good reasons for doubting it. At no part of Jack-
eon s career, when we can get a look at him through a pair of trustworty eyes, do
610
TENNESSEE.
we find him trifling%with life. We find him often wrong, but always earnest. He
never so much as rtiiscd a field of cotton which he did not have done in the best
manner known to him. It was not in the nature of this young man to take a great
ileal of trouble to get a chance to study law, and then entirely to throw away that
chance. Of course he never became, in any proper sense of the word, a lawyer,
but that he was not diligent and eager in»picking up the legal knowledge necessary
for practice at that day, will become less credible to the reader the more he knows
of him. Once, in the White House, forty-five years after this period, when some
one from Salisbury reminded him of his residence in that town, he said, with a
smile, and a look of retrospection on his aged face, 'Yes, I lived at old (Salisbury.
1 was but a raw lad then, but I did my best.' "
Annexed is a view of the residence of the celebrated Col. David Crockett,
at the time he was a member of congress. It is in Gibson county, in the
north -western corner
of Tennessee, about
4 miles easterly from
Rutherford's Station,
on the Mobile and
Ohio Railroad. It is
the present residence
of Moses F. White-
hurst, and stands in
the forks of Obion
River, a stream fam-
ous in the history of
Crockett's hunting
adventures. The
house is of hewn logs:
originally it had "cat
and clay " chimneys.
These have given
place to stone, and
the logs are now
weatherboarded. It
is about 40 feet long
a double cabin" — a favorite kind of
DAVID CROCKETT'S CABIN.
[Drawn by Henry Howe, Nov., 1859.]
The open space between the difi'er-
nnd 14 wide, and is what is termed
backwoods structure in the south-west.
ent parts of the cabin, in the heats of summer, is a common place for the
families to partake of their meals, for the females to sew, and for general social
intercourse. Independence, buoyant health, solid, substantial comfort, and
general freedom from oppressive care, may be said to be the general condi-
tion of Americans who find their homes in double cabins.
The country in the vicinity of Crockett's cabin is yet in a somewhat wil-
derness condition, though it is now rapidly improving under the impetus
uivcii, of late years, to the cotton growing region. When in the county to
make a sketch of the place for this work, we became acquainted with several
gray -headed men, who evidently took pride in stating they had "voted for
Crockett." They described him as a man tall in stature, rising six feet, of
sinewy frame, independent in manner, and an excellent story-teller. In his
!;i^t canvass for congress he was beaten, and therefore emigrated to Texas.
They related many anecdotes of his goodness of heart and generosity —
Miiong them this: In the autumn of 1838, a general migration of squirrel."
from the north crossed that section of country, devouring all the i-orn in
their path, so that a famine threatened the inhabitants. Crockett, upon this.
TENNESSEE. 641
went to the "W abash country, bought a flat-boat loaded it with corn, and
floating down the Ohio into the Mississippi, and thence to the mouth of the
Obion, a distance of several hundred miles, poled it up that stream 130 miles
further by its various windings, to the forks of the Obion, and there distri-
buted it among his suffering neighbors. His first question, when a man
came to buy, was, "Have you got money to pay for it?" If the reply was,
" Yes," Crockett would rejoin, "then you can't have a kernel. I brought it
here to sell to those who have no money." Another question was, " how
many have you in your family?" This ascertained, he would sell none
more than their share, taking from all due bills, and refusing credit to none,
however untrustworthy their reputation, or great their poverty. The fol-
lowing sketch is from Lossing's American Biography:
" lJie sure you are right, then go ahead,' is a wise maxim attributed to one whose
life was a continual illustration of the sentiment. Every body has heard of ' Davy
Crockett,' the immortal backwoodsman of Tennessee — the 'crack shot' of the wil-
derness— the eccentric but honest member of congress — the ' hero of the Alamo'
— yet few knew his origin, his early struggles, and the general current of his life.
History has but few words concerning him, but tradition is garrulous over his
many deeds.
David Crockett was born at the mouth of the Limestone River, Greene county,
East Tennessee, on the 17th of August, 1786. His father was of Scotch-Irish de-
scent, and took a prominent part in the War for Independence. It was all a wil-
derness around David's birth-place, and his soul communed with nature in its un-
broken wildness, from the beginning. He grew to young manhood, without any
education from books other than he received in his own rude home. When only
geven years of age, David's father was stripped of most of his little property, by
fire. He opened a tavern in Jefferso'n county, where David was his main 'help'
until the age of twelve years. Then he was hired to a Dutch cattle-trader, who
collected herds in Tennessee and Kentucky, and drove them to the eastern mar-
kets. This vagrant life, full of incident and adventure, suited young Crockett, but
becoming dissatisfied with his employer, he deserted him, and made his way back
to his father's home. After tarrying a year, he ran away, joined another cattle mer-.
chant, and at the end of the journey, in Virginia, he was dismissed with precisely four
dollars in his pocket. For three years he was 'knocking about,' as he expressed
it, and then he sought his father's home again. He now enjoyed the advantages
of a school fora few weeks; and, finally, after several unsuccessful love adven-
tures, he married an excellent girl, and became a father in 1810, when 24 years of
age. He settled on the banks of Elk River, and was pursuing the quiet avocation,
of a farmer in summer, and the more stirring one of hunter in the autumn, when
war was commenced with Great Britain, in 1812. Crockett was one of the first to
respond to Gen. Jackson's call for volunteers, and under that brave leader he was
engaged in several skirmishes and battles. He received the commission of colonel
at the close of the war, as a testimonial of his worth. His wife had died while he
was in the army, and several small children were left to his care. The widow of
a deceased friend soon came to his aid, and in this second wife he found an excel-
lent guardian for his children. Soon after his marriage, he removed to Laurens
county, where he was made justice of the peace, an! was chosen to represent
the district in the state legislature. Generous, full of fun, possessing great shrewd-
ness, and ' honest to a fault,' Crockett became very popular in the legislature and
among his constituents. In the course of a few years he removed to Western Ten-
nessee, where he became a fatuous hunter. With the rough backwoodsmen there
he was a man after their own hearts, and he was elected to a seat in congress, in 1828,
and again in 1830. He and the opposing candidate canvassed their district to-
gether, and made stump speeches. Crockett's opponent had written his speech,
and delivered the same one at different places. David was always original, and he
readily yielded to his friend's request to speak first. At a point where both wished
to ni;ike a good impression, Crockett desired to speak first His opponent could
not refuse; but, to his dismay, he heard David repeat his own speech. Tho colo-
41
642
TENNESSEE.
nel had heard it so often that it was fixed in his memory. The other candidate
"was speechless, and lost his election. When the Americans in Texas commenced
their war for independence, toward the close of 1835, Crockett hastened thitherto
help them, and at the storming of the Alamo, at San Antonio de Bexar, on the
6th of March, 1836, that eccentric hero was killed. He was afterward found dead,
surrounded by a pile of the enemy, who had fallen beneath his powerful arm. He
was then fifty years of age."
Hugh Lawson White, an eminent statesman and jurist, was born in North Caro-
lina, in 1773, and when 13 years of age emigrated with his fathers family to Knox
county Tennessee. He was educated to the law in Pennsylvania, and in 1796, be-
gan the practice at Knoxville. Though his education was limited, he was clear
headed, logical and self-relying, and attained distinction throughout the entire
south-west, where he was "familiarly compared to Aristides, and reverently re-
garded as the Cato of the republic." He served in many offices of trust, as U. S,
Brainerd) the Ancient Missionary Station among the Cherokees.
The engraving shows the Mission Church, Store House, and other buildings connected with the Mission
as they appeared about the year 1821. The grave of Dr. Worcester* is soon on the left, at the spot where
two persons are standing.
district attorney, judge of the supreme court of Tennessee, state senator, president
of the state bank, etc. He was appointed commissioner by President Monroe to,
adjust claims of our citizens against Spain. In 1825, 1831, and 1837, he was suc-
cessively elected to the senate of the United States, where he served with signal
ability. At the election for vice president of the United States, in 1836, he re-
ceived all the votes of Georgia and Tennessee. In 1839, having received instruc-
tions from the legislature of Tennessee to vote in the senate contrary to his own
judgment, he resigned his seat in that body, which he had held sixteen years. He
died at his residence in Knoxville, April 10, 1840, in the 68th year of his age.
THE CHEROKEE MISSION.
The first mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign
Missions among the Cherokees, was commenced in 1817 at Brainerd, a spot
within the limits of Tennessee, on the western side of the Chickamavga
Creek, which is navigable to Brainerd, being about 15 miles from its conflu-
ence with the Tennessee. It was, at that time, nearly equi-distant from the
eastern and western extremities of the Cherokee country, and perhaps 25 or:
30 miles from the northern limit, which was the mouth of Hiawassee. A
*Rcv. Dr. Worcester, of Massachusetts, an active member of the American Board, died
in his visit to the Cherokees, at Brainerd, June 7, 1821, and was interred on the Mission
premises. His remains were taken up several years since, and carried to Massachusetts, by
his s-on, a clergyman of that state. The mission grounds are now owned by A. E. Blunt,'
Esq., who was formerly connected with the mission as a farmer, mechanic and teacher. The
wife ami two children of Mr. Blunt were buried by the side of Dr. Worcester, with others of
the mission family. The old Mission Church is still standing.
TENNESSEE. 643
church was organized in Sept. 1817, and Catherine was the first fruit of mis*
sionary labor. This place was, visited by President Monroe, in May, 1819 '
on his grand tour through the United States.
The missions continued to flourish: 8 churches, or stations, were estab-
lished, and the mass of the people became civilized, and, externally, embraced
the Christian religion. In 1828 and 1829, the state of Georgia, repudiating
the independent government which the Cherokees attempted to establish
among themselves, extended her laws over them, and forbade the missiona-
ries of the board to reside among them. Mr. Worcester and Dr. Butler, for
violating this law, were imprisoned in the Georgia penitentiary. The case
was brought before the supreme court of the United States, in 1832, which
ordered their release. The bill for the removal of the Indians west of the
Mississippi, passed congress in 1830. On Sunday, the 19th of Aug., 1835,
the church at Brainerd gathered, for the last time in that place, around the
sacramental table. In 1836, some of the principal chiefs negotiated a treaty
at New Echota, for the sale of all their lands east of the Mississippi, for five
millions of dollars. In 1838, the whole nation, 16,000 in number, were on
their march for the west, in fourteen companies. Several missionaries accom-
panied them on their way. Their journey of 600 or 700 miles, was per-
formed in four or five months. On the 22d of June, 1839, Major Ridge,
his son, John Ridge, and Ellas Boudinot, Cherokee chiefs, were assassinated
by their countrymen, for the part they took in selling the lands of the
nation.
THE JERKS.
About the beginning of the present century, the religious meetings of the
west were attended by singular mental and physical phenomena, resembling,
in some of their phases, the mesmeric phenomena of our time. These were
comprised under the general name of "the Jerks." The first recorded in-
stance was at a sacrament in East Tennessee, when several hundred of both
sexes were seized with this strange and involuntary contortion. A clerical
writer, Rev. Barton W. Stone, has, in his biography, left an account of what
he personally witnessed of these strange phenomena, which we here tran-
scribe :
The bodily agitations or exercises attending the excitement in the beginning
of this century were various, and called by various names, as the falling exercise,
the jerks, the dancing exercise, the barking exercise, the laughing and singing ex- •
ercises, and so on. The falling exercise was very common among all classes, the
saints and sinners of every aije .and grade, from the philosopher to the clown. The
subject of this exercise would generally, with a piercing scream, fall like a log on
the floor or earth, and appear as dead. Of thousands of similar cases, I will men-
tion one. At a meeting, two gay young ladies, sisters, were standing together, at-
tending the exercises and preaching at the same time, when instantly they both .
fell with a shriek of distress, and lay for more than an hour apparently in a life-
less state. Their mother, a pious Uaptist, was in great distress, fearing they would
not revive. At length they be^an to exhibit signs of life, by crying fervently for :
mercy, and then relapsed into the same death-like state, with an awful gloom on
their countenances; after a while, the gloom on the face of one was suc-
ceeded by a heavenly smile, and she cried out, ' Precious Jesus! ' and spoke of the
glory of the gocpel to the surrounding crowd in language almost superhuman, and •
exhorted all to repentance. In a little while after, the other sister was similarly •
exercised. From that time they became remarkably pious members of the church.
I have seen very many pious persons fall in the same way, from a sense of the
danger of their unconverted children, brothers, or sisters, or from a sense of the
danger of their neighbors in a sinful world. I have heard them agonizing in tears,
644 TENNESSEE.
and strongly crying for mercy to be shown to sinners, and speaking like angels all
around.
The jerks can not be so easily described. Sometimes the subject of the jerka
would be affected in some one member of the body, and sometimes in the whole
system. When the head alone was affected, it would be jerked backward and for-
ward, or from side to side, so quickly that the features of the face could not be
distinguished. When the whole system was affected, I have seen the person stand
in one place, and jerk backward and forward in quick succession, the head nearly
touching the floor behind and before. All classes, saints and sinners, the strong
as well as the weak, were thus affected. I have inquired of those thus affected it
they could not account for it, but some have told me that those were among the
happiest seasons of their lives. I have seen some wicked persons thus affected,
and all the time cursing the jerks, while they were thrown to the earth with vio-
lence. Though so awful to behold, I do not remember that any one of the thou-
sands I have seen thus affected, ever sustained any injury in body. This was as
strange as the exercise itself.
The dancing exercise generally began with the jerks, and was peculiar to pro-
fessors of religion. The subject, after jerking awhile, began to dance, and then
the jerks would cease. Such dancing was indeed heavenly to the spectators.
There was nothing in it like levity, nor calculated to excite levity in the beholders.
The smile of Heaven shone on the countenance of the subject, and assimilated to
angels appeared the whole person. Sometimes the motion was quick, and some-
times slow. Thus they continued to move forward and backward -in the same
track or* alley till nature seemed exhausted ; and they would fall prostrate on the
floor or earth, unless caught by those standing by. While thus exercised, I have
heard their solemn praises and prayers ascend to God.
The barking exercise, as opposers contemptuously called it, was nothing but the
jerks. A person affected with the jerks, especially in his head, would often make
a grunt or a bark, from the suddenness of the jerk. This name of barking seems
to have had its origin from an old Presbyterian preacher of East Tennessee. He
had gone into the woods for private devotion, and was seized with the jerks.
Standing near a sapling, he caught hold of it to prevent his falling, and, as his
head jerked back, he uttered a grunt, or a kind of noise similar to a bark, his face
being turned upward. Some wag discovered him in this position, and reported
that he had found the old preacher barking up a tree.
The laughing exercise was frequent — confined solely to the religious. It was a
loud, hearty laughter, but it excited laughter in none that heard it. The subject ap-
peared rapturously solemn, and his laughter excited solemnity in saints and sin-
ners: it was truly indescribable!
The running exercise was nothing more than that persons feeling something of
these bodily agitations, through fear, attempted to run away and thus escape from
them; but it commonly happened that they ran not far before they fell, where they
became so agitated they could not proceed any farther.
1 knew a young physician, of a celebrated family, who came some distance to a
big meeting, to see the strange things he had heard of. He and a young lady had
sportively agreed to watch over and take care of each other if either should fall
At length, the physician felt something very uncommon, and started from the con-
gregation to run into the woods. He was discovered running as for life, but did
not proceed far until he fell down, and there lay until he submitted to the Lord,
and afterward became a zealous member of the Church. Such cases were com-
mon.
The singing exercise is more unaccountable than any thing else T ever saw. The
subject, in a very happy state of mind, would sinii most melodiously, not from the
mouth or nose, but entirely in the breast, the sounds issuing thence. Such noise
silenced everything, and attracted the attention of all It was raost heavenly;
none could ever be tired of hearing it
ARKANSAS.
The first European who traversed the territory of Arkansas was De Soto,
the celebrated Spanish adventurer, who after his wanderings east of the Mis-
sissippi, about the 1st of May, 1541,
reached the great river of the west,
not far from the site of Memphis,
Tenn., where he encamped and tarried
for about twenty days, in order to
construct boats to cross the river.
On the opposite bank a great multi-
tude of Indian warriors assembled,
well armed, and with a fleet of canoes,
to defend the passage. The morning
after De Soto had encamped, some of
the natives visited him. "Advancing
without speaking a word, and turning
their faces to the east, they made a
profound genuflexion to the sun ; then
facing to the west, they made the
same obeisance to the moon, and con-
cluded with a similar, but less humble,
reverence to De Soto." They in-
formed him they came in the name of the chief of the province, to bid them
welcome, and offer their friendship and services. When the time had arrived
for crossing over, De Soto, about three hours before day, ordered the four
boats he had built and launched to be manned, and four troopers of tried
courage to go in each. As they came near the other shore, meeting with no
opposition, the troopers dashed into the water, easily effected a landing, and
made themselves masters of the pass. Two hours before the sun went down
the whole army had passed over the Mississippi. "The river in this place,"
says the Portuguese historian, "was half a league from one shore to the
other, so that a man standing still could scarce be discerned from the oppo-
site bank. The stream was of great depth, very muddy, and was filled with
trees and timber carried along by the rapidity of the current."
De Soto now pursued his way northward, and then turning westward again,
they marched more than two hundred miles from the Mississippi to the high-
645
ARMS OF ARKANSAS.
MOTTO — Regnant popnli — The people govern.
646 ARKANSAS.
lands of White River. But still they found no gold (the object of their
search), no gems, no cities : only bare prairies, tangled forests, and deep mo-
rasses. To the south they again toiled on, and passed the winter wandering
upon the Washita. In the following spring (1542), De Soto, weary with
hope long deferred, descended the river to its junction with Red River and
the Mississippi. His men and horses wasted away, the Indians around him
were hostile, and, his hopes being blasted, he sickened and died, and was buried
in the Mississippi, " thus meeting, in all his travels, with nothing so remark-
able as his burial place."
The territory of Arkansas appears to have been next visited by Father
Marquette, and a few others, who came down from Canada in 1673. The
French voyageurs, from the Ohio, passed down the river to the neighborhood
of the "Arkamseas," or Arkansas, where they were kindly received. Accord-
ing to some accounts, the French had a settlement or military establishment
at Arkansas Post, as early as 1685. It is stated, also, in 1748 (whether here
or at the mouth of the Arkansas, does not distinctly appear), "the Chicka-
saws attacked the post, slew many, took thirteen prisoners, and drove the rest
into the fort." At this time, "from the Arkansas to the Illinois, near five
hundred leagues, there was not a settlement."
This state was originally included within the limits of Louisiana, from
which, in conjunction with Missouri, it was set off, becoming a part of the
latter, under the name of Missouri Territory. In 1819 Missouri was divided,
and the southern portion became the Territory of Arkansas. The seat of
government was originally located at Arkansas Post. Gen. James Miller, a
distinguished officer, and a native of New Hampshire, was the first governor.
He was succeeded by Gen. George Izard. The first territorial election took
place in Nov., 1819. The first legislature met at Arkansas Post, Feb. 20,
1820. The members of the general assembly were as follows: Sylvanus
.Phillips, William 0. Allen, and Wm. B. R. Homer, Arkansas county; Ed-
ward McDonald, Jo. Hardin, and Joab Hardin, Lawrence county; David
Clark, Wm. Stephenson, and John English, Hempstead county; John McEl-
murry, Radford Ellis, and Thos. H. Tindell, Pulaski county; Jacob Bark-
man and Thos. Fish, Clark county. Gen. Wm. Allen, who afterward lost
his life in a duel, was appointed brigadier general of the Arkansas militia.
James Woodson Bates was elected delegate, and Robert Crittenden, secre-
tary. The seat of government was removed to Little Rock in 1820. In
1836, Arkansas was admitted as an independent state, constituting the twenty-
sixth member of the American Union.
Arkansas is bounded N. by Missouri, on the E.«by the Mississippi River,
separating it from Mississippi and Tennessee, S. by, Louisiana, and W. by the
Indian Territory and Texas. It extends between 33° and 36° 30' N. Lat,,
and between 89° 30' and 94° 30' W. Long. It is 242 miles long from N.
to S., and from 170 to 258 wide from E. to W., having an area of 52,198
square miles.
'. In the eastern part of the state, bordering on the Mississippi and the large
rivers which empty into it, the country is low and swampy, with a heavy
growth of timber, and is frequently overflowed. Toward the central part it is
generally hilly and broken, though interspersed with numerous prairies. The
western section is crossed by several mountainous ridges. The Ozark Mountains
rise to an elevation of from 1,500 to 2,000 feet. The Washita Hills have
also a considerable elevation.
"Arkansas gives indications of considerable affluence in mineral resources, which
ARKANSAS. 647
arc principally coal, iron, lead, zinc, manganese, gypsum, and salt. The coal field
of Arkansas commences 40 miles above Little Rock, and extends on both sides of
the river beyond the western boundary of the state. Cannel, anthracite and bitu-
minous coal are found in the state. Gold is said to huve been discovered in White
county. Near the Hot Springs is a celebrated quarry of oil stone, superior to any-
thing else of the kind in the known world : the quantity is inexhaustible: there
arc great varieties, exhibiting all degrees <5f fineness. According to a writer in
De Bow's Resources of the South and West, there is manganese enough in Arkan-
sas to supply the world; in zinc it excels every state except New Jersey; and has
more gypsum than all the other states put together, while it is equally well sup-
plied with marble and salt The lead ore of tliis state is said to be particularly
rich in silver."
"Among objects of interest to tourists, are the Hot Springs, about 60 miles S.W.
of Little Rock. From a point or ridge of Land, forming a steep bank from 150 to
200 feet high, projecting over Hot Spring Creek, an affluent of the Washita, more
than 100 springs issue at different elevations, and at different temperatures, from
135 dcg. to 160 deg. of Fahrenheit A considerable portion of this bank consists
of calcareous deposits, formed from the water as it is exposed to the air. These
springs are visited annually by thousands of people. The waters are esteemed
particularly beneficial to persons suffering from the chronic effects of mercury ;
also in rheumatism, stiffness of the joints, etc. Near the top of the bank above
alluded to, there is a fine cold spring, so near to the warm springs that a person
can put one hand into cold and the other into warm water at the same time. The
creek below the springs is rendered warm enough to bathe in, even in the coldest
season. Cane Hill, in Washington county, elevated, about 1,000 feet, is flat or roll-
ing on the top, with exactly the same growth of trees, etc. (including the grape-
vine, pawpaw and gum trees) as on the river bottoms. It was originally covered
with cane, hence the name. It is four or five miles wide, and perhaps ten miles
long, and densely populated. The mountains on the western border of the state,
abound with picturesque and romantic scenery. There is in Pike county, on the
Little Missouri River, a mountain of alabaster, said to be of the finest quality, and
white as the driven snow. In the same county also there is a natural bridge,
which is regarded as a great curiosity."
The state is traversed or washed by several of the largest rivers in Amer-
ica. The Mississippi laves its eastern front for more than 350 miles by its
windings. The Arkansas, one of the largest tributaries of the Mississippi,
traverses the whole breadth of the state, through its center by a very tortu-
ous course, and is navigable for the greater part of the year far beyond its
western limits. The Red River flows through the south-western corner of
the state : the White River in the northern part of the state, and the Washita
in the southern, are both important and navigable streams.
The soil is of every variety, from the most productive to that which is
sterile. On the margins of rivers, it is exceedingly fertile, but back of this the
land in many places is sterile, there being a scarcity of water. Cotton and In-
dian corn are staple productions, but the country is well calculated for raising
cattle. Wild animals and fowls abound, such as buffaloes, deer; beaver, wild
turkeys, geese, quails, etc. Within the last few years, the state has rapidly
advanced in wealth and population, consequent upon the impetus given to the
cultivation of cotton. Population, in 1850, 209,639, of whom 46,982 were
slaves; in 1860, 435.427, including 111,104 slaves.
LITTLE ROCK, the capital and chief town in Arkansas, is situated on the
Arkansas River, about 100 miles in a direct line from Napoleon, at the mouth
of the river, but more than double that distance following the course of the
stream: distant from New Orleans, by the rivers, 905 miles, and 1,08G W.
from Washington. The town is built on a rocky bluff, some 40 or 50 feet
648
high. It contains the state capitol, the state penitentiary, U. S. arsenal, 5
or 6 churches, several literary institutions, manufacturing establishments, and
4,000 inhabitants.
Little Rock.
The view shows Little Rock, as it appears from the opposite bank of the Arkansas. The Steamboat
aud Furry Landings are seen ou the right. Part of the city buildings appear ou the bluff, the Postoffice
on the loft, and the State House on the right.
The first rock which appears, in ascending the Arkansas from the Missis-
sippi, is seen in the bank near the steamboat landing in this place. About
one and a half miles above the town, on the opposite side of the stream, is a
large perpendicular rock, some 300 feet high; this is called "Big Rock"
while the other was known by the name of "Little Rock.1' Hence the present
name of the, city, which was originally called Arkopolis. The seat of gov-
ernment for Arkansas Territory was laid out here in 1820, at which time the
steamboat Comet arrived, in eight days from New Orleans, the first steamboat
that ascended the Arkansas. The river at Little Rock is about half a mile
in width. In the summer months, when the water is at a low stage, only
boats of a light draught can ascend as high as this point. During flood
times the river has been known to rise twenty feet in twelve hours. In
severe weather in winter, it is sometimes frozen over. Opposite the city the
soil is very fertile, producing cotton from five to eight feet high.
Batesville, the county seat of Independence county, 95 miles north-
erly from Little Rock, is on the left bank of the White River, about
250 miles southwesterly from St. Louia, and 1,040 from Washington.
It lies at the head of steam navigation, small steamboats ascending
at nearly all seasons. The place contains about 1,000 inhabitants.
In 1826, says Col. Noland, in his sketches of " Early Times in Arkan-
sas," Batesville was the second town in importance in Arkansas. At
ARKANSAS.
649
that time there were no towns or villages on White River from Bates-
ville to its mouth.
HELENA, on the right bank of the Mississippi, is 100 miles from
Little Rock, 100 from Napoleon, and 100 from Memphis. It lias a
large trade with the back country and the settlements on St..Francis
Helena.
River, from which it receives considerable cotton for shipment. There
is a fine range of hills back of the landing, the first to be seen on the
western bank of the Mississippi.
NAPOLEON is situated on the southern side of Arkansas River, at
its entrance into the Mississippi, about 100 miles in a direct line from
Little Rock, by the river about 600 from New Orleans, 1,087 from St.
Louis, and 1,583 from Cincinnati. It has 600 inhabitants.
Arkansas Post, the oldest settlement in Arkansas, is situated on the
northern bank of the Arkansas river about 50 miles above its juuction
650 ARKANSAS.
the Mississippi. The French located themselves here as early as 1685. It
was formerly a place of some importance, being the chief depot of the pel-
tries of the country far around. There is now scarcely a single house re-
maining. "A happier people," says Col. Noland, "than those who once
lived here were not to be found anywhere. Principally of French descent,
they were fond of frolic ; dancing, balls, and card playing we»e the order of
the day. Hospitable as people ever get to be, every man's latchstring hung
on the outside of his door. The great man of the place was Frederick Fo-
trebe, of great strength of mind and business capacity. He was the great
merchant for all Arkansas east of Little Rock."
View on the Arkansas.
Pine Bluff, the county seat of Jefferson county, on the right or southern
bank of Arkansas River, is by land 45' miles south-westerly from Little
Rock, and 90 by land from Napoleon, at the mouth of the river. The place
derives its name from the pines growing on the bluff (some 40 or 50 feet
high), on which the place is situated. The village contains three churches,
a fine court house, erected at an expense of $18,000, and about 1,000 in-
habitants.
The White Sulphur Springs, about seven miles from Pine Bluff, is begin-
ning to be quite a place of resort, from the medicinal properties of its
waters.
Fort Smith is about 160 miles from Little Rock, on the "W. line of
the state, where it is crossed by the Arkansas River, also on the line
of the great overland mail route from St. Louis to San Francisco. It
has long been noted as a military post on the Indian frontier. St.
Andrew's College, a Catholic institution, is located near this place.
The Ecclesiastical Seminary, considered one of the finest edifices in
the country, is located on the college grounds. Steamboats ply be-
tween this place and New Orleans.
Van Buren is on the N". bank of the Arkansas River, five miles from
the state line dividing it from the Indian Territory. It has a large
commerce with the Indians and the immediate neighborhood.
Hot Springs, in Hot Springs county, is a small village 47 miles S.
ARKANSAS. 651
W. of Little Eock. It is distinguished as being the seat of a large
number of hot springs. The temperature of the several springs vary
from 110° to 150° Fahrenheit. About three miles N. E. are the chaly-
beate springs, the waters of which are cold, and in Montgomery
county, 50 miles westward, are also sulphur springs. The whole
neighborhood is of volcanic formation, and the scenery romantic.
The springs are a highly popular place of resort for invalids and
pleasure seekers.
Fayetteville, in the north western corner of the state, is a beautiful
town, long noted for its literary institutions.
TEXAS.
^ THE signification of the word Texas is unknown. The name, on the first
discovery of the country, was that of an Indian town on the Neches. In
very early times, Texas was known as
the "New Philippines," and was so
alluded to in Spanish official papers.
The first landing of any white per-
sons on the soil of Texas was made
by La Salle and his companions, Feb.
18, 1685. This adventurer, who was
under the patronage of Louis XIV,
of France, after his discovery of the
mouth of the Mississippi, in 1682,
was sent out on a second expedition
to take possession of the Mississippi
country and that adjacent, in the name
of the king of France, and to secure
the same by actual settlement. This ex-
pedition consisted of four vessels and
about 300 men. La Salle, by mistak-
ing his course, proceeded too far to
the south-west, and made his entrance into Matagorda Bay, which he sup-
posed to be one of the mouths or cutlets of the Mississippi, which river he
had previously discovered. He proceeded about six miles up the Lavacca
River, and built a fort on its banks, which he called Fort St. Louis. He
afterward explored the country to the eastward as far as the Colorado River,
when he became satisfied of his error, and that he was still far to the west
of the Mississippi.
Having ascertained nearly his actual position, he determined on opening a
communication with the French settlements in Illinois, and for this purpose,
on March 22, 1G86, with twenty of his men, set out on a journey of 2,000
miles, over an unexplored country. He encountered many difficulties on hia
progress toward Eastern Texas. He proceeded, it is supposed, as far as tho
Neches River, where he was taken sick. He was kindly treated there by tho
Cenis tribe of Indians, but on his recovery, he found his stock of ammuni-
tion so reduced that he was compelled to return to his small colony for
653
AUMS OF TEXAS.
654 TEXAS.
another outfit. From various causes the number of the colonists was reduced
to forty men. Leaving one half of these at the fort, La Salle, on the 12th
of Jan., 1687, commenced a second journey to Illinois. Having arrived
again among the friendly Cenis Indians, his men being quarrelsome, killed
several of their companions, and afterward murdered La Salle himself, on
the 20th of March, 1687. The survivors continued their quarrels till the
murderers themselves were assassinated. Finally Joutil, the historian of the
expedition, with six others, continued their journey to Illinois, where five of
them arrived in safety, and thence proceeded, by way of Canada, to France.
When the Indians in the neighborhood of Lavacca heard of the death of La
Salle, they attacked the garrison in St. Louis, and killed all but four, whom
they took prisoners. Thus ended the first attempt at a settlement of Texas.
The Spanish government having heard of La Salle's expedition to Texas,
and wishing to contest the claim of France to the country, sent Captain De
Leon with an expedition to Matagorda Bay. They arrived at Fort St. Louis
April 22, 1689. From this point he proceeded to the 'Cenis nation, where
he found two of the French colonists, whom he took and^sent to the mines
in Mexico. De Leon was afterward sent into Texas a second time, where he
established several missions and military posts. In 1691, Teran was ap-
pointed, by the government of Spain, governor of Texas and Coahuila, this
being the first attempt to organize a government here. Teran established
posts and formed settlements on Red River, on the Neches and Guadaloupe.
About this time was established the missions of San Francisco and San Juan
Bautista. This last was situated on the :'old San Antonio road," which was
laid out about this time, by St. Denis, the French commandant at Nachito-
ches, with a view to open a trade with Mexico, and which continued to be
traveled by Mexican traders and others, for 140 years afterward.
The hostility of the Indians, and the heavy expenses attending these efforts
to colonize Texas, caused the king of Spain to abandon, for a time, this en-
terprise. The missions, however, struggled along under many discourage-
ments. In 1712, Louis XIV, of France, still disputing the Spanish claim,
granted a charter to Crozat, including both Louisiana and Texas, and ap-
pointed Condillac governor of the whole territory. In order to obtain pos-
session of the rich mines in the interior of Mexico, Condillac sent St. Denis
with a command, to establish settlements and open a way to the mining re-
gions. The Spanish authorities in Mexico became alarmed by these pro-
ceedings, and in order to defeat the enterprise, sent Capt. Don Ramon to
establish new posts and fortify the missions previously established. Ramon .
established many missions, in different parts of Texas, in the year 1715, .
which has, therefore, been called the "year of missions in Texas." From
this year the permanent occupancy of Texas by Spain may be dated.
In 1721, De Bienville, the governor of Louisiana, fitted out an expedition
to drive out the Spaniards from Texas. The expedition landed in Matagorda
Bay, but on account of the hostility of the Indians, they soon returned. In §
1728, the Spanish government made an order to send 400 families to Texas,
to be taken from the Canary Islands. The first of these emigrants settled
in San Antonio; and these, together with others from the city of Mexico,
who arrived about the same time, laid the first permanent foundation of that
city. About this time, the Natchez, a powerful tribe of Indians in Louisi- .
ana, and the Apaches, and some other warlike tribes in Texas, made war
agninst both the French and Spanish settlements. The Apaches made fre-
quent incursions upon San Antonio, and greatly harassed the inhabitants; _
TEXAS. 655
while the Natchez attacked the French garrison at Natchitoches. This war
broke out in 1730, and continued for two years, when the Spaniards defeated
the Indians in a great battle, which, for a time, gave peace to the country.
In 1762, France ceded Louisiana to Spain, who, having thus acquired
possession of both Louisiana and Texas, established some new frontier de-
fenses, but allowed only two garrisons to Texas, the one at San Antonio, and
the other at La Bahia. The trade of Texas, consisting almost entirely in
horses, cattle and sheep, was, after this, prosecuted with New Orleans with
less difficulty, and the precious metals from various parts of Mexico passed
through Texas without opposition. The policy, however, of the Spanish
government, in not allowing any free trade, cut off all commerce from the
coast of Texas, which was but imperfectly known, only now and then a con-
traband trader, or a piratical cruiser, coming into Galveston to conceal a
prize.
"In 1765, the population of Texas, confined almost entirely to Adaes, San
Antonio, La Bahia, with a few at Nacogdoches, Orquisaco and Mound Prairie,
is said not to have exceeded 1,500, one half of whom were Indians domicil-
iated." When Spain declared war against Great Britain, in 1779, Don Jose
Galvez, then governor of Louisiana, engaged in active hostilities, and re-
ceived a few recruits from Texas, who aided in the victories at Natchez, Pen-
sacola, and other places. Previous to and during the American Revolution,
an active trade was carried on by the Spanish settlement at Natchez, through
Nacogdoches, to the interior of Texas, and it was through those engaged in
this trade that its beauty and fertility became known to the Americans, and
attracted adventurers from the United States.
In Oct., 1800, Spain, by secret treaty, retroceded Louisiana back to France.
In 1803, Bonaparte, being in want of money, sold the whole of Louisiana to
the United States. The western boundaries of this territory were quite un-
defined, but the River Sabine was finally, in 1819, in treaty with Spain,
agreed upon as the boundary upon the gulf. At the close of 1806, Texas
was comparatively prosperous, owing chiefly to the disbursement of money
for the support of the troops at the fortified places; the population at this
time was estimated at about 7,000. Some few Americans had settled along
the San Antonio road, in spite of the hostile disposition manifested toward
them. Nacogdoches, at this time, contained about 500 inhabitants, among
whom were quite a number of Americans.
West of the Sabine was a tract, called the " Neutral Ground," which was
occupied by bands of outlaws and desperate men, who lived as buccaneers,
by robbery and plunder, perpetrated upon the traders. The Spanish author-
ities had endeavored to expel them, but could not. The United States sent
a force against them and drove them away, but they returned again, and re-
newed their depredations. About this time, Lieut. A. W. Magee, a native
of Massachusetts, who had commanded an expedition against these outlaws,
conceived the idea of conquering Texas to the Rio Grande, and of establish-
ing a republican government. This enterprize was undertaken in the n;nne
of Don Bernardo Gutierres, though Magee was in reality at the head of the
movement. The freebooters of the neutral ground joined his standard, in
June, 1812. The civil war at this time raging in Mexico, favored the de-
signs of Map.ee, who had with him nearly every able bodied man east of the
Trinity, lie crossed the Colorado with about 800 men. At this point, he
learned that Salcedo, the royalist governor of Texas, had come out against
him as far as the Guadaloupe, with 1,400 men, where he lay in ambush. Magee
65G TEXAS.
then made a forced march, and reached La Bahia on the 14th of November,
which was surrendered to him with but little opposition. Here Magee was
besieged by Salcedo for three weeks. Previous to the last assault, Magee
agreed to deliver up the fort and return home. When this agreement was
made known to the army, it was unanimously voted down. Major Kemper,
the next in command, took the lead. Magee, deeply mortified, retired to his
tent, and, it is said, died by his own hand a little after midnight. The Span-
iards withdrew to San Antonio, after having continued the siege till the 12th
of March, 1813.
The Americans, being reinforced, marched on San Antonio. When with-
in about nine miles of that place, they came upon the Spanish army, under
Gov. Salcedo. about 2,500 strong, being about double the number of the
Americans. The battle of Rosalis ensued, nearly 1,000 of the Spaniards
were slain, and some few taken prisoners. The next day Gov. Salcedo sur-
rendered, and being put in charge of a company of Bexar Mexicans to be
transported to New Orleans, he, with 13 other officers, among whom was ex-
Governors Herrera and Cordero, were taken to the bank of the river below
the town, where they were stripped and tied, and their throats cut! Col.
Kemper, Maj. Ross, and others, being disgusted with such treachery and
barbarity, left the army and returned home. Capt. Perry now took the com-
mand, and on the night of June 4th, attacked and routed an army of over
2,000 sent against them. The Republicans, however, were finally defeated by
another army, under Gen. Arredondo, on the Medina, with great slaughter.
Only 93 Americans reached Natchitoches, among whom were Col. Perry and
Capts. Taylor and Ballard. The Spaniards being successful, in revenge, com-
mitted horrid atrocities upon the friends of the Republican party. Thus ended
the first effort at Texan independence.
In Feb., 1819, in a treaty with Spain, the Floridas were ceded to the
United States, and the Sabine agreed upon as the boundary of the Spanish
possessions. Texas thus being relinquished for Florida, a far less valuable
territory, gave much dissatisfaction to the southern portion of the people of
the United States. Early'in 1819, Dr. James Long raised a company in
Natchez, of 75 men, and proceeded to Nacogdoches, and on his arrival, being
joined by Col. Davenport and Bernardo Gutierres, his command was in-
creased to 300. A provisional government was then formed, and Texas was
declared to be a "free and independent republic." They also enacted laws,
and fixed the price of lands, those on Red River being estimated at a dollar
per acre. They also established the first printing office, Horatio Bigelow
being the editor of the paper. Gen. Long posted a few troops at the cross-
ing of the Trinity, the falls of the Brazos, and at other places; lie also dis-
patched Col. Gaines to Galveston, in order to obtain the co-operation of La-
fitte, the freebooter, in the revolution. This was declined, Lafitte stating the .
forces were entirely inadequate for the purpose. Meantime, the royalists,
under Col. Parez, came and took the post on the Brazos, with eleven prison-
ers, Oct. 11, 1819, and on the 15th they took La Bahia (now Goliad), and
afterward the post on the Trinity, and then proceeded to Nacogdoches, Gen.
Long and his men having barely made their escape to the Sabine. Parez
proceeded to Cooshattie village, and about 40 miles below that place, after a
severe conflict with the Republicans, routed them. The latter fled to Boli-
var Point, near Galveston, where Gen. Long afterward joined them.
Gen. Long appears to have continued his head-quarters at Bolivar Point
for some time; meanwhile Lafitte was obliged to leave Galveston. On the
TEXAS. 657
very day on which he left, Gen. Long, with Col. Milara and others, came
over from Bolivar Point, and dined with Lafitte. Soon after, Long,
Milam, and Trespalacios, collecting their forces sailed with them down the
coast. Gen. Long landed near the mouth of the San Antonio, and proceed-
ing with a party took possession of La Bahia. Milam and Trespalacios soon
after went to Mexico, in order to raise funds from the Republican govern-
ment, for at this time the Revolutionary cause was gaining ground in Mex-
ico. Notwithstanding this, it appears that the royalists succeeded in captur-
ing Gen. Long soon after, when he was sent to the city of Mexico, and then
set at liberty, and finally assassinated. The wife of Gen. Long, who re-
mained at Bolivar Point, during the absence of her husband, having heard
of his death, returned to her friends in the United States.*
In Dec., 1820, Moses Austin, a native of Connecticut, but for some time
a resident of Missouri, set out for San Antonio de Bexar, to solicit the sanc-
tion of the government, and to procure a tract of land, for the settlement of
an Anglo-American colony in Texas. On presenting himself to the gov-
ernor, he was, according to the Spanish regulations respecting foreigners, or-
dered to leave the province immediately. On crossing the public square, he
accidentally met the Baron de Bastrop, with whom he had a slight acquaint-
ance in the United States, many years before. By his influence he obtained
a second interview with the governor, the result of which was that his peti-
tion to introduce three hundred American families into Texas, was recom-
mended and forwarded to the proper authorities in Mexico. It was granted
in Jan., 1821: Mr. Austin returned before its fate was known, and died
shortly afterward. He left special injunctions to his son, Stephen F. Austin,
to carry out his cherished plan to establish a colony.
On July 21, 1821, Stephen F. Austin, accompanied by Senor Seguin and
seventeen pioneers, entered the wilderness of Texas to lay the foundation of
her present prosperity. He explored various parts, and after meeting with
losses and difficulties, located his colony on the Brazos. Austin soon repaired
to San Antonio, to report to the governor, who appears to have been friendly
to the enterprise. When he arrived there, in March, 1822, he learned, with
much regret, that it was necessary to make a journey to the city of Mexico,
to procure a grant from the supreme authorities. On the 29th of April en-
suing, Col. Austin arrived in Mexico, and succeeded in obtaining from Itur-
bide, then emperor, a confirmation of the grant made to his father. When
about to return to Texas, Iturbide was overthrown, and his acts declared null
and void. Austin was again obliged to apply to the reigning authorities,
who renewed the grant, and in effect clothed him with almost sovereign
power. In conjunction with Baron Bastrop, Austin fixed his colonial capital
on the Brazos, calling it San Felipe de Austin.
* Mrs. Long, formerly Miss Wilkinson, of Maryland, remained for a considerable period
with two young children, attended by only a single servant. While in this lonesome situ-
ation, exposed to many dangers, her youngest child, a daughter, was born, being, it is be-
lieved, the first born of the Anglo-Saxon race in southern Texas, and possibly the first in
the state. She was born Dec. 14, 1820, and died at the age of 2% years, in Jefferson county,
Miss., near Rodney. She named her little daughter Mary James, but in accordance with
the wishes of some of her Mexican friends, she received the baptismal name, at San Anto-
nio, of Marie Araiman Jacoba Pedro. While Mrs. L. remained alone on the point, she lived
in apprehension of a visit from the Cannibal Indians, a murderous race who frequented the
coast and (jalveston Island. By the aid of a spy glass, she could discern the movements
of th« Indians, and when they appeared to be making for the Point, she raised a flag and
fired off a cannon, and by this means probably saved the lives of herself and children.
Mrs. Long, at present, resides at her plantation, near Richmond, Texas.
42
658 TEXAS.
When the Mexican government, in 1825, aholished slavery within her
limits, most of the settlers in Texas being planters from the southern states,
who had brought their slaves with them, felt themselves aggrieved, and pe-
titioned the Mexican congress in vain for relief. On the establishment of
Centralism, under Santa Anna, Texas, in 1835, declared her independence.
In 1836, Santa Anna, president of Mexico, with a force of several thousand
men, moved forward, threatening to exterminate the Americans, or to drive
them from the soil of Texas. In March, San Antonio de Bexar was be-
sieged; the Alamo there, defended by only 187 Americans, was carried by
storm, and all slain: among them were Col. Travis, Col. David Crockett and
Col. Bowie, the inventor of the bowie-knife. While Santa Anna was engaged
at San Antonio, Gen. Urrea marched upon Goliad. He had a severe contest
with Col. Fannin's troops, who, on March 20th, surrendered themselves as
prisoners of war. Nine days afterward the Texan prisoners were led out and
massacred, to the number of 330, in cold blood.
On the 7th of April, 1836, Santa Anna arrived at San Felipe with the di-
visions of Sesma and Tolsa. He proceeded down the west bank of the
Brazos, crossed the river at Richmond, and on the 16th reached Harrisburg.
The Texans, under Gen. Houston, now reduced to less than 800 men, retiring
before his advance, proceeded down the bank of the Buffalo Bayou, and took
a position near the River San Jacinto. On the 21st of April, 1836, Santa
Anna, with a force of over 1,700 men, being encamped near Gen. Houston,
was attacked by the Texans. When within about 600 yards, the Mexican
line opened their fire upon them, but the Texans, nothing daunted, pressed
on to a close conflict, which lasted about eighteen minutes, when the enemy
gave way, and were totally routed, nearly every man was either killed,
wounded, or taken prisoner. The Texan loss was but 2 killed, and 23
•wounded. This victory secured the independence of Texas.
In 1841, President Lamar organized what has been termed, the "Santa Fe Ex-
pedition," the object of which was, to open a trade with Santa Fe, and to establish
Texan authority, in accordance with the treaty of Santa Anna, over all the territo-
ry east of the Rio Grande. Santa Fe, lying east of that river, was still in posses-
sion of the Mexicans. On the 18th of June, the expedition, numbering three
hundred and twenty-five men under Gen. M'Leod, left Austin, the capital of Texas,
and after a journey of about three months, arrived at the Spanish settlements in
New Mexico. They were intercepted by a vastly superior force, and surrendered
on condition of their being allowed to return ; but instead of this, they were bound
with ropes and leather thongs, in gangs of six or eight, stripped of most of their
clothing, and marched to the city of Mexico, a distance of 1,200 miles. On their
route, they were treated with cruelty, Beaten, and insulted; forced to march at
times by night, as well as by day; blinded by sand; parched by thirst, and fam-
ishing with hunger.
Having arrived at Mexico in the latter part of December, they were, by the or-
dera of Santa Anna, thrown into filthy prisons. After a while, part were com-
pelled to labor as common scavengers in the streets of the city; while others were
sent to the stone quarries of Pueblo, where, under brutal taskmasters, they labored
•with heavy chains fastened to their limbs. Of the whole number, three were mur-
dered on the inarch ; several died of ill-treatment and hardship ; some few escaped,
some were pardoned, and nearly all eventually released.
Soon after the result of this expedition was known, rumors prevailed of an in-
tended invasion of Texas. In September, 1842, twelve hundred Mexicans under
Gen. Woll, took the town of Bexar; but subsequently retreated beyond the llio
Grande. A Texan army was collected, who were zealous to carry the Avar into
Mexico. After various disappointments and the return of most of the volun-
teers, three hundred Texans crossed the Rio Grande and attacked the town of
Mier, which was garrisoned by more than two thousand Mexicans strongly posted.
TEXAS. 659
In a dark, rainy night, they drove in the guard, and in spite of a constant fire of
the enemy, effected a lodgment in some houses in the suburbs, and with the aid
of the deadly rifle, fought their way into the heart of the place. At length, Am-
pudia sent a white flag, which was accompanied by Gen. La Vega and other officers,
to inform the Texans of the utter hopelessness of resistance against an enemy ten
times their number. The little band at length very reluctantly surrendered, after
a loss of only thirty-five in killed and wounded, while the Mexicans admitted theirs
to have been over five hundred.
The Texans, contrary to the stipulations, were marched to Mexico, distant one
thousand miles. On one occasion, two hundred and fourteen of them, although
unarmed, rose upon their guard of over three hundred men, overpowered and dis-
persed them, and commenced their journey homeward; but ignorant of the coun-
try and destitute of provisions, and being pursued by a large party, they were
obliged to surrender. Every tenth man was shot for this attempt at escape. The
others were thrown into the dungeons of Perote, where about thirty died of cruel
treatment A few escaped, and the remainder were eventually released.
Early application was made by Texas to be annexed to the United States.
Several years passed over without any serious attempts having been made by
Mexico to regain Texas, and the political freedom of the country was thus
considered as established. Presidents Jackson and Van Buren, in turn, ob-
jected on the ground of the unsettled boundary of Texas, and the peaceful
relations with Mexico. President Tyler brought forward the measure, but
it was lost in congress.' It having been the test question in the ensuing pres-
idential election, and the people deciding in its favor by the election of the
democratic candidates, Texas was annexed to the Union by a joint resolution
of congress, Feb.. 28, 1845.
The Mexican minister', Almonte, who had before announced that Mexico
would declare war if Texas was annexed, gave notice that since America had
consummated "the most unjust act in her history," negotiations were at an
end.
War with Mexico then ensued. The thea'ter of war in this state was on
the Rio Grande. Gen. Taylor, with the American troops, routed the Mexi-
cans on the soil of Texas, at Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, and the
arms of the United States were every where triumphant. The state govern-
ment was organized on the 19th of Feb., 1846. The boundary between New
Mexico and Texas, the latter of which claimed the line of the Rio Grande,
was adjusted by treaty in 1850.
The joint resolution by which Texas was annexed to the Union, gives per-
mission for the erection of four additional states from, its territory, and in
these words — "New states, not exceeding four in number, in addition to sai'd
state of Texas, and having sufficient population, may hereafter, by the con-
sent of said state, be formed out of the territory thereof, which shall be en-
titled to admission under the provisions of the Federal constitution."
The opposition to the annexation of Texas was, at the time, very great in
the North. Massachusetts, through her legislature, declared "that re-annex-
ation of Texas was a virtual dissolution of the Union." The term re-annex-
ation, used at that period, grew out of the claims acquired by the purchase
of Louisiana of France, in 1803. The French claimed, at the time of the
sale to the United States, that the western limit of Louisiana, on the Gulf
of Mexico, was the Rio Grande, 500 miles west of the Sabine. The limit,
however, was undefined, and a large tract west of the Sabine, as before ob-
served, bore for many years the term of "Neutral Ground," which was, by
the citizens of the south, considered of right as belonging to the United
States. When the Sabine was fixed upon as the boundary, by the treaty of
660 TEXA&
1819, with Spain, which gave us Florida, all the territory west of that stream
was lost, until it became securely fastened by what has been termed the "re-
annexation of Texas."
Texas is bounded N. by New Mexico and the Indian Territories, from the
latter it is divided chiefly by the Arkansas and Red Rivers ; E. by Arkansas
and Louisiana, being separated from the latter by Sabine River; S. by the
Gulf of Mexico ; and west by Mexico and the Territory of New Mexico,
being separated from Mexico by the River Rio Grande. It is situated be-
tween 26° and 36° 30' N. Lat., and between 93° 30' and 110° W. Long, from
Greenwich. It is 800 miles long from E. to W., and 700 from N. to S., con-
taining, it is estimated 237,321 square miles.
The surface of the country has been described as that of a vast inclined
plane, gradually sloping from the mountainous regions of the west toward
the sea coast in the south-east, and traversed by numerous rivers, all having
that direction. Texas may be divided into three regions: the first, which is
level, extends along the coast, with a breadth varying from 50 to 100 miles,
being narrowest at the south-west; this part of the state has a rich, alluvial
soil, and is singularly free from swamps and lagoons. Broad woodlands
fringe the rivers, between which are extensive and rich pasture lands. The
second division, the largest of the three, is the undulating prairie region,
which extends from 150 to 200 miles further inland from the level section.
Here are the beautiful "islands of timber." Here the soil, a little broken,
is as rich as the land in the alluvial country below, more easily worked, and
produces a greater variety of products. In this region, the planter may raise
all the cotton, corn, rice, grain and tobacco he requires, and stock to any ex-
tent, without much labor or care. The third, or mountainous region, in
the W. and S.W., forming part of the Sierra Madre, or Mexican Alps, has
been but little explored. Texas abounds with minerals, and is interesting
in its geology. Silver, gold, lead, copper, alum, etc., are found. Iron ore
pervades the greater part of the country, and bituminous coal on the Trinity
and Upper -Brazos.
The Texan year is divided into a wet and dry season. The former lasts
from December to March, and the latter from March to December. Though
varying with location from tropical to temperate, the climate is remarkably
delightful and salubrious. During the heat of summer, refreshing breezes
blow from the south, almost without interruption. In the winter ice is sel-
dom seen, except in the northern part of the state. Cotton, tobacco and
sugar are the great agricultural staples : in cotton it is pre-eminent. Fruits
of almost every kind flourish. Great numbers of cattle, sheep and horses
are reared, vast herds of buffalo and wild horses roam over the prairies, while
deer and game are abundant. Population, in 1850, 212,592; in 1860,
601,039 including 180,388 slaves.
GALVESTON CITY, the commercial capital of Texas, is situated at the east-
ern end of Galveston Island, Lat. 29° 18' 14" N., Long. 84° 46' 34" W.,
about 300 miles westward of New Orleans, and upward of 250 from Austin,
the capital of the state. The island on which the city is built is very level,
slightly elevated above the level of the sea, about 28 miles long, and from
1^ to 3^ miles broad. There is 12 feet water over the bar at low tide. Ves-
sels of 800 tuns can cross it with 1,200 bales of cotton, and receive, by light-
ering, 800 bales more at the outer bar.
TEXAS.
When the island was first discovered by La Salle, in 1686, it was called San
Louis, but afterward it was named Galveston, from Galvez, a Spanish nobleman.
The first settlement was about the year 1836, by persons who, during the Texas
Revolution, fled from the interior. "At the period of the war of 1812, Lafitte, the
pirate, had a port here. His vessels lay where the wharf is represented in the
foreground of the picture. Population, t,000.
North eastern vieie of Galveston.
The view shows the appearance of the most compact part of Galveston, as seen from Kuhn or Hondley's
wharf, which, like the others, extends a considerable distance from the shore. The towers of the Catholic-
Church, the Market cupola, and the Movable Light are seen on the left, and the tower of the Episcopal
Church on the right. The ttailroad, extending over the bridge from Virginia Point to the island, is in the
extreme distance on the right.
SAN ANTONIO stands on both sides of the San Antonio, and is about 70 miles
S. W. of Austin, and 1,476 from San Diego, California, and lias about 8,000 in-
habitants.. It was for years the headquarters of the United States army in Texas:
the great Jtartiiig point for military expeditions across the plains, between here
and the >Pacific. A very large proportion of the population are of the Mexican
race, and Mexican habits, manners, and customs are largely prevalent. The
ALAMO, so celebrated in Texan history, is in San Antonio, on the eastern side of
the river, the public square an*d the principal part of the town being on the west
side. The word alamo, in Spanish, signifies "cottonwood," from which it is in-
ferred that a grove of cottonwood stood on or near its site.
Col. Ed. E. Cross, of the 5th New Hampshire Volunteers, killed at Gettysburg,
gave this description of San Antonio about the year 1859:
"San Antonio is like Quebec, a city of the olden time, jostled and crowded by
modern enterprise. The latter-day American building, with its four or five stories,
and half glass front, overtops the grim old Spanish wall and the dilapidated Mexi-
can ' hacal,' which betokens a by-gone era. Here have the Germans settled in
large numbers, bringing good old fashioned industry along with their lager beer.
Their neat cottagesand vegetable garden? are noticeable all about the suburbs. As
662
TEXAS.
a general thing, they are a better class of emigrants than those found in our large
cities. There is not a steam engine nor a flour mill in San Antonio. All the dry
goods, groceries, and manufactured articles needed for a city of eight thousand or
ten thousand people, whose trade with the frontiers amounts to millions every year,
are hauled from the sea coast, one hundred and fifty miles, upon wagons and rude
Main Plaza, San Antonio.
San Antonio is one of the oldest towns in the United States. "The Public Square is divided by tb»
Church and some other buildings into two; or rather the original square, or military plaza, was laid off
aud improved in 1715, having 011 its east side the Church and the offices of priests and officers. In 1731
was laid off the main square or Plaza of the Constitution."
carts. Flour, potatoes and onions are among the articles of import, the attention
of the inhabitants being concentrated upon cotton and cattle. Ihere is not a good
bakery, a first nor even a second class hotel in the city. Jce, cut from the ponds
of Massachusetts sells, whenever there is a load in town, at from fifty to seventy-
five cents per pound. Nothing is cheap but the tough, stringy grass-fed beef, which
may be bought in the hoof for from two to two and one half cents per pound. One
of our New Englanders who spent a day or two in the city, declared that the op-
portunities for making money were so many and varied for a man of small capital,
that the very contemplation made him feel worth at least half a million.
Walking about the city and its environs, you may well fancy yourself in some
strange land. The houses, many of them built of adobe, one story high, and
thatched, swarm with their mixed denisons, white, black, and copper-colored. The
narrow streets, the stout old walls, which seem determined not to crumble away,
the aqueducts, along which run the waters of the San Pedro, the Spanish language,
which is spoken by almost everybody, the dark, banditti-like figures that gaze at
you from the low doorways — everything, in the Mexican quarter of the city espe-
cially, bespeaks a condition widely different from what you are accustomed to be-
hold in any American town. To conduct trade successfully, it is necessary to em-
ploy clerks who understand Spanish, or the tongue spoken by Mexicans and called
Spanish, as a large amount of trade is done by Mexicans.
The better class of people, Americans and foreigners, speak of "the states" and
"news from the states," when referring to any other portion of the country than
Texas, except to the west
A large element of the populatten of San Antonio is Mexican. There are a few re-
Bpectiible, intelligent and wealthy families, but the majority are of the lower order, with
all the rices and none of the virtues belonging to the better situated. The men, whenever
they work, are employed as teamsters, herders and day laborers. It is the general belief,
TEXAS.
663
THE CHURCH OF THE AI.AMO.
founded as I believe on fact, that a Mexican is good for nothing unless in service over cat-
tle, horses and mules. The bend of their talent is toward live stock. As little Cape Cod-
Ites divert themselves by playing whalemen, and in that amusement harpoon kittens and
chickens, so does the juvenile Mexican take at once to the lasso, and with precocious skill
lariat dogs, goats and calves; and thus, growing up in constant practice, the lariat becomes
in his hands a deadly snare. Its throw is swift and certain, and it is alike dreaded by man
and beast. Every cattle farm and horse range has its lasso men, or " ropers " as they are
called in Texas, whose dut.y it is to catch runaway and refractory mules, horses and cattle,
and in this business they become wonderfully expert. It is ludicrous to see the chopfallen
iiii- which at once comes over an old mule when the lasso has tightened around his throat.
Experience has taught him that all attempts at escape are vain, and with a miserable look
of resignation he submits to be led off.
The free-and-easy style of life which is characteristic of the lower order of Mexicans is
sure to surprise a stranger. He
sees children of both sexes,
from two to six years of age,
strolling about in the econom-
ical and closely-fitting costume
bestowed upon them by nature.
Women, short and dumpy,
witn forms guiltless of artifi-
('i''l fixtures, anil in the single
article of attire denominated
a petticoat, brief at both ends,
are observed in -doors and out,
manifesting not the slightest
regard for the curious glances
of the passers by. Parties of
men, women and children
bathe in the San Antonio
River, just outside the corpor-
ate limits, without the annoyance of dresses. This comfortable fashion was formerly in
vogue within the city, until the authorities concluded it might with propriety be dispensed
with.
Mexican amusements, in the shape of cockfights and fandangoes, help to elevate and
refine the people of San Antonio, such as choose to participate. Every Sunday, just after
mass at t\\f old Mission Cl.urch, there is a cockfight, generally numerously attended.
The pit is located in rear of the church, about one square distant. On last Sabbath, going
past the church door about the time of service, I observed a couple of Mexicans kneeling
near the door in a pious attitude, which would doubtless have appeared very sober and
Christianlike, had not each one held a smart gamecock beneath his arm! Pious souls!
They had evidently paused a moment on their way to the cockpit, in order to brush over
their little shortcomings for the past week.
The fandangoes take place every evening, and are patroni/ed by the lower orders of
people, who, as the sapient circus proprietor in " Hard Times " would declare, " must be
amushed." A large hall or square room, lighted by a few lamps hung from the walls, or
lanterns suspended from the ceiling, a pair of negro fiddlers and twenty or thirty couples
in the full enjoyment of a " bolero," or the Mexican polka, help make up the scene. In
the corners of the room are refreshment tables, under the charge of women, where coffee,
frijoles, tortillas, boiled rice and other eatables may be obtained, whisky being nominally
not sold. From the brawls and free fights which often take place, it is surmised that the
article may he had in some mysterious manner. At these fandangoes may be seen the
muleteer, fresh from the coast or the Pass, with gay clothes and a dozen or so of silver
dollars; the United States soldiers just from the barracks, abounding in oaths and tobacco;
the herdsman, with his blanket and long knife, which seems a portion of every Mexican;
the disbanded ranger, rough, bearded and armed with his huge holster pistol and long
bowie-knife, dancing, eating, drinking, swearing and carousing, like a party of Captain
Kidd's men just in from a long voyage. Among the women may be seen a'U colors and
ages from ten to forty; the Creole, the Poblano, the Mexican, and rarely the American or
German — generally, in such cases, the dissipated widow or discarded mistress of some sol-
dier or follower of the army.
San Antonio is rapidly improving. Near the Alamo a fine hotel of stone is being
erected by an enterprising German. The new Catholic Church is a grand edifice for
Texas. Near the city is a quarry of limestone, so soft that it can be cut with a common
knife. Exposed to the air for any length of time, it hardens and becomes solid. Some
fine warehouses have just been completed; one is rented by the United States for a store-
664 TEXAS.
nouse and barrack building. The wealthy and refined portion of the inhabitants do not
seem disposed to erect costly dwellings, probably for the reason that a building of any
pretensions to style and finish is a remarkably costly affair. Everything but the stone
must be imported; iron from Cincinnati ; window frames from Boston; and pine lumber
from Florida. Even shingles are brought from Michigan, and glass from Pittsburg. A
railway from some point on the coast is needed to develop and improve the country, and
until one is constructed San Antonio will be a peculiar and isolated city.
The foundation of San Antonio was an Indian mission, as were generally
the first settlements under the Spaniards in Texas. This work was under-
taken in Texas by the Franciscans, a religious order founded by St. Francis
d'Assisi, at Naples, in 1208. Before giving a particular history of this mis-
sion, we extract from Yoakum a description of these establishments, with
their mode of government and discipline :
The establishments formed in Texas were known as presidios* or missions.
There was a mission at each presidio; but many missions were without soldiers,
at least in any considerable numbers. Each presidio was entitled to a command-
ant, and the necessary officers for a command of two hundred and fifty men;
though, from various circumstances, the number constantly varied, and was gen-
erally less. The troops were inferior, badly clothed, idle, and disorderly. The
buildings were erected around a square, plaza de armas, and consisted of the
church, dwellings for officers, friars, and soldiers, with storehouses, prisons, etc.
The size of the square depended on the population, the strength of the force in-
tended to be stationed there, and also upon the extent of the district dependent on,
the presidio. Huts were erected at a short distance from the principal edifices,
for the converted Indians. The unmarried of either sex were placed in separate
huts, and at night locked up by the friars, who carried the keys. They encour-
aged chastity among the Indians, and punished its violation by public or private
whipping, as the offender was a male or a female.
Forts were erected near the presidios, and sometimes the church was fortified.
The civil and military authority was united in the commandant, which, in some
matters, was subordinate and in others superior to the ecclesiastical power. The
principal duty of the military was to repel the invasion of the wild Indians, and
to suppress the rebellious spirit of the converts. The Indians were well fed,
clothed, and cared for; their labors were not heavy; and, in these particulars, they
could not complain. But they were compelled to perform certain religious cere-
monies before they could understand anything of their meaning. Sundry rules
were laid down for their every motion, a departure from which was severely pun-
ished. It was this tyranny over the minds and bodies of the Indians that enfee-
bled and wasted them. They were willing to forego the food and raiment of the
missions, for the sublime scenery of the vast prairies, the liberty of roaming un-
molested over them, and chasing the buffalo and the deer. Freedom, dear to all,
is the idol of the Indian. He worships the liberty of nature. When restrained
from his loved haunts, he pines, and sickens, and dies. Had the Franciscans, like
the Jesuits on the lakes, gone with their flocks on their hunting excursions, joined
them in their feasts, and praised them for their skill in the chase, they would have
met with greater success. But the Jesuits possessed a twofold advantage : they
had the power of dispensing with tedious and uninteresting prayers and ceremo-
nies ; and they also enjoyed the aid of the cheerful, talkative, open-hearted French ;
while the Franciscans, without such dispensing power, were likewise bound to co-
operate with the gloomy, suspicious, and despotic Spaniards.
The Franciscan fathers "made regular reports of the success of their missions to the
superior, and the latter to the general of the order. On these reports depended to a
great extent the favor shown the missionaries; hence they were excited to zeal in
their efforts to make converts. Not content with the fruits of persuasion and kind
treatment, they made forays upon the surrounding tribes. The soldiers performed
*Pre»idio, a garrison of soldiers.
TEXAS. 665
this duty. The prisoners taken, especially the young, were trained alike in the mys-
teries of the Christian faith and agriculture. To effect their training, they were
divided among the older and more deserving Indians of the mission, who held them
in servitude until they were of an age suitable to marry. At the proper time-this
rite was faithfully performed, and thus there grew up a race of domestic Indians
around the missions.
To add to the strength of the missions and the number of the converts, reliable
Indians of these establishments were sent out among their wild brethren to bring
them in. This was sometimes done by persuasion, and sometimes by deception
and force. However, they were brought to the missions, and incorporated among
the learners and workmen of the fold.
When we call to mind the fanaticism and ignorance of that age, and the import-
ant fact that the Indians who remained long in the missions became greatly at-
tached to their spiritual guides and the form of their worship, we must admit that
these pioneers of religion deserved some praise. Their toils and privations evinced
their faith— their patience and humility should satisfy the world of* their sincerity.
Until the present cenftury, the Catholics did more for the cause of missions than
the Protestants; and if, a century and a half ago, they committed fatal errors in
their religious enterprises, it is no more than has since been done. The fate of
the aboriginal races of the New World, and even of the Pacific islands, is peculiar.
A well-defined instance of any tribe or nation that has been civilized, without a
total or partial destruction of its people, can scarcely be produced. This may, to
some extent, be attributed to the vices introduced by the friends of the mission-
aries.
Yoakum gives this history of the founding of the mission at San Antonio :
The venerable mission of the Alamo, the second in Texas, deserves some consideration.
It was first founded in the year 1703 by Franciscans of the apostolic college of Queretaro,
in the valley of the Rio Grande, under the invocation of San Francisco Solano. Here it
remained for five years, but for some reason was removed to a place called San Ildephonso,
where it seems to have remained till 1710, at which time it was moved back to the Rio
Grande, and reinvocated as the mission of San Jose. Here it remained under the guid-
ance of the good father Jose de Soto till the 1st of May, 1718, when, on account of the
scarcity of water, it was removed to the west bank of the San Pedro, about three fourths
of a mile north-west of the present parish church of San Antonio. Here it remained, un-
der the protection of the post [fort] of San Antonio de Valero, whose name it assumed,
until 1722, when, on account of troubles with the Indians, it was once more removed, with
the post, to what is now known as the Military Plaza. The main square, or Plaza of the
Constitution, was formed in 1730, by the colonists sent out at the request of De Aguayo.*
The establishment around the Military Plaza was properly called San Antonio de Bexar
(Vejar), while the town on the east of the church was known as San Fernando.
In May, 1774, the people, tired of the lawsuit between the ex-governors Sandoval and
Franquis, laid the foundation of the church of their old mission, where it now stands un-
finished, as the church of the Alamo. It had been seeking a resting place for nearly half
a century, and it was time that it should find one. From this period until 1783, it was still
known and conducted as the mission of San Antonio de Valero. In the meantime, the
number of Indiana under its charge increased, and as they became civilized, were settled
around the mission, thus forming a town on the east side of the river. The company of
San Carlos de Parras was stationed there for the protection of the town and mission. It
enjoyed a separate organization, and had its own alcalde, and place of worship. But, about
this last-named period, the place ceased to be a missionary station. All the Indians
brought in for conversion had for some time previously been taken to the missions below
the town — perhaps the better to secure them against its corrupting influences; so that, hav-
ing no further missionary work to perform, San Antonio de Valero became an ordinary
*" In the course of that year, Rays the ancient record, came twelve families of pure Spanish blood, from
the Canary Islands, who laid out and founded the city of Sail Antonio. Among the settlers was a Garcia,
a Floras, a Navarro and a Garaza, names afterward prominent in the revolutionary history of Texas, while
it was claimed as a Spanish colony. One year after their arrival the colonists, assisted by the Franciscan
fathers and their crowds of Iiidian converts, erected the quaint church which now, defaced and battered
by the storms of one hundred and twenty-seven years, stands in the main plaza of the city, a monument
of the almost buried past. Its evening bells echo sweetly their chimes as in the days of long ago, and
crowds of worshipers still kii"cl upon the old stone floor, and bow before the venerable picture of th«
Crucifixion which bangs, all dim and discolored, above the altar."
666
TEXAS.
Mission OF SAN JOSE.
Spanish town, and the old missionary church of the Alamo became a common parish-
church.
The traveler already quoted from, in describing the Missions on the San
Antonio River, in the vicinity of the town, which were named respectively
San Jose, La Espada, San Juan and Concepcion, says:
They were large, strong, half church, half fortress edifices, in appearance some-
thing like the feudal castles of
olden time, whose ruins are scat-
tered all over Europe, surround-
ed by a high and massive stone
wall, with only one entrance.
The buildings, consisting of
chapels, dormitories, halls, cells
and kitchens, were all built of
limestone, the quarrying and
transporting of which must
alone have been an immense la-
bor, as some of the edifices were
of great extent. Each mission
was surrounded by an extensive
farm, whose acequias and irri-
gating ditches are yet visible.
Among all the missions in this
section that of San Jose must
have been conspicuous from its
size, its strength, and the rude splendor with which it was decorated. Still may be
seen carvings of saints and sacred relics upon the walls and ceilings. Over the
main entrance, which is garnished by many ornaments, there is yet a battered re-
presentation of the Virgin and her infant, and the patron, San Jose, cut in the hard
limestone. Profane heritics have used the eyes and nose of the venerable saint,
and the place "where his heart ought to be," for targets, where they have chroni-
cled their skill as marksmen. The chapel front is ornamented with coarse fresco
painting, in red, yellow and blue, in its day, doubtless, to the ignorant beings who
worshiped there, a grand exhibition of art. From San Jose we visited the mis-
sion of Concepcion, which was once a lofty structure with two tall towers and a
dome, surrounded by a thick arched wall. We found a lot of Mexican cattle-herd-
ers in full possession, and the main chapel room filled with filth and rubbish. The
outbuildings and arches are overgrown with moss and weeds. In the soft twilight
which was slowly stealing over the San Antonio valley the scene was solemn and
sad, and we startled at our own footsteps upon the desolate pavement, half expect-
ing to see the cowled figure of some ghostly monk start from the gloomy arches to
rebuke our unhallowed intrusion.
Crossing the San Antonio River from the main plaza, we came to a quaint old
edifice, whose seamed and battered front betokens an acquaintance with shot and
shell. It was built after the Moorish style, and although of late a modern roof
has been added, is the same old edifice, memorable in the annals of Texan
independence — the Alamo! a name familiar to the American people as a " house-
hold word " — a name associated with a siege and a defense the like of which can
scarcely be found in the history of any state. The place where fell Bowie, Travis,
Crockett, and a band of as brave spirits as ever upheld struggling freedom in any
quarter of the globe.
The Alamo was never intended for a fortress, but its walls are very strong,
and it has been the scene of severe conflicts beside that which has given it
such wide renown. One of these was in the year 1835, when Gen. Cos, com-
manding a strong Mexican force, was besieged in San Antonio by the Texans,
under Gen. Burleson. The siege was about to be abandoned, when informa-
TEXAS.
667
tion was given of the position of affairs in the town by a Mexican deserter.
This was on the 4th of December, and so aroused the military spirit of Col.
Benjamin R. Milam, that he exclaimed, " Who will go with old Ben Milam into
San Antonio?" The reply was an approving shout from the officers and
The Alamo, San Antonio.
The Alamo, the "Thcrmopylre of Texan Independence," where fell Bowie, Travis, Crockett, with all the
rest of its brave garrison, not even one being left to tell the story of its heroic defense, is yet standing in,
the town of San Antonio, and is used by the Quartermaster's Department of the U. S. Army. The view ia
faithfully taken in all Its details and adjuncts, even to the costumes in the foreground, where is shown the
Mexican ox -cart, with its broad wooden wheels devoid of iron tires. The church, which was the maiu for-
tress, U shown, on a larger scale, on a preceding page.
men, who volunteered, to the number of 301, to make the assault, and elected
Milam as their leader. The plan adopted was to storm the town the next
morning in two divisions, the first under Col. Milam, and the second under
Col. Frank W. Johnson.
The town was fortified at the public square by breastworks and batteries, besides
which the houses being of stone were in effect like so many forts. The Alamo,
which is on the east side of the river — the main part of the town, with the plaza,
being on the west — commands some of the entrances to it, and was, at the time,
strongly fortified and garrisoned. The assault began just before daylight on the
morning of the 5th, the first division attacking on one side of the town, and the
second on the opposite. The storming lasted three days. The Texans gradually
worked their way to the center of the place. The Mexicans occupied the tops of
the houses, and cutting loopholes in the parapet walls, fired upon their foe. The
Texans, with picks and crowbars, made passage ways through the houses; first
thrusting through their rifles and firing upon their defenders, they drove them from
room to room, and from house to house, until, thus gallantly fighting inch by inch,
they had penetrated so near the plaza, that (Jen. Cos, on the morning of the "9th,
seeing further resistance hopeless, sent in a flag of truce, expressing a wish to ca-
pitulate. The next day the terms were concluded. They were most honorable to
the Mexicans, and more glorious in their moderation to the Texans, than the vic-
tory itself. The Mexican officers were permitted to retain their arms aud private
668 TEXAS.
pioperty, and the officers and troops allowed to return to Mexico. The enemy lost
about 150 men, the Texans but a few. Among them was the heroic Milam, who
was instantly killed by a rifle shot in the head, while crossing a yard between two
houses. By his death the command devolved on Col. Johnson, who had the honor
of raising the flag above the walls of Bexar, after a victory of 300 men over 1,400
entrenched in a strongly fortified town.
The "Fall of the Alamo" like the famous defense of Thermopylae, is an
event that will long live among the -heroic incidents of history. At two
o'clock in the afternoon, Feb. 23, 1836, Santa Anna, with the second divis-
ion of the Mexican army, marched into the town of San Antonio, having
been preceded by an advance detachment the second day preceding. His
army numbered several thousand strong, and comprised the choicest troops
of his country. On the same day a regular siege of the Alamo commenced
and lasted eleven days, until the final assault. The Alamo was then garri-
soned by 156 men, under Lieut. Col. Wm. Barret Travis, with Col. James
Bowie, second, as is believed, in command. Col. David Crockett was also
with the garrison, but it is unknown whether he had a command, as he had
joined it only a few weeks before:
Santa Anna immediately demanded a surrender of the garrison toithout terms !
their reply was a shot from the fort. He then raised a blood red flag on the church
at Bexar, as a token of vengeance against the rebels, and began an attack, and
this by slow approaches. Travis sent off an express with a strong appeal for aid,
declaring that he would never surrender nor retreat. For many days no marked in-
cidents occurred in the siege. On the 1st of March, 32 gallant men, from Gon-
zales, under Capt. John W. Smith, entered the Alamo, and raised the effective
force to 188 men. On the 2d, Travis sent out by a courier a last appeal, setting
forth fully his determination to remain until he got relief or perished in the 4ft-
fense. About the same time he also wrote an affecting note to a friend, " Take
care of my little boy. If the country should be saved, 1 may make him a splen-
did fortune; but if the country should be lost, and I should perish, he will have
noticing but t/te proud recollection tliat lie is the son of a man who died for his country."
The account of the final assault, with the accompanying description of the
Alamo, we take from the "Fall of the Alamo," a pamphlet by Capt. 11. M.
Potter, published at San Antonio, in July, 1860. He had unusual opportu-
nities for obtaining all that can be known of the final tragedy, the details of
which have not been accurately given, for the reason that not a single de-
fender survived it :
Santa Anna after calling a council of war on the 4th of March, fixed upon the morning
of Sunday, the 6tb, as the time for the final assault. Before narrating it, however, I must
describe the Alamo as it then existed. It had been founded soon after the first settlement
of the vicinity, and being originally built as a place of safety for the settlers and their
property in case of Indian hostility, with sufficient room for that purpose, it had neither
the strength nor compactness, nor the arrangement of dominant points, which belong to a
regular fortification.*
As its area contained between two and three acres, a thousand men would barely have
sufficed to man its defenses, and before a heavy siege train its walls would soon have
crumbled.
From recollection of the locality, as viewed in 1841, I can trace the extent of the ovter
walls, which were demolished thirteen years ago; and the accompanying diagram is made
from actual measurement.
(A) Represents the Chapel or the fortress, which is 75 feet long, 62 wide, and 22)£
Ligli, the wall of solid masonry being four feet thick. It was originally in one story, but
* The front of the Alamo Chapel bears the date of 1757 ; but the other works must have been built
earlier.
TEXAS
669
had upper windows, under which platforms were erected for mounting cannon in those
openings. (B) designates one of those upper windows which I will have occasion to men-
tion, and (c) the front door of the church. (D) is a wall 50 feet long, connecting this
church with the long barrack (K E). The latter is a stone house 186 feet long, 18 wide,
PLAN"
M
nnd 18 high, being of two stories. (F) is a low stone barrack, 114 feet long and 17 wide
Those houses, or at least their original walls, which (except those of the church), are
about thirty incites thick, are still standing. They had at the time flat terrace roofs of
beams and plank, covered with a thick coat of cement. The present roofs and the ad-
joining sheds and other woodwork, have been added since the place was converted into
a quartermaster's depot of the Unitdd States army, (c H i and K) were rooms built against
the west barrier, and were demolished with it. The barrier wall was from 6 to 8 feet high,
and 2% thick, inclosing the large area, 462 feet long and 162 wide: this the long barrack
(E E) fronted on the east, and the low barrack (F) on the south. (M; designates the gate
of the area, and (n n ti) locate the doors of the several houses which opened upon it.
Most of those doors had within each a semi-circular barricade or parapet composed of &
double curtain of hides upheld by stakes and filled in with earth. From behind these
the garrison could fire front or oblique through the doors. Some of the rooms were also
loopholed. (o o) describes a wall from five to six feet high and 2% thick, which inclosed
a smaller area east of the long barrack and north of the church, 189 feet by 102. (P) lo-
cates an upper room in the south-east angle of said barrack — (Q) a breach in the north
barrier, and (R) an intrenchment running from the south-east angle of the chapel to the
gate. This work was not manned against the assault. According to Santa Anna's re-
G70 TEXAS.
port twenty-one guns of various calibers were planted in different parts of the works
Yoakum iu his description of the armament mentions but fourteen. Whichever number b
correct, however, has but little bearing upon the merits of the final defense, in which th
c;uinoii had little to do. They were in the hands of men unskilled in their use, and owin,
to the construction of the fort each had a limited range, which the enemy in moving u
seqm in a measure to have avoided.
It was resolved by Santa Anna that the assault should take place at early dawn. Th
order for the attack, which I have read, but have no copy of, was full and precise in it
details, and was signed by Brig. Gen. Amador as head of the staff. The besieging fore
consisted of the battalions of Toluca, Jimenes, Matamoros, los Zapadores (or sappers)
and another, which I think was that of Guerrero, and the dragoon regiment of Dolorc;
The infantry was directed at a certain hour, between midnight and dawn, to form at a" con
venient distance from the fort in four columns of attack and a reserve. This dispositioi
was not made by battalions; for the light companies of all of them were incorporated wit'
the Zapadores to form the reserve, and some other transpositions may have been made, i
certain number of scaling ladders and axes were to be borne with particular columns. Th
cavalry were to be statione4 at different points around the fortress to cut off fugitives
From what I have learned of men engaged in the action it seems that these disposition
were changed on the eve of attack, so far as to combine the five bodies of infantry int
three columns of attack. This included the troops designated in the order as the reserve
and the only actual reserve that remained was the cavalry.
The immediate command of the assault was intrusted to Gen. Castrillon, a Spaniard b
birth and a brilliant soldier. Santa Anna took his station with a part of his staff and al
the regimental bands at a battery south of the Alamo and near the old bridge, from whic!
the signal was to be given by a bugle note for the columns to move simultaneously, a
double quick time, against different points of the fortress. One, composed mainly of th
battalion of Toluca was to enter the north breach — the other two to move .against th
southern side: one to attack the gate of the large area — the other to storm the chapel. B
the timing of the signal, it was calculated that the columns would reach the foot of th
wall just as it became light enough to operate.
When the hour came the batteries and the music were alike silent, and a single blast o
tlie bugle was at first followed by no sound save the rushing tramp of soldiers. The gun
of the fortress soon opened upon them, and then the bands at the south battery struck u
the assassin note of deguello — " no quarter! " But a few and not very effective discharge
from the works could be made before the enemy were under them;* and it is thought tha
the worn and weary garrison was not till then fully mustered. The Toluca column ai
rived first at the foot of the wall, but was not the first to enter the area. A large pied
of cannon at the north-west angle of the area probably commanded the breach. Eithe
this or the deadly fire of the riflemen at that point, where Travis commanded in persor
brought the column to a disordered halt, and its leader Col. Duque, fell dangerouel
wounded. But, while this was occurring, one of the other columns entered the are
by the gate or by escalade near it. The defense of the outer walls had now to b
abandoned; and the garrison took refuge in the buildings already described. It was proh
ably while the enemy were pouring in through the breach that Travis fell at his post; fa
his body was found beside the gun just referred to. All this passed within a few minute
after the bugle sounded. The early loss of the outer barrier, so thinly manned, was itiev
itable; and it was not until the garrison became more concentrated and covered in the inne
works, that the main struggle commenced. They were more concentrated as to the space
not-as to unity; for there was no communicating between the buildings, nor in all case
between rooms. There was now no retreating from point to point; and each group of de
fenders had to fight and die in the den where it was brought to bay. From the doors, wir
dows and loopholes of the rooms around the area, the crack of the rifle and hiss of the bnll<
came fierce and fast: and the enemy fell and recoiled in his first efforts to charge. The gu
be-ide which Travis lay was now turned against the buildings, as were also some others
' aad shot after shot in quic«k succession was sent crashing through the doors and barricade
of the several rooms. Each ball was followed by a storm of musketry and a charge; an
tliiH room after room was carried at the point of the bayonet, when all within them die
fiuliting to the last. The struggle was made up of a number of separate and desperat
combats, often hand to hand, between squads of the garrison and bodies of the enenr
The bloodiest spot about the fortress was the long barrack and the ground in front of i
where the enemy fell in heaps.
In the meantime the turning of Travis' gun had been imitated by the garrison. A sma
f\ s.'rjreatit of the Znjinrlorea told me that the column he belonged to encountered but one discharge
gn;>e in moving up, uuci that passed mostly over the men's heads.
TEXAS. 67 I
piece on the roof of the chapel or one of the other buildings was turned against tho area
while the rooms were being stormed. It did more execution than any other cannon of the
fortress; but after a few effective discharges all who manned it fell under the enemy's fire.
Croclvett had taken refuge in a room of the low barrack near the gate. He either garri-
soned it alone, or was left alone by the fall of his companions, when he sallied to meet hia
fate in the face of the foe, and was shot down. Bowie had been severely hurt by a fall
from a platform, and when the attack came on, was confined to his bed in an upper room
of the barrack marked (p.) He was there killed on his couch, but not without resistance;
for he is said to have shot down with his pistols one or more of the enemy as they entered
the chamber.
The church was the last point taken. The column which moved against it, consisting of
the battalion of Jimenes and other troops, was at first repulsed, and took refuge among
some old houses outside of the barrier, near its south-west angle, till it was rallied and led
on by Gen. Amador. It was soon joined by the rest of the force, and the church was car-
ried by a coup de main. Its inmates, like the rest, fought till the last, and continued to
fire from the upper platforms after the enemy occupied the floor of the building. A Mex-
ican officer told of seeing a man shot in the crown of the head in this melee. During the
closing struggle Lieut. Dickinson, with his child in his arms, or tied to his back, as some
accounts say, leaped from an upper window (B),and both were killed in the act. Of those
he left behind him the bayonet soon gleaned what the bullet missed; and in the upper part
of the church the last defender must have fallen. The morning breeze which received his
parting breath probably still fanned his flag above that fabric, ere it was pulled down by
the victor.*
The Alamo had fallen.
The action, according to S.mta Anna's report, lasted thirty minutes. It was certainly
Bh'>rf, and possibly no longer space passed between the moment when the enemy fronted
the breach and that when resistance died out. Some of the incidents which have to be re-
lated separately no doubt occurred simultaneously, and occupied very little time.
The account of the assault which Yoakum and others have adopted as authentic, is evi-
dently one which popular tradition has based on conjecture.
A negro boy, belonging to Travis, the wife of Lieut. Dickinson, Mrs. Alsbury a native
of San Antonio, and another Mexican woman, and two children, were the only inmates of
the fortress whose lives were spared. The children were those of the two females whose
names are given. Lieut. Dickinson commanded a gun in the east upper window of the
church. His family was probably in one of the two small upper rooms of the front. This
will account for his being able to take one of his children to the rear platform while the
building was being stormed. A small irrigating canal runs below the window referred to;
and his aim in the desperate attempt at flight, probably was to break his fall by leaping into
the water; but the shower of bullets which greeted him rendered the precaution as need-
less as it was hopeless.
At the time tho outer barriers were carried, a few men leaped from them and attempted
to escape, but were all cut down by the cavalry. Half an hour or more after the action
was over a few men were found concealed in one of the rooms under some mattresses — Gen.
Houston, in a letter of the llth, says as many as seven; but I have generally heard them
spoken of as only three or four. The officer to whom they were first reported entreated
Santa Anna to spare their lives; but he was sternly rebuked and the men ordered to bo
shot, which was done. Owing to the hurried and confused manner in which the mandate
was obeyed a Mexican soldier was accidentally killed with them.
Castrillon was the soul of the assault. Santa Anna remained at the south battery with
the music of the whole army and a part of his staff', till he supposed the place was nearly
mustered, when he moved up with that escort toward the Alamo; but returned again on
bei.iv; greeted by a few rifle balls from the upper windows of the church. He, however,
entered the area toward the close of the scene, and directed some of the last details of the
butchery.
The five infantry corps that formed the attacking force, according to the data already
rfferreJ to, amounted to about twenty- fire hundred men. The number of Mexican
wounded according to various accounts, largely exceeded that of the killed; and the e«ti-
matos made of both by intelligent men who were in the action, and whose candor I think
could be relied on, rated their loss at from one hundred and fifty to two hundred killed, a'.ict
from three to four hundred wounded. The real loss of the assailants in killed and wounded
probably did not differ much from five hundred men. Gen. Bradburn was of opinion tual
* Ft is a fact not often remembered, that Travis and his men died under the Mexican Fedora! Rmt r.1
1824, instead of the " TJ'.M" Slur," alMi'in^h tin- iiidojiend-nce of Texas, unknown 10 them, hail been 4*«
claiel four uaji bepjro. They died for a Republic whose existence they never know.
672 TEXAS.
three hundred men in the action were lost to the service counting with the killed those who
died of wounds or were permanently disabled. This agrees with the other most reliable
estimates. Now, if five hundred men or more were bullet-stricken in half an hour by one
hundred and eighty or less, it was a rapidity of bloodshed almost unexampled, and needs
no exaggeration.
Of the foregoing details which do not refer to documentary authority, I obtained many
from Gen. Bradburn, who arrived at San Antonio a few days after the action, and gathered
them from officers who were in it. A few I had through a friend from General Amador.
Otlieia again I received from three intelligent sergeants, who were men of fair education
and I think truthful. One of them, Serg. Becero, of the battalion of Matamoras, who
was captured at San Jacinto, was for several years my servant in Texas. From men of
their class I could generally get more candid statements as to loss and other matters than
from commissioned officers. I have also gathered some minor particulars from locul tra-
dition preserved among the residents of this town. When most of the details thus learned
were acquired I had not seen the locality; and hence I have to locate some of the occur-
rences by inference; which I have done carefully and I think correctly.
The stranger will naturally inquire, " Where lie the heroes of the Alamo? " and Texas
can only reply by a silent blush. A few hours after the action, the bodies of the slaugh-
tered garrison were gathered up by the victors, laid in three piles, mingled with fuel, and
burned. On the 25th of February, near a year after, their bones and ashes were collected,
placed in a coffin, and interred with due solemnity, and with military honors, by Colonel
Seguin and his command. The place of burial was in what was then a peach orchard out-
side the town a few hundred yards from the Alamo. It is now a large inclosed lot in the
midst of the Alamo suburb.
"It was on the night Gen. Houston reached Gonzales/'.says Yoakum, "that two
Mexicans brought the first news of the fall of the Alamo, and the death of its de-
fenders. The scene produced in the town by these sad tidings can not be described.
At least a dozen women with their children, in that place alone, had thus been left
widows and orphans. In fact, there was scarcely a family in the town but had to
mourn the loss of one or more of its members. ' For four-and-twenty hours,' says
Capt. Handy, ' after the news reached us, not a sound was heard, save the wild shrieks
of the women, and the heart-rending screams of their fatherless children. Little
groups of men might be seen in various corners of the town, brooding over the past,
and speculating of the future; but they scarcely spoke above a whisper. The pub-
lic and private grief was alike heavy. It sank deep into the heart of the rudest
soldier.' To soften as much as possible the unhappy effect of the intelligence,
Houston caused the two Mexicans to be arrested and kept under guard, as spies."
In the Comanehe war of 1840, a severe fight occurred in the town of San
Antonio, between a company of Texans and a party of Comanehe chiefs, who
had come in to make a treaty, in which the latter were all killed. The event
is thus given in Yoakum's History :
,The Comanches had made frequent-forays into the Texan settlements', and among
other outrages, had carried off several captives. In February, 1840, a few of these
Indians came to San Antonio, for the purpose of making a treaty of peace with
Texas. They were told by the commissioners to bring in the thirteen white captives
they had, and peace would be granted ; they promised that, at the next full moon,
they would do so. The commissioners repaired to Bexar to meet them; and on the
]9tn of March, a little after the appointed time, the Indians, sixty-five in all, in-
cluding men, women and children, -came in, bringing, however, but one of the cap-
tives. Twelve chiefs met the commissioners in the treaty-house, and the question
was put to them, " Where are tbe prisoners you promised to bring in to this talk?"
They answered : "We brought the only one we had; the others are with other
tribes." The little girl who had been brought in said this was utterly false, as she
had fieon the others at the Indian camp a few days before, and that they intended
to bring in only one or two at a time, in order to extort for them the greater ran-
som. A pause ensued for some time in the council, when the same chief who had
given the answer inquired how they liked it No reply was made, but an order
was dispatched to Cupt. Howard to bring his company into tho council-room.
TEXAS.
673
When the men had taken their position, the terms upon which peace would have
been made, had they brought in the captives as they promised, were explained to
the chiefs. They were also informed that they were prisoners, and would be de-
tained until they sent tn"e rest of their company for the captives, and brought
them in.
As the commissioners were retiring from the room, one of the chiefs sprang to
the door; and the sentinel there stationed, in attempting to prevent his escape,
was stabbed by him with a knife. Captain Howard received a like wound. The
remaining chiefs now rose, drew their knives, and prepared their bows and arrows,
and the fight became general. The soldiers killed the whole of the chiefs engaged
in the council. The warriors, not of the council, fought desperately in the y:jrd :
but the company under Captain Redd advancing, forced them to take shelter in a
stone house, whither they were pursued and cut down. A party of the savages at
last made their way to the opposite side of the river, but were pursued, and all
killed, except a renegade Mexican, who was permitted to escape. All the warriors,
thirty-two in number, together with three women and two children, were killed.
Twenty seven women and children were made prisoners. In this remarkable fight
none escaped except the Mexican. The Texans had seven killed and eight
wounded.
The Comnnches hung about San Antonio in small parties, brooding over their
loss. The killing of so many of their chiefs was a severe stroke, and they were
divided on the question of war. At length they retired to their homes, on the
upper branches of the Texan rivers, to make serious preparations Cor a terrible
visitation on the white settlements. *
EtiHlcru r.icw of the Sffanifmaf Lamliiirj, at Houston.
Tin- vh-w oliov.-B t!;f> :i|>(H-aranre of lhr> Landing, etc., on tlie rijrlit liank of tin- BiifiUlo Bayou, a* it t»
>m-«>!ieli.'d f'n.i'i HIP PH. t. Some of the Coitrm WaroJions»w aiipeur on tin- left. In tltA dlntnnne, on tlw
site bunk of Hie, stream, tho Tuxuii Cent nil Railroad
HOUSTON, the county peat for Harris county, and formerly the state capi-
tal, is situated on llie Buffalo Bayou, at the head of steamboat navigation, 50
*A!'ter this the Tcx.ins carried on a war of extermination. In an excursion against one
<»f tlio ('oni -inche villujjes in tlio ensuing fall, utuk-r Col. John It. Moore, "tho bodies of
men, women, and children, were seen on every band, doad, wounded and dying."
43
674
TEXAS.
miles by railroad, and 80 by water from Galveston, and about 160 from
Austin, the capital. Most of the houses and stores at present are of wood,
and of simple construction; the merchant shops are furnished with a rich
variety of goods,
and the place has
a large and lucra-
tive trade with the
interior of the state.
Various railroads
are now being con-
structed, which cen-
ter at this place and
will add to its
wealth and import-
ance. The bayou
at the landing is
but about 100 ft. in
breadth, although
of sufficient depth
to float lai'ge steam-
boats. The elevat-
ed banks, with their
trees and foliage
gives this point quite a picturesque appearance. The town is surrounded by
a fertile country, and is the greatest cotton mart in the state. Population
about 6,000.
Houston was laid out by John K. and A. C. Allen, and the settlement was
commenced in 1836. The first building was a log house belonging to Col.
Benj. Fort Smith, near the site of the present postoffice, about 200 yards
from the bayou. The first framed building stood on the east side of Main-
street; the upper story was used as a theater, the lower part for a drinking
saloon. It has been moved to the west side of the street, and is now used
by Mr. W. R. Wilson as a hardware store. Dr. J. L. Bryan was the first
who passed a wagon over the bayou: this was accomplished by means of two
canoes or "dug-outs" the wheels on one side of the wagon were placed in
one of the boats, and the opposite wheels in the other. The first clergymen
in the place were Mr. Hall, Presbyterian; Mr. Fowler, Methodist; and Mr.
Woodruff, Baptist. The first hotel was kept in Col. Smith's log house.
ANCIENT CAPITOL.
The engraving is from a drawing of the first State House in Texas. It is
situated on the main street of Houston, and is now occupied as a public
house, known as the "Old Capitol Hotel." The addition at the end was
formerly of but one story, and was used as a committee room.
GOLIAD, the capital of Goliad county, is on the right bank of the San
Antonio, 100 miles below the town of San Antonio, and has about 600 in-
habitants. It was anciently called La Bahia, and was the seat of a mission
establishment. It is one of the oldest towns in Texas, and was formerly a
point of much importance: its name implies a place of strength. Its fortifi-
cations were immense, and considered by the Spaniards as impregnable: they
are still in existence, though mostly in ruins. Amid these ruins stands the
old chutvh, on the brow of the hill, in tolerable preservation. In this church
and fortifications, shown in the view, Fannin's men were confined previous
to their massacre, and the wounded, who were killed apart from their com-
panions, were executed within the works.
Like all the old places in Texas, Goliad abounds in historical incidents.
TEXAS. 675
•
The one by which ifc has become famous is that of "Fannin's Massacre," the
most terrible event in the annals of the Texan war of independence.
"In 1836, while Santa Anna was concentrating his forces at San Antonio de
Bexar, another divis-
ion of the forces un-
der Gen. Urrea, pro-
ceeded along the line
of the coast. Col.
Fannin, then at Go-
liad, sent twenty-
eight men about
twenty-five miles dis-
tant, under Captain
King, to remove
some families to a
RUINS AT GOLIAD. place Of safety. They
Old Church and Fortification, the scene of Fannin's Massacre. ^os*;. their way in the
prairie, and were
taken prisoners and shot by Urrea. Col. Fannin having received no tidings from
King, sent out Col. Ward with a larger detachment, who falling in with the enemy,
had two engagements with him ; in the last, overwhelmed by numbers, he was
obliged to surrender. On the 18th of March, Fannin's force being reduced to two
hundred and seventy-five men, he left Goliad and commenced retreating toward
Victoria; and on that afternoon was overtaken on a prairie and surrounded by the
Mexican infantry, and some Indian allies. The Texans, arranging themselves in
a hollow square, successfully repelled all charges. At dusk, the Indians, by com-
mand of Urrea, threw themselves upon the ground, and under cover of the tall
grass, crawled up and poure'd a destructive fire upon the Texans. As soon as it
was sufficiently dark to discern the flashes of their guns, the Texans soon picked
them off and drove them back. The Mexicans withdrew and encamped for the
night, having lost a large number of men. The Texan loss was seven killed and
about sixty wounded. The Texans threw up a breastwork during the night; but
when morning dawned, discovered that their labor had been useless, for Urrea was
joined by five hundred fresh troops with artillery. Upon this, Fannin seeing the
inutility of farther resistance against an army ten times his superior, surrendered
on condition that they should be treated as prisoners of war." The terms, in sub-
stance, were as follows, which, with the remainder of the narrative, we extract
from Yoakum's History:
"1. That the Texans should be received and treated as prisoners of war, accord-
ing to the usages of the most civilized nations. 2. That private property should
be respected and restored; but that the side-arms of the officers should be given
up. 3. That the men should be sent to Copano, and thence, in eight days, to the
United States, or so soon thereafter as vessels could be procured to take them. 4.
That the officers should be paroled, and returned to the United States in like man-
net. Gen. Urrea immediately sent Col. Holzinger and other officers to consummate
the agreement. It was reduced to writing in both the English and Spanish lan-
guages, read over two or three times, signed, and the writings exchanged in " the
most formal and solemn manner."
The Texans immediately piled their arms, and such of them as were able to
march wore hurried off to Goliad, where they arrived at sunset on the same day
(the 20th). The wounded, among whom was Col. Fannin, did not reach the place
till the 22d. At Goliad the prisoners were crowded into the old church, with no
other food than a scanty pittance of beef, without bread or salt.
On the 23d, Col. Fannin and Col. Holzinger proceeded to Copano, to ascertain
if a vessel could be procured to convey the Texans to the United States; but tho
vessel they expected to obtain had already left that port. They did not return till
the '26th. On the 23d, Maj. Miller, with eighty Texan volunteers, who had just
landed at Copano, were taken prisoners and brought into Goliad by Col. Vara.
676 TEXAS.
Again, on the 25th, Col. "Ward and his men, captured by Urren., as has already been
stated, were brought in.
The evening of the 26th passed off pleasantly enough. Col. Fannin was enter-
taining his friends with the prospect of returning to the United States; and some
of the young men, who could perform well on the flute, were playing "HoMK, SWEET
HOME." How happy we are that the vail of the future is suspended before us ! At
seven o'clock that night, an order, brought by an extraordinary courier from Santa
Anna, required the prisoners to be shot! Detailed regulations were sent as to the
mode of executing this cold-blooded and atrocious order. Col. Portilla, the com-
mandant of the place, did not long hesitate in its execution. He had four hundred
and forty-five prisoners under his charge. Eighty of these brought from Copano,
having just landed, and who as yet had done no fighting, were considered as not
within the scope of the order, and for the time were excused. The services of four
of the Texan physicians — that is, Drs. Joseph H. Bernard, Field, Hall, and Shackle-
ford — being needed to take care of the Mexican wounded, their lives were spared.
So likewise were four others, who were assistants in the hospital, Messrs. Hills,
Griffin, Smith and Skerlock
At dawn of day, on Palm Sunday, March 27th, the Texnns were awakened by a
Mexican officer, who said he wished them to form a line, that they might be counted.
The men were marched out in separate divisions, under different pretexts. Some
were told that they were to be taken to Copano, in order to be sent home ; others
that they were going out to slaughter beeves; and others, again, that they were
being removed to make room in the fort for Santa Anna. Dr. Shackleford, who
had been invited by Col. Guerrier to hi* tent, about a hundred yards south-east-
wardly from the fort, says: ' In about half an hour, we heard the report of a vol-
ley of small-arms, toward the river, and to the east of the fort. 1 immediately in-
quired the cause of the firing, and was assured by the officer that 'he did not know,
but supposed it was the guard firing off their guns.' • In about fifteen or twenty
minutes thereafter, another such volley was fired, directly south of us, and in front
At the same time 1 could distinguish the heads of some of the men through the
boughs of some peach trees, and could hear their screams. It was then, for the
first time, the awful conviction seized upon our minds that treachery and murder
had begun their work! Shortly afterward, Col. Guerrier appeared at the mouth
of the tent. 1 asked him if it could be possible they were murdering our men.
He replied that 'it was so; but he had not given the order, neither had he exe-
cuted it.' '
In about an hour more, the wounded left in the barracks, were dragged out into
the fort yard and butchered. Col. Fannin was the last to suffer. When informed
of his fate, he met it like a soldier. He handed his watch to the officer whose bus-
iness it was to murder him, and requested him to have him shot in the breast and
not in the head, and likewise to see that his remains should be decently buried.
These natural and proper requirements the officer promised should be fulfilled, but,
with that perfidy which is so prominent a characteristic of the Mexican race, he
failed to do either! Fannin seated himself in a chair, tied the handkerchief over
his eyes, and bared his bosom to receive the fire of the soldiers.
As the different divisions were brought to the place of execution, they were
ordered to sit down with their backs to the guard. In one instance, ' youn;; Fen-
ner rose on his feet, and exclaimed, 'Buys they are gohig to ki/l vx — die with ymir
faces 1o Ihcm, like men!' At the same time, two other young men, flourishing
their caps over their heads, shouted at the top of their voices, 'Hurrah for
Texas /''
Many attempted to escape; but the most of those who survived the first fire
were cut down by the pursuing cavalry, or afterward shot It is believed that, in
all twenty-seven* of those who were marched 'out to be slaughtered made their
*0f tbe twenty-seven who escaped, probably not six. are, at this Inpse of time, living.
One of the survivors, Mr. Herman Ehrenberg, now (1861) of Arizoniii, related to us his
manner of escape. lie was at the time a mere youth, and was at the end of bis compa-
ny when the order v/as given to fire. Unhurt l>y the discharge, he sprung and ran for the
river bank, when he received a sabro cut from a Mexican officer — the evidence of the
TEXAS. 677
escape; leaving three hundred and thirty who suffered death on that Sunday
morning."
Mr. S. H. B., now a well known merchant of Cincinnati, was at the time
a lad of 18 years of age. and the private secretary of Major Miller. From
his lips we have gathered these details :
Miller's command was not included in the massacre. We were saved by the in-
terfence of the wife of Alvarez, the Mexican officer by whom we were taken: she
was a most noble woman, who persuaded her husband to spare us. Santa Anna
subsequently dispatched orders for our execution, but we had so happily won the
esteem of the Mexican officers that they united in a petition in our behalf to Santa
Anna. In the meantime occurred the victory of San Jacinto, and Santa Anna was
himself a prisoner. Our men were soon released, but the major and myself were
conducted to Matamoras, and after an imprisonment of three months escaped from
them on horseback, in the disguise of Mexican officers, and in this way passed
through the ranks of several of their corps on their march thither.
The morning of the massacre was slightly foggy. Without understanding where-
fore, we, of Miller's command, were ordered to tie a white band around our left
arms; some of us tore pieces from our shirts for that purpose. This was to dis-
tinguish us from Fanniu's men, who alone were doomed. We were conducted out
to a peach and fig grove, in front of the church, and in sight of two of the three
parties into which Fannin's men were divided : the third being out of view behind
the church, near the river bank. When the firing began, boy as I was, I was im-
pressed by the varied expressions in the faces of our men, thus made -unexpected
witnesses of the awful tragedy. Surprise, horror, grief and revenge were depicted
in the most vivid lines. At first all were startled: some became at once horror
stricken, others wept in silent agony, still others laughed in their passion, swore,
clinched their teeth, and looked like demons. Now, at the lapse of more than a
quarter of a century, I can never think or talk of that dreadful scene with any de-
gree of composure. Some of the poor fellows attempted to escape, and of course
outrun the Mexicans : hut then the cavalry ! Just as one of these men of Fannin'a
had got fairly clear of his pursuers, a mounted Mexican from close by me at once
started on the chase, and catching up with him, cut him down. Never did I so
want to hamstring a horse. Those not killed outright, were deliberately butchered
by the Mexicans, men and women, and stripped. This over, some of them, even
the women, as they passed by us on their return laden with plunder, insulted us
by the grossest vulgarities, shook their fists in our faces, swearing in taunting tones
and the vilest words — " Your turn — to-morrow /"
The stripped bodies of the slain were collected and placed in piles. Those of
the wounded who had been massacred at the fort, Fannin's among the rest, were
chucked stark naked into carts, like so many dead hogs, carried out and dumped
on top of the others. Brush was then piled over the whole and set on fire. It
took several days' successive burnings to consume them. Nightly the prairie wolves
gathered to feast on the half roasted bodies, and kept up their bowlings through
all the long hours, and as the day dawned their execrable screams increased, in rage
at being thus driven by the morning light from their horrid banquet!
wound he carries to this day, and just where a brave man likes it, in the forehead.
Ehrenborg thereupon grappled and wrested his sword from him, and then continued his
flight, dashed into the river, and swimming across, escaped. Some years since a narrative
of his Texan campaign adventures was published in Germany — at Leipsic, we think — whither
the MS. was sent, though the author never saw a copy of the printed book. In a private let-
ter before us, he gives an outline which illustrates the life of adventure, of which our coun-
try furnishes so many examples. " In Texas I belonged to the New Orleans Grays — was
the third man (boy) who signed his name for Texas as a volunteer, in the Arcade building.
Was at the storming of San Antonio — Fannin's — and afterward twice prisoner with the
Mexicans. Went over the Rocky Mountains to Washington and Oregon in 1844 — '45 and
'46 in the Sandwich Islands, and numerous groups in the southern hemisphere, and South
America — returned to California — '46-'47 west coast of Mexico — '48-'49, California — '5.0,
discovered the mouth of Klamath River and the Gold Bin/, and the firtt gold on the sea-
shore. Consequent great excitement in California, notwithstanding my reports against it
— '54,' went to Sonora and Arizona, and there ever since."
678
TEXAS.
THE CAPITOL OF TEXAS, AT AUSTIN.
AUSTIN, named from the founder of Texas, is on the left bank of the
Colorado, about 255 miles N.W. from Galveston, and 1,420 from Washing-
ton. It is built on a plain, elevated some 30 or 40 feet above the level of
the river. Popu-
lation about 4,500.
The capitol build-
ing crowns an em-
inence at the head
of Congress Ave-
nue, the main street
of Austin. It is
of the Ionic order
of architecture, 90
feet deep by 145
feet in front: the
entire hight, from
the foundation to
the top of the
dome, is 101 feet.
The building is
constructed of an
oolite of a soft
•white color, at a
cost of $150,000.
The governor's house is a brick edifice, and on an eminence about 300 yards
from the capitol. The treasury department and the general land office are
fine buildings. Austin has been sometimes mistaken by strangers for San
Felipe De Austin, and which of late years has simply been called San Felipe.
" The old capitol in Austin was a rather rudely constructed frame building, and
was for a year or two the place of session for the congress of the Republic of Texas.
Its walls have reverberated to the eloquent appeals of many of the most patriotic
and gifted sons of Texas. The convention which formed our present state consti-
tution met in it, July 4, 1845. There the legislature continued to convene until
the new capitol was finished. Since then it has been used for various purposes.
It is gone now — torn down.
One by one the vestiges of our former nationality disappear. In the old Texan
these things produce a sorrowful impression, despite the conviction that they are
the results of time and progress. He can not forget the day when this humble
house was the capitol of a nation few in number, but rich in the elements of pa-
triotism— blindly and ardently devoted to the country, and ever ready with stout
hands and brave, hearts to defend it. His mind will revert to old times — old scenes
and old men — to the period when every citizen was, perforce, a soldier, and all felt
and acted as a band of brothers. And in no instance was the feeling more evident
than on the 19th of February, 1846. When President Anson Jones, on the steps
of that same old house, in an impressive and touching address, announced the
change of government — the annexation of Texas to the Union ; and concluded by
saying, ''The Republic of Texas is no more!' there was a smothering of sensations
which all felt, yet few desired to display in public. Broad chests heaved — strong
hands were clinched, and tears were flowing down cheeks where they had been
strangers for long, long years. It was a moment of deep, intense emotion. Had
any one doubted the affection of Texans for the beautiful land of their adoption,
this scene would have removed all skepticism.
The old house is gone — it has disappeared before the resistless wave of progress
— it is numbered with the things that were; yet there are loyal hearts which will
beat faster when they think of the bygone days when it was the capitol of a fear-
V
TEXAS.
679
less people, who loved their own sunny land for itself alone, and were always in
readiness to sacrifice property and life to sustain its honor and preserve its integ-
rity. Linked as it is with our past history — with the brief, glorious, and brilliant
career of the " Lone Star Republic," they can not think of it without indorsing the
sentiment of the immortal Burns :
' Still o'er these scenes iny memory wakes
And fondly broods with miser-care ;
Time but the impression deeper makes,
As streams their channels deeper wear.' " — [Timet.
The monument erected to the memory of the heroes of the Alamo at the
capital, is ten feet high, and is constructed of stones taken from the ruins
of the Alamo. The following are the inscriptions:
North front — To the GOD of the fearless and free is dedicated this ALTAR, made from tho
ruins of the ALAMO. March 6, 1836, A.D. — CROCKETT. West front — Blood of Heroes hath
stained me. Let the stones of the ALAMO spe;ik that their immolation be not forgotten,
March 6, 1836, A.D. — BONHAM. South front — Be they enrolled with Leonidas in the host
of the MIGHTY DEAD.' March 6, 1836, A.D. — TRAVIS. Eaut front — THERMOPYLAE had her
messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had none. March 6, 1836, A.D. — BOWIE.
The following names of those who fell are inscribed on the north and south
sides of the monument. The list comprises nearly all of the slain:
M. Autry,
R. Allen.
M. Ainlresa,
Ay res,
J. Baker,
Burns,
Bailey,
J. Beard,
Bailees,
Bourn,
II. Cunningham,
J. Clark,
J. Cane,
Cloud,
S. Crawford,
Cary,
W. Cunimings,
R. Crossan,
Cockran,
G. W. Cottls,
J. Dust,
J. Dillard,
A. Dickinson,
C. l>cs palicr,
L. Lavall,
J. C. Day,
J. Dickens,
Devault,
W. Dearduff,
J. Ewiug,
T. II. Evans,
D. Floyd,
J. Flanders,
W. Fishbaugh,
Forsyth,
G. Fuga,
J. C. Goodrich,
J. George,
J. <;,i-ton,
J. C. Garrett,
W. Mills,
Micheson,
E. T. Mitchell,
E. Melton,
McGregor,
T. Miller,
J. McCoy,
E. Morton,
II. M ussi-lman,
Millsop,
E. B. Moore,
\V. Marshall,
Moore,
Anderson,
W. Blazeby,
J. B. Bowiiuiu,
Baker,
S. C. Blair,
T.Iair,
Brown,
Bowiti,
ALAMO MONUMENT.
R. McKenny,
McCaflerty,
J. McGee,
G. W. Main,
M. Querry,
C. Nelson,
J. Noland,
Nelson,
Wm. G. Nelson,
C. Ostiner,
Pelone C. Parker,
N. Pollard,
G. Paggan,
S. Robinson,
Reddenson,
N. Rough,
Rusk,
Robbing,
W. Smith,
Sears,
C. Smith,
Stockton,
Stewart,
A. Smith,
J. C. Smith,
Sewall,
Balentine,
J. J. Baugh,
Burnell,
Butler,
C. Grimes,
Gwin,
J. E. Garwio,
Gillmore,
Hutchason,
8. Uolloway,
Harrison,
Hieskell,
J. Hayes,
Horn-11,
Harris,
Hawkins,
J. Holland,
W. Hersie,
Tngrain,
John,
J. Jones,
L. Johnson,
G. B. Jamison,
W. Johnson,
T. Jackson,
D. Jackson,
Jackson,
G. Kemble,
A. Kent,
W. King,
Kenney,
J. Koiiny,
Lewis,
W. Linn,
Wm. Llghtfoot,
J. Lonly
Lanio,
W. Lightfbot,
G. W. Linn,
Lewis,
A. Smith,
Simpson,
R. Star,
Starn,
N. Sutherland,
W. Summers,
J. SummerUne,
Thompson,
Tom 1 in sou,
E. Taylor, ) M
G.Taylor, S f
J. Taylor, ) *
W. Taylor.
680 TEXAS.
Thornton, D. Wilson, K. White, D. Wilson,
Thomas, Walsh, J. Washington, J. Wilson,
J. M. Thurston, Washington, T. Waters, A. Wolf,
"Valentino, W. Wells, Warnell, L. J. Wilson,
Williamson, C. Wright, J. White, Warner.
New Braun/els is the largest town of the German settlers in Texas. It is
on the Gaudaloupe in the south-western part of the state, 32 miles north-east
from San Antonio, and is the capital of Gaudaloupe county. Population
about 2,000.
It is in this section of Texas that the business of cattle raising, horse and sheep
breeding is extensively carried on. The widely known sheep farm or ranche of
Gco. W. Kendall, Esq., is just in the outskirts of New Braunfels, under the care
of a Scotch head shepherd, bred to the business on the Cheviot Hills, on the banks
of the Tweed : all extra labor is done by Germans from the town. Mr. Kendall,
after years of experience, says that this industry "in Texas promises to be as profit-
able as any followed by man since the days of Abraham."
A recent traveler gives this description of New Braunfels, or as the Ger-
mans spell it, Ncu-Braunfeh:
The main street of the town, which we soon entered upon, was very wide — three
times as wide, in effect, as Broadway in New York. The houses, with which it
was thickly lined on each side for a mile, were small, low cottages, of no pretens-
ions to elegance, yet generally looking neat and comfortable. Many were furnished
with verandahs and gardens, and the greater part were either stuccoed or painted.
There were many workshops of mechanics and small stores, with signs oftener in
English than in German ; and bare-headed women, and men in caps and short
jackets, with pendent pipes, were everywhere seen at work.
The citizens are, however, nearly all men of very small capital. Of the original
settlers scarcely any now remain, and thoir houses and lands are occupied by more
recent emigrants. Those who have left have made enough money during their
residence to enable them to buy farms or cattle-ranches in the mountains, to which
they have removed. Half the men now residing in Neu-BraunfeJs and its vicinity,
are probably agricultural laborers, or farmers, who themselves follow the plow.
The majority of the latter do not, I think, own more than ten acres of land each.
Y/ithin the town itself, there are a large number of master-mechanics, most of
whom employ several workmen. Among them are seven wagon-makers, and their
wagons are better made than the American.
A weekly newspaper is published — the Neu-Braurtfeh Zeitung. It is a paper
of much higher character than most of the German American papers, edited by
the naturalist Lindheimer. There are ten or twelve stores and small tradesmen s
shops, two or three apothecaries, and as many physicians, lawyers and clergymen.
1 here are several organizations among the people which indicate an excellent
spirit of social improvement: an Agricultural Society, a Mechanics' Institute, a
Harmonic Society, a Society for Political Debates, and a ''Turners' " Society. A
horticultural club has expended $1,200 in one year in introducing trees and plants.
These associations are the evidence of an active intellectual life, and desire for
knowledge and improvement among the masses of the people.
In Neu-Braunfels and the surrounding German hamlets, there are five free
schools for elementary education, one exclusive Roman Catholic school, a town
free school of higher grade, and a private classical school. In all of these schools
English is taught with German.
Sunday was observed more thoroughly as a day of rest from labor than we had
seen in any town of Texas. The stores, except one kept by a Now Englander,
•were closed during the day. The people who appeared in the streets were well
dressed, quiet and orderly. We saw no drunkenness. In the evening there were
amusements, among them a ball, which the Lutheran pastor was expected to attend.
The health of the town is good. For several years there has been no epidemic ill-
ness. The greater part of those of whom I made inquiry assured me their health
TEXAS. 631
had been better here than in Germany. The Lutheran clergyman informed us that
he had registered but seven deaths, during the year, among his congregation.
In the town, each house has its garden-plot, and over the neighborhood are scat-
tered hundreds of small farms. Owing to the low price of corn, most of these had
been cultivated, partly, in cotton during the year before our visit. The result was
a total crop of eight hundred bales, which, .at Galveston, brought from one to two
cents a pound more than that produced by slaves, owing to the more careful
handling of white and personally interested labor; but the expense of hauling cot-
ton to the coast prevents any large profits at this distance. A railroad or a local
manufactory must precede any extensive cultivation of cotton, while corn, which
requires much less labor, can find a market at a fair price. With water-power and
hands upon the spot, it certainly seems an unnatural waste of labor to carry the
staple to Massachusetts to be spun, but such, for want of local capital is now the
course of trade.
In spite of the common assertion, that only blacks, can endure the heat of south-
ern labor, the production of cotton, by whites alone, is by no means rare. There
are very many, both of those who work their own small cotton farms and of those
who work with their few negroes, day after day in the field. But there is hardly
in the south another as striking an instance of pure free-labor upon cotton-fields, as
this of the Germans. Their cotton goes in one body to market, entirely separate
from the great mass exported, and from their peculiar style of settlement, it may
be even considered as the product of one large plantation, worked by white hands,
and divided into well marked annual tasks.
The number of Germans in Texas is about 45,000, mostly in the south-
western section, where they are generally in communities by themselves,
apart from the Americans, managing "after republican forms their own little
affairs." The writer whose description of New Braunfels we have presented
is Mr. Fred. L. Olmsted. In his book, UA Journey through Texas, or a
Saddle Trip on the South-western Frontier," he has this history of the Ger-
man settlements in Texas:
The most accurate and full published account of these German settlements is the
report of a lecture, by Frederick Kapp, upon the Germans in Texas. From this,
and from our notes of oral statements on the spot, 1 will concisely give the story.
The experiment was a most interesting one; that of using associated capital for
the transportation and settlement of emigrants on a large scale ; in fact, the re-
moval, in organized bodies, of the poor of an old country to the virgin soil of a
new.
"In the year 1842, among many schemes evolved in Germany by the social stir of
the time, and patronized by certain princes, from motives of policy, was one of real
promise. It was an association, of which Count Castel was the head, for the di-
minution of pauperism by the organized assistance and protection of emigrants.
At this time, annexation being already almost a certainty, speculators, who re-
presented the owners of large tracts of Texas land, appeared in Germany, with
glowing accounts of their cheapness and richness. They succeeded in gaining the
attention of this association, whose leaders were pleased with the isolated situa-
tion, as offering a more tangible and durable connection with their emigrants, and
opening a new source of wealth and possible power. A German dependency or
new Teutonic nation might result. Palmerston, it is said, encouraged the idea,*
the Texan political leaders then coquetting with an English Protectorate, to induce
more rapid advances on the part of the United States.
*According to the work of Mr. Siemering upon the Germans in Texas, this encourage-
ment went so far as to take the form of a contract between the Verein and the British gov-
ernment. By it the former agreed to place 10,000 families in Texas; the latter to furnish
armed protection to the colony. A new market with indefinite capacities ; a new source of
cotton; opposition to slavery and to the extension of the area of the United States; such
were the sufficient motives for England. Prince Leiningen was the half-brother of the
Queen of England. Prince Solms was an intimate friend of Prince Albert, with whom ho
was educated at Bonn. Copies of the correspondence still exist.
682 TEXAS.
In 1843, an agent of the association, Count "Waldeck, visited Texas, but effected
nothing else than to secure for himself a slave plantation, not far from the coast
He was dismissed. The following year the association commenced active opera*
tions. It obtained, under the title of the Mainzer Adels Verein, a charter from
the Duke of Nassau, who assumed the protectorate. It had the Prince Leiningen
as president; Count Castel as director; Prince Frederick of Prussia, the Duke of
Coburg-Gotha, and some thirty other princes and nobles as associated members. A
plan, inviting emigrants, was published, offering each adult, subscribing $120, a
free passage and forty acres of land ; a family, subscribing $240, a free passage
and eighty acres. The association undertook to provide log houses, stock and
tools at fair prices, and to construct public buildings and roads for the settlements.
Prince Solms, of Braunfels, was appointed General Commissioner and proceeded
to Texas. Had he procured from the state legislature a direct grant of land for
the colony, as he might have done, all would have been well. But, most unfortu-
nately, the association was induced, without sufficient examination, to buy a grant
of the previous year. It was held by Fisher and Miller, and the tract was de-
scribed by them as a second paradise. In reality, it lay in the heart of a savage
country, hundreds of miles beyond the remotest settlement, between the Upper
Colorado and the great desert plains, a region, to this day, .almost uninhabited.
This wretched mistake was the ruin of the whole enterprise. The association lost
its money and its character, and carried many emigrants only to beggary and a
miserable death.
In the course of the year, 180 subscribers were obtained, who landed with their
families in the autumn upon the coast of Texas, and marched toward their promised
lands, with Prince Holms at their head. Finding the whole country a wilderness,
and being harassed by the attacks of Indians, on reaching the union of the Comal
with the Guadaloupe, they became disheartened, and there Prince Solms, following
the good advice of a naturalist of the company, Mr. Lindheimer, encamped, and
laid out the present town of Neu-Braunfels.
This settlement, receiving aid from home while it was needed, was a success, in
ppite of the prince, who appears to have been an amiable fool, aping, among the
log cabins, the nonsense of mediaeval courts. In the course of a year he was
laughed out of the country. He was succeeded by C. Von Meusebach, who proved
at least much better adapted to the work. Had he not been reduced to inaction
by home routine, and a want of funds, the misery that followed might, perhaps,
have been prevented.
In the course of the next year, 1845, more than 2,000 families joined the associa-
tion. The capital which had been sufficient for its first effort was totally inade-
quate to an undertaking of this magnitude. These poor people sailed from Ger-
many, in the fall of this year, and were landed in the winter and early spring, on
the flat coast of the gulf, to the number of 5,200. Annexation had now taken
place, and the war with Mexico was beginning. The country had been stripped
of provisions, and of the means of transportation, by the army. Neither food nor
shelter had been provided by the association. The consequences may be imagined.
The detail is too horrible. vf he mass remained for months encamped in sand-holes,
huts, or tents : the only food procurable was beef. The summer heats bred pesti-
lence.
The world has hardly record of such suffering. Unprovided with food or shel-
ter they perished like sheep. Human nature could not endure it. Human beings
became brutes. "Your child is dying." "What do 1 care?" Old parents Avere
hurried into the ground before the breath of life had left them. The Americans
who saw the stragglers thought a new race of savages was come. Haggard and
desperate, they roved inland by twos and threes, beyond all law or religion. Many
of the survivors reached the German settlements; many settled as laborers in
American towns. With some of them, Meusebach founded another town — Fred-
ericksburg — higher up than Braunfels. He also explored the Fisher grant, and
converted the surrounding Indians, from enemies, into good-natured associates.
"It is but justice," says Mr. Kapp, "to throw the light of truth upon all thia
misery. The members of the association, although well-meaning, did not under-
stand'what they were about to do. They fancied that their high protection, alone,
TEXAS. 683
was sufficient to make all right. They had not the remotest idea of the toil and
hardship of settling a new country. They permitted themselves to be humbugged
by speculators and adventurers ; they entered into ruinous bargains, and had not
even funds enough to take the smallest number of those whom they had induced
to join them to the place of settlement. When money was most wanted, they
failed to send it, either from mistrust or neglect. To perform the obligation im-
posed by the agreement with Fisher, they induced the emigration to Texas by the
most enchanting and exaggerated statements. The least that even the less san-
guine ones expected, was, to find parrots rocking on the boughs, and monkeys play-
ing on the palm-trees."
This condemnation seems to fall justly. Such was the unhappy beginning.
But the wretchedness is already forgotten. Things soon mended. The soil, cli-
mate, and other realities found, were genial and good, if not Elysian. Now, after
seven years, 1 do not know a prettier picture of contented prosperity than we wit-
nessed at Neu-Braunfels. A satisfied smile, in fact, beamed on almost every Ger-
man face we saw in Texas.
Mr. Olmsted visited other German colonies besides Neu-Braunfels. Among
these was Castroville, on the Medina, a stream that is " the very ideal of pu-
rity, running over a white limestone rock, that gives a peculiar brilliancy to
its emerald waters." We farther quote:
Upon its bank stands Castroville — a village containing a colony of Alsatians, •wjio are
proud here to call themselves Germans, but who speak French, or a mixture of French and
German. The cottages are scattered prettily, and there are two churches — the whole aspect
being as far from Texus as possible. It might sit for the portrait of one of the poorer vil-
lages of the upper Rhone valley. Perhaps the most remarkable thing is the hotel, by M.
Tarde, a two-story house, with double galleries, and the best inn we saw in the state. How
delighted and astonished many a traveler jnust have been, on arriving from the plains at
this first village, to find not only his dreams of white bread, sweetmeats and potatoes real-
ized, but napkins, silver forks, and raddishes, French servants, French neatness, French fur-
niture, delicious French beds, and the Courrier ties Etats Unis; and more, the lively and en-
tertaining bourgeoise.
Castroville was founded by Mr. Henry Castro, a gentleman of Portuguese origin, still
resident in the town, under a colony-contract with the republic, which passed the legisla-
ture the 15th of February, 1842. The enterprise seems to have been under the special
patronage of the Roman Church. Every colonist was" a Catholic, and the first concern
was the founding of the church edifice, the corner-stone of which was laid ten days after
their arrival, with imposing ceremonies, by Bishop Odin, of Galveston. By the contract
with the colonists, each person was to receive a town lot, and a piece of outlying land, as
a farm. By the contract with the state, two thousand persons were to be introduced with-
in two years. An extension of two years was granted in January, 1845. Mr. Castro was
to receive a quantity of land equal to one half the whole taken by the colonists, to be lo-
cated in alternate sections, with the state's reserve.
Seven hundred persons came first in seven ships. Assembling at San Antonio, the ad-
vance party started, in a body, for the Medina, on the 1st of September, 1844. One board
building was carried in carts, and in it were housed the temporary provisions. The set-
tlers built themselves huts of boughs and leaves, then set to work to make adobes for the
construction of more permanent dwellings. Besides their bacon and meal, paid hunters
provided abundant supplies of game, and within a fortnight a common garden, a church,
and civil officers, chosen by ballot, were in being, and the colony was fully inaugurated.
Alter struggling with some difficulties, it is now a decided success. The village itself
contains about six hundred inhabitants, and the farms of the neighborhood several hun-
died more.
Leaving it, we ascended a high hill, and rode for fifteen miles through a more elevated
and broken country, whose beauty is greatly increased by frequent groves of live-oak, elm,
and hackberry. I have never seen more charming landscapes than some of the openings
here presented. In the elements of turf and foliage, and their disposition, no English
park-scenery could surpass them. Beyond Castroville, there are two small village?, set-
tlements of German colonists, mostly from the west bank of the Rhine; ono, Quihi, upon
the Quihi Creek, a branch of the Seco; the other, Dhanis, upon the Seco itself.
We stopped a night at Quihi. It is a scattering vilhige of ten or twelve habitations, one
of them a substantial stone farm house, the others very picturesque, high-gabled, thatch-
roofed, dormer-windowed, whitewashed cottages, usually artistically placed in the shade
684 TEXAS.
of largo dark live-oaks. The people seem to have been very successful in th,eir venture,
to judge by various little improvements they are making and the comforts they have accu-
mulated.
The road bevond follows a low ridge which skirts the foot of the mountains, at a dis-
tance of two or three miles. The live-oaks become more stunted and rare, and the mes-
qiiit begins to predominate. Dhanis, which is distant some twenty-five miles from Castro-
ville, presents, certainly, a most singular spectacle, upon the verge of the great American
wilderness. It is like one of the smallest and meanest of European peasant hamlets.
There are about twenty cottages and hovels, all built in much the same style, the walls
being made of poles and logs placed together vertically, and made tight with clay mortar,
the floors of beaten earth, the windows without glass, the roofs built so as to overhang the
four sides, and deeply shade them, and covered with thatch of fine brown grass, laid in a
peculiar manner, the ridge-line and apexes being ornamented with knots, tufts, crosses or
weathercocks. There is an odd little church, and the people are rigid Catholics, the
priest instructing the children. We spent the night at one of the cottages, and, though
we slept on the floor, we were delighted with the table, which was spread with venison,
wheat-bread, eggs, milk, butter, cheese, and crisp salad.
This was a second colony of Mr. Castro, established in 1846, but he here appears to
have done little else than point out the spot and assign the lands to the colonists. During
their first year, they told us, they suffered great hardships, the people being all very poor,
and having no means of purchasing food except by the proceeds of their labor. Fortunately,
there was then a military station in the vicinity, and the quartermaster gave them some
employment in collecting forage. They arrived too late to plant corn to advantage, and
not having had time to make sufficient fences, the deer eat the most of what did grow.
The ^cond year their crop was destroyed by a hail-storm. They lived on game and weeds
for the most part during two years. Rattlesnakes were then common about the settle-
ment, and were regularly hunted for as game. In some of the families, where there were
many small children whose parents were unable to leave them to labor for wages, they
formed a chief article of subsistence. Since their second year they had been remarkably
prosperous iu all respects. On their arrival here it was believed that the richest of the
colonists was not worth twenty dollars; now the average wealth of each was estimated at
eight hundred dollars. It consists mainly in cattle. They have been every. year some-
what annoyed by Indians. The colonists had enjoyed better health than in Germany,
doubtless, because, since their first struggles, they had a better supply of wholesome food.
Cows were milked, I observed, at every house, night and morning; and a variety of vege-
tables was cultivated in their gardens.
The women of the settlement, by the absolute necessity of out-door work, had been
rendered, it seemed to us, very coarse and masculine in character. All the ordinary labors
of men, such as digging and herding cattle, were performed by them. We saw one of
them lasso a wild looking mustang on the prairie, and vaulting on his back, canter away
in search of her cows, without saddle or bridle. The condition of the children must be
yet, for many years, barbarous and deplorable.
This is the last of the organized colonies of Texas that we had occasion to examine.
We were strongly impressed with the actual results of these enterprises. Not one of them
could be pronounced a failure, in spite of the most bungling and cruel mismanagement,
and the severest reverses in execution. In the hands of men of sound sense and ability,
backed by completely adequate capital, there is every reason, from their present condition,
to believe that the general plan would have been found not only remunerative to every
party concerned, but would have ranked as, in the highest degree, a beneficent acquisition
of experience, inaugurating almost a new era for humanity. I am convinced that some
similar plan is destined to be adopted for settling, at the least cost, and in the best manner,
the vast territorial regions that still are awaiting the pioneer's fences, and that by its in-
strumentality, emigration may be elevated "from a barbarizing scramble, to a civilized and
worthy institution. For the trial, Texas yet offers the fairest and most attractive field in
the Republic. She is accessible with the greatest ease and the least expense, from the
crowded centers of the world, and has every natural quality that can attract population
in greater measure than her northern rivals.
At the time of the declaration of Texan independence, March 2, 1836, war
was raging on the frontiers of the country : Gen. Houston, the commander-
in-chief of the Texan forces, was obliged to retire before the overwhelming
Mexican army, under Santa Anna. The Mexicans arrived at Richmond, on
the Brazos, on the llth of April, and the 16th, having crossed the river,
TEXAS.
685
Santa Anna reached Harrisburg, on Buffalo Bayou, six miles below the
site of Houston. Houston with his men retired down the right bank of the
Buffalo Bayou, and took a position about half a mile from the lliver San
Jacinto. Santa Anna, having come in sight of the Texans, took up his po-
sition near the bank of the Bay of San Jacinto, about three fourths of a
Western view of the fan Jacinto Battle Ground.
The Mexicans, previous to the battle, encamped in a line with the oak trees, which, with their wagons,
(brmod a barricade. On the left, Ix-yond the trees, is seen San Jacinto Bay. In the central part, beyond
the trees, is a bayou, where many of tho Mexicans were killed. In the direction of the open space, on the
right, at the distance of eight or ten miles, is Col. Morgan's residence, at New Washington.
mile from the /Texan camp, where he secured his left by a fortification about
five feet high, constructed of packs and baggage, while his right extended to
a skirt of timber near the banks of the bay. On the 20th some skirmishing
took place, by an advance under Col. Sherman, but both parties retired to
their encampments.
On the afternoon of the 21st of April, 1836, as the Mexicans showed no disposi-
tion to move from behind their breastworks, the Texans advanced to attack them.
Col. Sherman formed the left wing, Gen. Houston and Col. Kurleson. the center,
and four companies of infantry, under Col. Millard, sustained the artillery, under
Col. Hockley, on the right; the cavalry, under Col. M. H. Lamar, on the extreme
right, completed the Texan line. Tho two armies were now drawn up in complete
order. Some accounts state the Mexican force to have been eighteen hundred men,
while that of the Texans was but seven hundred.
The Texans, being somewhat masked by the timber, mnrched alonsr a sliirht de-
pression or valley in front of the Mexican camp. The decisive moment had now
arrived. The charge was ordered, nnd the war cry sounded — " Ifeniember the
Alamo !" When these words readied the ears of the soldiers, a wiiJ shout went
•p from the entire army, "TIIK Ar.AMo!" "THE AI.AMO!" its they moved forward
»n tho foe. When within about GOD yards the Mexicans onened their fire, and
discharged some live rounds before a single shot was returned: but firing too high,
686 TEXAS.
only a single Texan was injured until the first line of the Mexicans had been
passed.
The Texans reserved their fire until they had reached a point some 70 yards
from the line, and then some 300 Mexicans fell at the first discharge. Most of the
Texans were armed with double barreled guns, and many of them had five or six
pistols, with knives and tomahawks. They did not stop to reload, but converted
their rifles into war clubs and struck at the heads of their foes. Along the breast-
work there was but little firing — it was a desperate struggle, hand to hand. The
Texans, when they had broken their rifles at the breech, threw them down and
drew their pistols : they fired them once, and having no time to reload, hurled them
against the head of their foes, and then, drawing their bowie-knives, literally cut
their way through their ranks. The Mexican artillery was taken already loaded
and primed, and turned and fired upon the Mexicans as they retreated.
When the Mexicans saw that the dreadful onset of their foe could not be resisted,
they cither attempted to fly and were stabbed in the back, or fell on their knees to
plead for mercy, crying "Me no Alamo!" "Me no Alamo I" At one time about
400 Mexicans were inclosed by the army ; they threw down their arms, knelt, and
begged fur their lives. The Texans who first arrived were disposed to spare them
— stopping to cleanse their rifles; but the main body soon came up, and at once
rushed upon them — beating their brains out with their rifles and tomahawks. The
officers coulil not control their men, and when the cries, " Remember the Alamo ! "
and " lleuioinber Fannin!"were heard, the fury of the Texans was beyond re-
straint. Many of the Mexicans sought to escsipe by rushing into the river, but
they were fired upon and nearly all of them killed. According to Gen. Houston's
report, 630 Mexicans were left, dead upon the field; multitudes had perished in the
morass and bayous; 280 were wounded, and there were nearly 800 prisoners,
among whom was Santa Anna, the commander. Only seven are known to have
escaped. The Texan loss was two killed and twenty-three wounded, six of whom
afterward died.
The battle ground of San Jacinto is situated about a mile westward of the
Lynchburg Hotel, at the steamboat landing, on the opposite or left bank of the
River San Jacinto, at its junction with the Buffalo Bayou. The river here is about
200 yards wide, and the ferry across to the hotel is the one by which Santa Anna
intended to cross in order to accomplish the feat of "washing his hands in the
Sabiue," by the first of May, as he gave out that he should do in his expedition
against the Texans. The hotel here, kept by Mr. Frazer, is 20 miles from Hous-
ton, 15 from Harrisburg, and 50 from Galveston.
After Santa Anna had burnt Harrisburg, just before the battle of San Jacinto,
he proceeded on toward the Sabine. Previous to his reaching the San Jacinto ferry,
at Lynchburg, he learnt from his spies that the president and his cabinet were at
New Washington, at Col. Morgan's residence, about ten miles below. He, there-
fore, left the ferry a mile or two to the left. His cavalry came so suddenly upon
this place, that President Burnet, his family and cabinet had barely time to escape.
As it was, he captured all Col. Morgan's servants, together with several citizens.
The colonel himself was absent, being in command of the fort at Boliver Point,
near Galveston. He had several stores at New Washington, in charge of his
ajronts, in Avhich there was a large quantity of provisions beside other merchan-
dise. Finding such superior accommodations at Col. Morgan's expense, Santa
Anna and his men tarried here several days, feasting themselves with the luxuries
which the colonel's stores afforded. This diversion, as Santa Anna afterward
acknowledged to Col. Morgan, was the cause of the ruin of the Mexicans. Had
they crossed the ferry, at Lynchburg, at the time contemplated, Santa Anna would
have found friends among the whites and Indians, and probably swept the whole
country with fire and sword. While Santa Anna was feasting his army at New
Washington, Gen. Houston crossed the Buffalo Bayou, and arranged his troops in
battle array across his path to the ferry.
^anta Anna was taken the next day after the battle, about eight miles above the
battle ground by Lieut. Sylvester, a volunteer from Cincinnati, who was hunting
to obtain venison for his breakfast. Santa Anna had concealed himself in the
high grass of the prairie, and on being discovered endeavored to escape, but waa
TEXAS.
587
ordered to stop. He was disguised as a countryman, and surrendered himself as
* common soldier. Sylvester, however, suspected him to be an officer from the
diamond breastpin on the fine linen shirt which he wore under his rustic dress. He
ordered him to get behind him on his horse, and then rode with his prisoner to
Houston's camp. He knew not his rank till he was passing the Mexican prisoners,
Soldier s Grave near San Jaciiito Battle Ground.
The ground in front, at the eastern extremity of Houston's camp ground, is now used as a Cemetery.
The battle field is seen in tha distance descending on the left. Gon. Houston, on his advance, passed
through the small thicket on the extreme loft. The thicket on the extreme right, is the place where Col.
Sherman had a skirmish with tho enemy before the main battle.
when they exclaimed, as they lifted their caps, "J£Z Presidcntel" Santa Anna,
being thus discovered, begged to be taken immediately to Gen. Houston. On
coining into his presence, he found Houston wounded, sitting on the ground and
reclining against a tree. Dropping on his knee, he kissed Houston's hand, and ex-
claimed, that he was born to no common destiny, for he had conquered " the Na-
poleon of the South I"
The 21st of April is celebrated annually, on Houston's camp ground, by milita-
ry companies from Galveston, Houston, and other places: orations are delivered and
the clay honored somewhat in 4th of July style. Across the bayou from the camp
ground is the residence of Gen. Lorenzo de Zevalla, who espoused the Texan cause
during their struggles for independence. At the time of the battle, the persons
friendly to the Mexicans, or "tories," as they were called, assembled on an eleva-
tion a short distance east of the Lynchburg Hotel, and from this spot, since called
"Tory Hill" the conflict between the contending parties was easily seen. The
bodies of the Mexican soldiers were left unburied, and the effluvia from their re-
mains tainted the atmosphere for some time afterward. The hogs, it is said, fed
on the bones of the slain. The house of Ex-President Burnet is about one and a
half miles from the hotel. The Methodists have commenced holding their camp
meetings in the grove on Houston's camp ground, being very convenient of access.
Part of the ground is used as a cemetery, and some fifty interments have been
made. Seven of the Texans, who were killed or died of their wounds, are interred
here side by side. The first of the following inscriptions is in memory of a young
man who fell in the battle :
Sacred to the memory of BENJAMIN RICE BRIGHAM, son of Major A. and Eliza S. Brig-
ham, who departed this life April 21, 183G, aged 21 years.
688 TEXAS.
In memory of Rev. WILLIAMSON "WILLIAMS, of Texas Conference, a native of Virginia,
<lied near Lynchburg, Sept. 18, 1855, in his 33d year. Erected by the Methodist Preachers.
The following list, of officers, noncommissioned jffieers and privates, en-
g;iged in the battle of San Jaeinto, is from the Texas Almanac for 1859:
M;ijor-General SAM HOUSTON, Commander-in-Chief of the Texan forces.
Staff- — John A. Wharton, adjt. gen.; Geo. W. Hockley, insp. gen.; John Forbes, com. gen.;
William G. Cooke, asst. insp. gen.; A. Horton, Wm. H. Patton, Jas. Collinsworth, aids-de-
camp; JaS. II. Perry, R. Eden Handy, II. M. Coleman, vol. aids; Hon. Thos. J. Rusk, sec-
retary of war; Win. Motley, M.D.
Medical Stuff— Alex. Ewing, surg. 1st regt. artillery, acting surg. gen.; Davidson, stirg.
1st regt. vol.; Fitzhuch, as»st. surg. 1st regt. vol.; A. Jones, surg. 2d regt. vol.; Booker, surg.
2d regt. vol.: Labadie, surg.
Artillery Corp* — J. C. Neil, lieut. col., wounded on the 20th; J. N. Moreland, capt.; W.
Stillwell, 1st lieut.
JJrivntfn — T. 0. Harris, John M. Wade, Hugh M. Swift, Wm. A. Park, wounded on the
21st, Tlios. Green, Clark M. Harmon. T. J. Robinson, M. Baxter, Thos. Plaster, 2d sergt..,
AVillis Collins, Benj. M'Culloch, Richardson Scurry, 1st eergt., Jos. White, Thomas N. B.
Green, John Ferrill, Jos. Floyd, Alfred Benton, D. T. Dunham,'!. C. Edwards, S. B. Bard-
well, assisted by the following regulars from the companies of Cnptains Teal and Turner :
Campbell, Millertnan, Gainer, Cumberland, of Teal's company; Benson, Clayton, Merwin,
Legg, of Turner's company.
Cavalry Corps — Mirabeau B. Lamar, commander; Henry Games, captain ; J. R. Cook, 1st
lieut., Win. Harness, 2d lieut.; W. 11. Smith, capt.: Lem. Gustirie, M.D.; W. Secretts, F.
Seeretts, A. Allsbury, W. B. Sweeney, Benj. F. binith, Thos. Bobbins, S. C. Tannage. D.
W. Reaves, E. R. Rainwater, J. D. Elliott, J. P. Davis, J. Neil, N. Nixon, G. Deaderick,
J. Nash, Isaac W. Benton, Jacob Duncan, J. W. Hill, P. Allsbury, D. McKay, W. J. C.
Picrco, W. King, Thos. Blackwe!!, Goodwin, J. Coker, Elisha Clapp, H. Henderson, Geo.
Johnson, J. W. Williamson, Wilson C. Brown, J. Thompson, John HobbiM, \Vin. F. Young,
Jas. Donthalt, John Carpenter, \Vin. Taylor, Anthony Foster, Z. Y. Beauford, Spender
Townsend, Jas/ Shaw, \Vm. D. Redd, Clopper, P. H. Bell, J. W. Robinson.
KKUCLARS.
Lieut. Col Henry Millard, commanding ; Capt. John M. Allen, acting mnjor.
COMPANY A — Andrew Briscoe, cs.pt.; Miirtiii K. Smdl, 1st lieut.; Robert MeCloskey, 2d
lieut.: la-man F. Rounds, 1st sergt.; David G. Nelson, 2d sergt.; Dan. O'Driscoll, 3d sergt.;
Chas. A. Ford, 4th sergt.; Richardson, 1st eorp.; Harry C. Craig, 2d Corp.; Bear, 3d Corp.;
Flores, musician.
I'rivtttmi — BniiF, Bebee, Benton, II. P. Brewstor, Cassady, Dutcher, Darrl, Elliott, Flyn,
Farley, Grieves, Warner, Henderson, Lang, Larbartare, Limski, Mason, Montgomery,
Marsh. Morton, 0'N«.-il, Pierce, Patton, Rheinhart, Knincr, Richardson., Smith, 1st, Smith,
2d, Sullivan, Saimdurs, Swain, Tindall, 1st, Taylor, Van Winkle, Wilkinson, Webb.
VOLUNTKERS.
COMPANY B— A. Turner, cnpt.; W. Milieu, 1st lieut.; W. W. Summers, 2d lieut.; Chas.
Stewart, Swearinger, sergts.: Robert Moore, Thos. Wilson, and M. Snyder, corp'Is.
Privfites — Bernard, Browning, Bissett, Belden, Chiton, Harper, Hogan, Harvey, Johnson,
Keeland, Nirlas, Paschal, Phillips, Smith, 1st, Smith, 2d, Callahan, Christie, Clarkson, Dal-
rymple, Eldridge, Edson, Ludus, land, Minuett, Mordorff, Massie, Moore, 2d, Scheston,
SBigman, Tyler, Wood, Wardryski.
COMPANY B — A. R. Romans, capt.; Nicholas Dawson, 2d lieut.; Jas. Wharton, A. Mitch-
ell, S. L. Wheeler, sergeants; A. Taylor, J. D. Egbert, Charles A. Clarke, W. P. Moore,
Corporals.
/ViWe*— Angcll, G. Brown, Jos. Barstow, J. B. Bradley, B. Coles, J. S. Conn, J. W. T.
Dixon, Win. Dtinbar, II. Hoiuan, J. M. Jett, Stev. Jett, A. S. Jordan, S. U'. L&uiar, Edw.
Lewis, J. B. W. M'Farlane, A. M'Stea, II. Miller, W. G. Newman, W. Richardson, 1). Tiu-
<iale, J. Vinater, C. W. Waldron, F. F. Williams, James Wilder, W. S. Walker, James
Owe n by.
COMPANY T— W. S. Fisher, capt.; R. W. Carter, 2d lieut.: Jones, sergt.
i'rS'-tttv* — Goo. W. Leek, N. Rudders, J. W. Strode, Jos. Sovereign, \V. Sargeant, R. J.
L. Reel, Kufus Wright, Jos. McAlister, B. F. Starkley, Day, John Morgan, W. S. A mot.
>;. \V. lirighiim, P. Burt, Tewister, Slack, R. Banks, Jac. Maybee. Graves, B. F. Frv. K.
0. Jlnyiie, M'Neil, J. M. Shreve, W. Pace, Ch. Stibbins, H. Bond, Goo. Funnell, W. Gill,
II. Crittenden, Adnin Mosier, J. S. Patterson, Jos. Dou;ine, G. W. Mason, Thomas Pr.ttt,
K. Knolittid, A. H. Miles, Jno. Llewelyn, Juuies Joslyn, Jo. Gillespie, A. J. Harris, D.
Jaines.
STAKF OK THE COMMAND.
Nicholas Lynch, adjutnnt ; V<*. M. Carper, surgeon; John Smith, sergeant mnjor; Tinkcy
Caldwell, quartermaster.
TEXAS.
689
FIRST REGIMENT TEXAN VOLUNTEERS.
Edward Burleson, colonel; Alex. Somerville, lieut. colonel; Jas. W. Tinsley, adjutant;
Cleveland, sergt. major.
COMPANY A — Wm. Wood, capt.; S. B. Raymond, 2d lieut.; J. C. Allison, Jas. A. Sylves-
ter, 0. T. Brown, Nathaniel Peck, sergeants.
Privates — Irwin Armstrong, W. II. Berryhill, Uriah Blue, Seym Bottsford, Luke W.
Bust, James Gumbo, Elijah V. Dale, Abner C. Davis, Jacob Eiler, Simon P. Ford, Garner,
G. A. Giddings, Jas. Greenwood, Wm. Griffin, W. C. Hays, T. A. Haskin, Robert Howell,
Wm. Lockridge, J. D. Loderback, Edward Miles, Benj. Osborne, J. R. Pinchback, Joseph
Rhodes, John \V. Rial, Ralph E. Sevey, Manasseh bevey, Ed. W. Taylor, John Viven, Goo.
Waters, Jas. Welsh, Ez. Westgate, Walker Winn.
COMPANY C — Jesse Billingsly, capt.; Micah Andrews, 1st lieut.; Jas. A. Craft, 2d lieut.;
Russel B. Craft, Wtn. H. Magill, Campbell Taylor, sergeants.
Private* — L. S. Cunningham, John Herron, Preston Conly, Jackson Berry, Jefferson Bar-
ton, Deniry Pace, John W. Bunton, Wm. Criswell, Sam. M'Clelland, Lemuel Blakely, Geo.
Self, Thos. Davy, Jacob Standerford, Wayne Barton, Sampson Connell, Calvin Gage, Mar-
tin Walker, Gern E. Brown, Log. Vanderveer, Wash. Anderson, Wm. Standerford, Wm.
Simmons, Geo. Green, Geo. P. Erath, T. M. Dennis, Jas. R. Pace, John Hobson, Lewis
Goodwin, Jos. Garwood, Willis Avery, Jesse Halderman, Chas. Williams, Aaron Burleson,
R. M. Cravens, Walker Wilson, Prior Holden, Thos. A. Mays, A. M. H. Smith, Jas. Curtis,
V. M. Rain, Robert Hood, Dugald M'Lean, Thos. A. Graves.
COMPANY D — Mosely Baker, capt.; J. P. Borden, 1st lieut.; John Pettus, 2d lieut.; Jos.
Baker, E. C. Pettus, M. A. Bryan, sergeants ; Jas. Bell, Jas. Friel, J^L. Hill, corporals.
Private* — 0. D. Anderson, J. B. Alexander, John Beachom, T. H. >Bfll,8. R. Bostick, P.
P. Borden, J. Carter, Samuel Davis, G. W. Davis, J. R. Foster, A. Greenlaw, Fowler, Hugh
Frazier, Win. Isbell, R. Kleburg, Mat. Kuykendall, Rob. Moore, Jos. McCrabb, Louis llor-
der, V. W. Swearengen, Jos. Vermilion, I. E. Watkins, A. W. Wolsey, W. R. Williams,
Ellison York,. Patrick Usher, J. S. Menifee, Paul Scarborough, John Flick, J. H. Monej,
Weppler, John Marshall, Wm. Bernbeck, Millett, Philip Stroth, Andreas Voyel, Nicholas
Peck, Win. Hawkins, J. Duncan, Geo. Sutherland, Thos. Gay, Jos. Miller, G. W. Gardner,
Win. Mock, S. H. label, Jas. Tarlt9n, Allen Ingraham ; McHenry Wjnburn, W. R. Jack-
gon, D. D. D. Baker, officers belonging to the regular service.
COMPANY K — R. J. Calder, capt.; J. Sharper, 1st lieut.; M. A. Bingham, 1st sergt.
Private* — B. Brigharn, J. Conner, F. S. Cooke, T. Cooke, S. Conner, G. J. Johnstone,
Granville Mills, Elias Baker, H. Dibble, T. M. Fowler, H. Fields, B. C. Franklin, J. Green,
W. C. Hogg, J. Hall, E. B. Halstead, J. W. Hassell, W. Lambert, B. Mims, W. Muir, P.
D. M'Neil, C. Miilone, J. Plunkett, W. P. Reese, C. K. Reese, J. A. Spicer, H. Stonfer, J.
Threndgil, W. P. Scott, R. Crawford, S. B. Mitchell, B. F. Fitch, W. W. Grant, J. S. Ed-
gar, J. Smith, T. D. Owen, W. Hate, A. G. Butts, D. Dedrick, C. Forrister, W. K. Den-
ham.
COMPANY F — Wm. J. E. Heard, capt.: William Eastland, 1st lieut.; Eli Mercer, Wilson
Lightfoot, sergts.; Alfred Kelso, Elijah Mercer, corporals.
Private* — Rob. M'Laughlin, Leroy Wilkinson, Wm. Lightfoot, Dan. Miller, Jesse Rob-
inson, Josiah Ilngans, John M'Crab, Maxwell Steel, John Bigley, Hugh M'Kenzie, Joseph
Klinger, John llalliet, J. Robinson, D. Dunham, Wm. Passe, Jas. S. Lester, Phillilla Brad-
ing, Christian Winner, Jas. Nelson, John Tumlinson, F. Brockfield, Chas. M. Henry, Jas.
Byrd, Nath'l Reid, Andrew Sennatt, P. B. O'Connor, Thos. Ryons, John Lewis, Jos.'lligh-
land, Leander Beason, S. T. Foley, Allen Jones, Thos. Adams, Mitchell Putnam, T. M.
Hardiman, Ch«s. Thompson, Wm. Waters.
COMPANY H — Wm. W. Hill, capt. (sick), commanded by R. Stephenson ; H. H. Swisher, 1st
lieut.: C. Raney. A. R. Stevens, W. H. Miller, sergeants.
Private* — E. Whitesides, J. S. Stump, J. M. Swisher, Mosea Davis, John Lyford, John
Tom, Nicholas Crunk, Lewis Clemins, Wm. Hawkins, J. W. Cannon, James Farmer, R.
Bowen, A. Lesassiem, W. K. Dallas, M. B. Gray, Jas. Gray, B. Doolittle, John Graham,
Jas. M. Hill, J. Ingrabam, John Gafford, N. Mitchell, David Korneky, Geo. Petty, James
Everett, Prosper Hope, J. Powell, Matthew Dunn, J. D. Jennings, John C. Hunt, Jacob
Groce, F. B. Gentry, J. G. Wilkinson, A. Dillard, F. K. Henderson, Uriah Saunders, John
Craddick, J. Lawrence, A. Caruthers, Daniel McKay.
SECOND REGIMENT TEXAN VOLUNTEERS.
Sidney Sherman, colonel ; Jos. L. Bennett, lieut. col.; Lysander Wells, major; Edw. B'.
Wood, adjutant; Bennett McNelly, sergeant major.
FIRST COMPANY — Hayden Arnold, capt.; R. W. Smith, 1st lieut.; Isaac Edwards, 2d
lieut.
Pi-irate* — Sam. Leiper, Peter W. Holmes, W. P. Kineannon, Dan. Doubt, John Moss, E.
K. Hamilton, David Rusk, W. F. Williams, J. W. McIIorse, H. Malena, Alexin, John Har-
vey, M. G. Whitaker, John Yancy, S. Yarbrough, Thos. G. Box, Nelson Box. G. R. Mer-
ger, Wm. Nabors, Wm. T. Saddler, Jas. Mitchell, Jas. E. Box, Sara. Phillips, John B. Tre-
aty, Levy Perch, Crawf Grigsbj, John McCoy, Dickins Parker, Jesse Walling, J. W. Car-
44
690 TEXAS.
penter, John Box, W. E. Hallmask, Thos. D. Brooks, S. F. Spanks, Howard Bailey, H. M.
Brewer, Stephen McLin.
SKCOND COMPANY — Win. Ware, capt.; Job S. Collard, 1st lieut.; Geo. A. Lamb, 2d lieut.;
Albert Gallitin, Wm. C. Winters, sergeants.
Privates — J. — Winters, J. W. Winters, C. Edenburg, Lewis Cox, G. W. Robinson, G. W.
Lawrence, W. Cartwright, John Sadler, James Wilson, James Derritt, Matthew Moss, Jesse
Thomson.
THIRD COMPANY — Wm. M. Logan, capt.; Franklin Harden, 1st lieut.; B. J. Harper, 2d
lieut.; E. F. Branch, 1st sergt.
Privates — John Biddle, J. M. Maxwell, M. Charencan, E. Bulliner, P. Bulliner, J. Sleighs-
ton, Patrick Camel, Win. M. Smith, David Choat, David Cole, Q. Dykes, David M'Fadden,
Thomas Orr, Luke Bryant, W. Kibbe, E. M. Tanner, H. R. Williams, Michael Poveto, Le-
fray Gedrie, Joseph Farewell, C. W. Thompson, Cornelius Devois, M. J. Brakey, Thomas
Belnop, Wm. Duffee, Joseph Ellender, William Smith, Wm. Robertson, W. A. Smyth, Jas.
Call.
FOURTH COMPANY — Wm. H. Patton, capt. (before entered as aid to Gen. H.) ; David Mur-
phy, 1st lieut.; Peter Harper, 2d lieut.; John Smith, Pendleton Rector, A. W. Breedlove,
sergeants ; G. L. Bledsoe, corporal.
Privates — Jas. Bradley, J. C. Boyd, Robt. Carr, A. J. Beard, Alex. Bailey, J. J. Childs,
St. Clair Patton, Claiborn Rector, Phineas Ripley, Thos. Leveney, J. B. Taylor, L. Wil-
loughby, G. Wright, M. B. Atkison, Holden Denmon, Ed. Dnist, R. B. Daist, J. K. Davis,
E. Gallaher, Jas. Hall, S. Phillips, Thos. McGay, J. A. Barkley, Francis Walneet, Hinson
Curtis, J. B. Grice', Mat. Hager, B. F. Cage, J. M. McCormack, Jas. Haye, Chas. Hick, A.
D. Kenyon, G. W. Lewis, J. Pickering, Jas. Harris, Wm. Brennan, Wm. H. Jack, Dr. Bay-
lor, Thos. F. Coney, A. Lewis, W. P. Lane, E. G. Rector.
Thos. H. M'Intire, capt.; John P. Gill, 1st lieut.; Bazil G. Gians, 2d lieut.; Robt. D. Ty-
ler, John Wilkinson, sergts.; E. G. Coffman, corp.
Privates — Wm. Boyle, Benj. Bencroft, Geo. Barker, Wm. Bennett, John Clarke, J. B. Col-
iant, J. Campbell, Cooper, T. Davis, Oscar Fnrish, Thos. Hopkins, Jack Lowrie, Placido
M'Curdy, David Oden, G. W. Penticost, S. W. Peebles, Samuel Sharp, Isaac Jacques, John
Chevis, 1st, John Chevis, 2d, Thos. Cox, Cyrus Cepton, Ambrose Mayer, Moses Allison,
Isaac Maiden, F. Wilkinson.
James Galsaspy, capt.; Wm. Finch, 1st lieut.; A. L. Harrison, 2d lieut.; R. T. Choderick,
1st sergt.
Privates—' John Sayres, F. B. Lasiter, M. K. Gohoen, T. H. Webb, John Peterson, J.
Montgomery, T, F. Johnson, Hez. Harris,W. F. Ferrill, Samuel Wyley, Wm. Fertilan, A.
Montgomery, A. Lolison, E. M'Millan, S. Baling, J. W. Scolling, J. Richardson, Obanion,
Willis L. Ellis, Jas. Walker, Alphonzo Steel, Benj. Johnson, F. M. Woodward, Wm. Peter-
son, J. C. White, Rob. Henry, Elijah Votan, G. Crosby, Joel Dederick, L. Raney.
B. Bryant, capt.; John C. Hales, 1st lieut.; A. S. Lewis, 2d lieut.
Privates — Wm. Earle, J. S. P. Irven, Sim. Roberts, Jos. P. Parks, C. Rockwell, R. B.
Russell, L. H. White, A. M'Kenzie, A. Cobble, John F. Gilbert, D. Roberts, Wm. B. Scales,
J. R. Johnson, Wm. Pate, B. Lindsay, Jas. Clarke, Robt. Love.
Wm. Kimbo, capt.; James Rowe, 1st lieut.; John Harman, William Fisher, Henry Reed,
•ergeante.
Privates — D. Brown, Wm. Bateman, J. A. Chaffin, H. Corsine, Joel Crane, R. T. Crane,
Joshua Clelens, W. H. Davis, S. Holeman, H. Hill, G. D. Hancock, E. 0. Legrand, D. Love,
D. H. M'Gary, Thos. Maxwell, A. G. M'Gowan, J. W. Proctor, Benj. Thomas, D. Watson,
Lewis Wilworth, R. Stevenson, G. W. Jones, W. B. Rrown, B. Green, J. Kent, Caddell, R.
Hotchkiss, Thos. M. Hughes, A. Buffington, Jas. Burch, R. Burch, A. E. Manuel.
Juau N. Seguin, capt.; Manuel Flores, Antonio Menchasen, sergeants; Nep Flores, Am-
bro Rodridge, corporals.
Privates — Antonio Cruz, Jose Maria Mocha, Eudnado Samirer, Lucin Ennques, Maticio
Curvis, Antonio Cueves, Simon Ancola, Manuel Tarin, Pedro Henern, Thos. Maldonart,
Cecario Cormana, Jacinto, Pena, N. Navarro, A. Vareinas, Manuel Avoca.
Buffalo Bayou is perhaps the smallest navigable stream in Texas, hut at
present it is one of the most important means of communication with the in-
terior. From Galveston Bay to Houston, the ancient capital of Texas, a dis-
tance of about 20 miles, this small stream is navigable for steamboats of a
large size, although in some places it is not of sufficient width to allow
one to turn lengthwise across the stream. The elevated banks which slope
TEXAS 691
fo the water's edge, are thickly set with forest trees, haviag their branches
tovered with pendant moss. A striking scene is presented at night, when
the steamboat steers her way, as it were, through the forest, with torchlights
on both sides.
Night Scene on Buffalo Bayou.
Brownsville, the county seat of Cameron county, is situated on the N. bank
of the Rio Grande, about 50 miles by the course of the river from the Gulf
of Mexico, and 326 S. from Austin. It is a flourishing place and has con-
siderable commerce with the river towns. It lies opposite Matamoras, in
Mexico. Brazos Santiago is the shipping point. The place received itg
name from Maj. Brown, who was mortally wounded in the defense of the
fort here, during the Mexican war, in 18J.-6".
After the terms of annexation \vere accepted (July 4, 1845), Gen. Taylor
was ordered to western Texas. At the head of a considerable force he estab-
lished his camp at Corpus Christi, then the furthest point west to which the
Texan population had extended. In Jan., 1846, he was ordered to march
through the uninhabited region between the Nueces and Rio Grande, and
take possession of Point Isabel and the points opposite Matamoras and Mier.
This was accomplished, some skirmishes ensued, and several being killed
soon brought on open and avowed hostilities between the two nations. The
^ollowing narrative of the battles which ensued, Palo Alto and Resaca de la
Palma, is from " Howe's Achievements of Americans," and is especially val-
iiuble from giving the first experience of a soldier in the business of war:
Throwing a garrison into Fort Brown, opposite Matamoras, Gen. Taylor, on the
1st of May, broke up the camp and started with the whole army for Point Isabel,
to bring up a large depot of provisions to the fort; we arrived there the succeeding
forenoon, and were set to work building intronchments.
On the 7th, the army set out on its return to Fort Brown, and after proceeding
flbout seven miles, we encamped beside a pond, where the musquitoes were so
plenty that we could not sleep. The next morning we resumed our march, calcu-
lating to get through if nothing prevented; but aV>out noon, the dragoons brought
intelligence that the enemy wera in force in front. ''Now we 11 have it, boys 1'
692 TEXAS.
said the men ; and, I must confess, I felt a sudden thrill at this intelligence. Gen.
Taylor in a few minutes ordered a halt beside a pond of water, for the men to fill
their canteens.
Here we got our first view of the enemy. "Look! look! Oh ! look at them! "
cried several at once. " My stars! what a host! " exclaimed others. We now ad-
vanced slowly in order of battle, occasionally halting, until we were within a little
over half a mile distant from them. Their appearance was exceedingly grand ;
directly in front stood their infantry, with here and there an interval of sirtillery —
their bright brass guns reflecting the rays of the sun. On each side, stretching
over the prairie, was their cavalry, with a host of sharp-pointed, bright-shining
lances, with their pendants of red and blue. Vast masses of infantry, in rear of
their front line were moving into different positions for the coming fray, and their
field officers were galloping up and down, giving out their respective orders. When
all was completed, their army stood perfectly still; their right resting on a dense
thicket of chapparal, and their left stretching across the road, and protected at the
end by a swamp. Their whole line was about one mile in length ; they had eleven
field pieces and about six thousand men. It was an awe-inspiring spectacle — those
Mexicans on the field of Palo Alto.
Now let us look at our little army. Our regiments, from sickness and other
causes, had not over one half of the usual number of men, and here we were on
the day of battle in a miserably weak condition. The company to which I be-
longed, '' B," had only sixteen bayonets. We had nine regiments, and they num-
bered, officers and all, but a little over twenty-two hundred men; but there was a
self-reliance among them that seemed to augur success.
Gen. Taylor, for simple hard fighting, was an excellent officer, but he knew little
of tactics, rarely put any military evolution in practice, and had not the confidence
of the army like Worth and Scott. In this battle we had two light butteries —
Ringgold's and Duncan's — of four pieces each, and two eighteen pound iron guns,
under the command of Lieut. Churchill, and the battle was mainly fought with
artillery. The eigh teen-pounders were on the right of our regiment, which was
near the center of our line ; 1 was on the extreme left of the regiment Churchill's
guns were each drawn by two yoke of oxen. A Texan boy drove one of the teams ;
as we were coming into position his coolness was remarkable, and his talk to his
oxen amusing. " Go along, buck ! " he said, " if you're killed, you are fat and will
make good beef." When all was ready, both armies stood still for about twenty
minutes, each waiting for the other to begin the work of death, and during this
time, 1 did not see a single man of the enemy move; they stood like statues.
We remained quiet with two exceptions; Gen. Taylor, followed by his staff, rode
from left to right at a slow pace, with his right leg thrown over like a womant and
as he passed each regiment, he spoke words of encouragement. I know not what
he said to the others, but when he came up to where we stood, he looked steadily
at us; 1 suppose, to see what effect the circumstances in which we were placed had
upon us, and, as he gazed, he said: "The bayonet, my hardy cocks I the bayonet is
the thing I" The other occasion was that of Lieut. Blake, of the engineers, who
volunteered to gallop along the enemy's line, in front of both armies, and count
their guns; and so close did he go that he might have been shot a hundred times.
One of the officers of the enemy, doubtless thinking he had some communication
to make, rode out to meet him ; Blake, however, paid no attention to him, but rode
on, and then returned and reported to Taylor.
Thus stood those two belligerent armies, face to face. What were the feelings
of those thousands ! How many thoughts and fears were crowded into those few
moments ! Look at our men ! a clammy sweat is settled all over faces slightly pale,
not from cowardly fear, but from an awful sense of peril combined with a deter-
mination not to flinch from duty. These are the moments in which true soldiers
resign themselves to their fate, and console themselves with the reflection that
whatever may befall them they will act with honor ; these are the moments when
the absolute coward suffers more than death — when, if not certain he would be
shot in his tracks, he would turn and flee. Fighting is very hard work; the man
who has passed through a two hours' fight, has lived through a great amount of
mental and physical labor. At the end of a battle I always found that I had per*
TEXAS.
spired BO profusely as to wet through all my thick woolen clothing, and when I had
got cool, I was as sore as if I had been beaten all over with a club. When the
battle commences,' the feelings undergo a change. Reader, did you ever see
your house on fire? if so, it was then you rushed into great danger; it was then
you went over places, climbed up walls, lifted heavy loads, which you never could
have done in your cooler moments; you then have experienced some of the excite-
ment of a soldier in battle. 1 always knew my danger — that at any moment I was
liable to be killed, yet such was my excitement that I never fully realized it. All
men are not alike ; some are cool ; some are perfectly wild or crazy ; others are so
prostrated by fear that they are completely unnerved — an awful sinking and re-
laxation of all their energies takes place, pitiable to behold ; they tremble like an
aspen, slink into ditches and covert places, cry like children, and are totally in-
sensible to shame- — dead to every emotion but the overwhelming fear of instant
death. We had a few, and but a few, of such in our army.
As the two armies were facing each other, it was remarkable to see the coolness of our
men ; there they stood, chewing bits of biscuit, and talking about the Mexicans — some
wondering if they would fight; others allowing that they would, and like demons, etc. I
kept my eye on the artillery of the enemy, and happened to be looking toward their right-
wing when suddenly a white curl of smoke sprang up there from one of their guns, and
then I saw the dust fly some distance in front where the ball struck. Instantly another,
and then another rich curl of smoke arose, succeeded by a booming sound, and the shot
came crashing toward us. The enemy fired very rapidly, and their balls knocked the dust
about us in all directions — some went over our heads, others struck the ground in front and
bounded away.
Our batteries now went to work, and poured in upon them a. perfect storm of iron ; Lieut.
Churchill and his men began with their eighteen-pounders, and when the first was fired, it
made such a loud report that our men gave a spontaneous shout, which seemed to inspire
us with renewed confidence. I could hearevery word the lieutenant said to his men. When
the first shot was fired, he watched the ball, saying, " Too high, men ; try another ! " — " too
low, men; try again — the third time is the charm ! " The third shot was fired, and I saw
with my own eyes the dreadful effect of that and the following shots. " That's it, my
boys ! " shouted Churchill, jumping up about two feet ; " you have them now I keep her at
that! " and so they did, and every shot tore complete lanes right through the enemy's lines ;
but they stood it manfully. The full chorus of battle now raged ; twenty-three pieces of
artillery belched forth their iron hail.
We were ordered to lie down in the grass to avoid the shot ; this puzzled the enemy, and
they could not bring their guns to bear upon us, making our loss very small. Many were
the narrow escapes; one ball came within six inches of my left side. The force of the
shot was tremendous ; a horse's body was no obstacle at all ; a man's leg was a mere pipe
stem. I watched the shot as it struck the roots of the grass, and it was astonishing how
the dust flew. In about an hour, the grass caught on fire, and the clouds of smoke shut
out the opposing armies from view. We had not as yet lost a man from our regiment. In
the obscurity, the enemy changed their line, and the eighteen-pounders, supported by our
regiment, took a new position on a little rise of ground. As we moved on to the spot, a
six-pound shot carried away the lower jaw of Capt. Page, and then took off a man's head
on the right, as clean as if with a knife. The blood of poor Page was the first blood I
saw ; ho was knocked down in the grass, and as he endeavored to raise himself, he pre-
sented such a ghastly spectacle that a sickly, fainting sensation came over me, and the
•nemory of that sight I shall carry with me to my dying day. A little later, Major Ring-
gold was mortally wounded at his battery ; I saw him just after it. The shot had torn
away a portion of the flesh of his thighs: its force was tremendous, cutting off both his
pistols at the locks, and also the withers of his horse — a splendid steed which was killed tc
relieve him of his misery. The enemy tried hard, but without avail, to hit our eighteen-
pounders. The battle continued until night put an end to the scene. We bivouacked where
we were, and laid on our arms ; we slept, however, but little, thinking we might be attacked
in our sleep.
The enemy had been very severely handled, owing to the superiority of our artillery. The
gunners went into it more like butchers than military men ; each stripped off his coat, rolled
up his sleeves, and tied his suspender:" around his waist; they all wore red flannel shirts, and,
therefore, were in uniform. To see them limbering and unlinibcring, firing a few shots,
then dashing through the smoke, and then to fire again with lightning-like rapidity, partly
hid from view by dense clouds of dust a>id smoke, with their dark-red shirts and naked arms,
yelling at every shot they made, reminded me of a band of demons rather than of men.
On the morning ot the ninth, the sun rose in splendor. The enemy having retired into
the chapparal. we resumed our march toward the fort. On arriving at the posititn»the
«jnemy had occupied the day befo e, the scene was shocking ; here lay a beautiful black
TEXAS.
horse and rider, both dead ; a little beyond was a heap of artillery-tnen horribly mangled,
some entirely headless, others with their bowels torn out, and again others with an arm or
a leg, sometimes both, shot away. One man, I noticed, had been shot in a singular man-
ner ; the ball must have bounded, and, as it was rising, struck its victim about the right
haunch, then passing up diagonally through his body, came out under his left arm. Tho
positions of the dead were in many instances peculiar; some in their death-agonies had
caught with their hands in the grass, and thus died : some others were in a kind of sitting
posture ; the countenances of some were horribly distorted, others had a smile — an absolute
laugh. The enemy had left behind a part of their wounded ; one poor fellow who appeared
to be quite intelligent, was badly wounded in the ankle ; when we came near him, he called
out piteously, "Bueno Americano! Agua, Senor I agua, Senor I " — Good American! Water,
SIT \ water, sir 1 We ran and offered him our canteens, and gave him biscuit, for which he
appeared grateful.
Our advance guard had been through, and ascertained that the enemy were posted at
Resaca de la Palma, a few miles off. A ravine here crossed the road, and on each side it
was skirted with dense chapparal: the ravine was occupied by their artillery. We marched
on the narrow road through the chapparal toward their position. The battle commenced
with those in advance. The balls began to crash through the woods over our heads, when
our regiment deployed to the left and then to the right of the road, and advanced through
the chapparal toward the enemy, whom we could not then see. Lieut. Haller called out,
" Fourth and Fifth Infantry, charge ! " Both regiments responded with a cheer, and rushed
on. In a few paces we came to a small pond, and here I had my first chance for a shot at
the Mexicans, who were in line on the opposite bank, and were pouring their balls right
into our faces. The bushes screened all below their waists. I kneeled down on my right
knee, cocked my musket, and brought it to an aim on the mass in front of me, making my
first shot at the human family. I fired four shots in this manner, the branches in the
meanwhile dropping off and the dust springing up all around me from the shot of my
friends across the little water. The word was then given to charge, and we dashed into the
water which took me about half-thigh deep; when in the middle, a ball just grazed my
right ear, and another struck a lieutenant by me in the right arm. The Mexicans broke
and ran, and we continued charging along the pond until we came to where their guns were
stationed. Here our troops, of different regiments, got mixed up. The Mexicans fought
desperately, and many were slain.
Wiien our infantry closed upon their artillery, some of our men were killed by a shot
from Duncan's battery, which remained on the east side of the ravine. The fight was now
confined to this central position ; their guns on the right and left of it having been taken.
Hera stood Gen. La Vega almost alone, his men having been shot down around him from
the combined effects of our infantry on the right and left, and Duncan's battery in front.
Just at this moment, when the infantry of all the regiments there engaged rushed in upon
La Vega's position, Capt. May charged with the dragoons who received the last gun that
the enemy tired ; but before the dragoons had got up, La Vega was captured with a large
number of the officers and men of the enemy. The dragoons charged clear past this point,
and having received a heavy volley from the enemy's infantry and cavalry who were rally-
ing beyond, May ordered a retreat. As he was returning, La Vega, already a prisoner and
held as such by the infantry, judging that May was a superior officer, gave up his sword to
him.
After those guns were captured, about thirty of us went in pursuit of the retreating
enemy until we came upon an open space of, perhaps, two acres ; here we found a large pack
of mules and the abandoned tent of Gen. Arista ; we stopped a moment, and then con-
tinued on the road until we were charged by the lancers. Lieut. Hays sang out, " They
are too strong for us, boys 1— retreat ! retreat 1 " which we did for a short pace, and
then faced the enemy. The lancers came down upon us, when we poured in a volley which
sent them back. Lieut. Cochranc, instead of coming on with us, ran behind a small clump
of bushes on the opposite side of the road, when a lancer rode up and deliberately lanced
him. We reloaded, and on they came again, headed by an officer mounted on a splendid
white horse. Some one sang out, " Shoot that man on the white horse 1 " We poured in
another volley, and down went both horse and rider, beside numerous others; among them
was the man that had killed Lieut. Cochrane. I went out and picked up his lance ; it was
covered with the blood of the poor lieutenant. At this moment came up our light artillery
and the dragoons, who pursued the enemy to the river where many were drowned in cross-
ing, and thus ended the battle of Resaca de la Palina. Then I never heard such shouting
as came from our men ; they seemed nearly crazy with joy. I can not describe my feel-
ings when I saw what a victory we had won 1
Nacogdoches is 60 miles "W. of the Sabine, and 210 E. from Austin, on an
elevated triangular plain, at the head of several small streams which enter
the* River Angelina. It contains a fine court house, several churches, and
TEXAS. 695
•
about 1,000 inhabitants. Thif place was one of the first settled by the
Spanish in Texas, being occupied as a military post. Its improvement did
not commence till 1788, when many persons moved there from New Orleans,
and Capt. Gil. y Barbo, the first commandant, established an arsenal and
barracks, and built the "old stone house," which still remains. The county
of Nacogdoches was created in 1836, from the municipality of the same
name. The white population of the county is about 8,000, mostly Ameri-
cans. Churches and schools are liberally supplied, and the state of society
generally good. Previous to and during the American Revolution, an active
trade was carried on by the Spanish settlement at Natchez, through Nacog-
doches to the interior of Texas, and it was through those engaged in this
trade that the great beauty and fertility of country became known to the
Americans, and attracted many adventurers.
San Augustine is situated in a rich cotton growing region, on a branch of the
Neches River, 27 miles from the Sabine, and 360 from Austin. It was laid off
in 1833,and contains a court house, several churches, and about 1,500 inhabit-
ants. It is very healthy, being built on the high rolling lands, and is one
of the most beautiful towns in Texas. The University of San Augustine
was incorporated in 1837.
Pijrt Lavacca is the capital of Calhoun county. It is on the W. side of
Lavacca Bay, about 160 miles S.E. of Austin, and is the principal shipping
port of that part of Texas. Population about 600.
Matagorda, on Matagorda Bay, at the mouth of Colorado River, 250 miles
S.E. from Austin, is a place of considerable commerce, being the depot for
the produce of the fertile Colorado valley. Population about 600.
There are many towns in Texas beside those mentioned, that have 1,000
inhabitants. • Marshall, Gonzales, Victoria and Paris have each of them over
that number, and though neither of them reach 2,000, they are important
business centers for their respective districts.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, MISCELLANIES, ETC.
Moses Austin was born in Durham, Connecticut, about the year 1764, and of a
highly respectable family. He was well educated, and was bred a merchant, and
possessed uncommon energy and enterprise. He engaged in merchandising in
Philadelphia, then in Richmond, and later bought lead mines in Wythe county, Va.,
where he engaged in mining, introduced artisans from England, and established
the first shot and sheet lead manufactory in the United States. In 1799, he re-
moved to the Mine-a-Burton lead mine in Missouri, and there established the bus-
iness of lead mining in the wilderness, surrounded by savages: his ore was con-
veyed on horseback to St. Genevieve, 40 miles distant. Until 1817, he conducted
a prosperous business, his house became the abode of elegant hospitality, and the
wilderness around was made to smile under his enterprise. Then the failure of
the Missouri bank so embarrassed his circumstances that he then, at the age of 55
years, voluntarily gave up all his property to his creditors, and with invincible
firmness prepared to found an American colony in Texas. In the execution of his
plans he had the aid of his son Stephen. He did not live to see them consummated,
as he died on the eve of their accomplishment, June 10, 1821, leaving on his death
bed the message to his son to carry forward his enterprise.
Gen. Stephen F. Austin, sometimes called " the Father of Texas, was born in
Wythe county, Va, in 1793. He began his education at Colchester, Conn., and
finished it at Transylvania University, in Kentucky. At the time of his father's
death he was 28 years of age. He resolved to accept his father's dying trust, and
after much toil and with great address, he succeeded in the enterprise, fixing his
696 TEXAS.
f
colonial capital on the Brazos — San Felipe de jfcustin. Gov. Austin died Dec. 25,
1836, in the 45th year of his age. His qualities of head and heart made him loved
by all. " Every log cabin in the land was open to him. Every child of every col-
onist knew him, and was permitted to play upon his knee. When he first entered
the province of Texas, in 1821, there was but one settlement from the Sabino to
San Antonio — Nacogdoches, and in it was only one family and three unmarried
men. The ring of the axe had never been heard on the Brazos and Colorado. The
settlers followed in the wake of their young and adventurous leader, with the rifle,
the ax, the plow and the seed corn. Soon the green blades of corn waved over
the luxuriant virgin fields, and the smoke arose from 300 cabins, and 300 good
rifles were ready to follow him to battle for the right." In 1823-4, Austin's colo-
ny was infested by robbers and fugitives from justice from the United States. At
first mild measures were tried to put a stop to their depredations. This only em-
boldened to greater crimes, they adding murder to robbery. At length a band of
these desperadoes were attacked and all but one killed, who escaped. The head
of one of them was cut off and set on a pole as a warning to like offenders.
David S. Burnet was born in Newark, New Jersey, April 4, 1789. His father.
Dr. William Burnet, was a medical officer during the Revolutionary war, and was
also a member of the continental congress. His brother, Maj. Ichabod Burnet,
was aid to Maj. Gen. Greene. Judge Burnet was educated at a highly respectable
academy in his native town. He had a predilection for the navy, but was per-
suaded to give it up, and to place himself in a counting house in New York in
1805. Early in 1806, with the consent of his friends, he joined the celebrated ex-
pedition under Gen. Miranda, which was organized in New York. Miranda sailed
from New York in Feb., 1806, and made the first aggressive demonstration toward
the emancipation from Spanish domination at La Villa de Coro, on the Gulf of
Venezuela. A landing was effected in front of a battery, and the enemy were forced
to retire. Lieut. Burnet commanded in the launch from the frigate, and conse-
quently was one of those who fired the first gun in favor of Spanish American in-
dependence.
The expedition was finally abandoned, and most of the survivors *f the original
party returned to New York. In 1 817, Mr. Burnet was a merchant in Natchitoches,
La. Being threatened with pulmonary consumption, he was advised by his physi-
cian to adopt the Indian life and manner of living; he accordingly went among
the Comanches on the Colorado, and remained more than a year, during which
time he subsisted on buffalo and other wild meat, without bread or vegetables of
any kind, and by this means his health was restored. He afterward removed to
Cincinnati, Ohio, where he studied law. «ln 1826, Mr. Burnet emigrated to Texas.
In 1833, he was elected to the convention at San Felipe, for the purpose of obtain-
ing a separate state organization from the Federal Government at Mexico. In
1834, he was appointed by the state government judge of the municipality of Aus-
tin, comprehending about one half the population of Texas. When the spirit of
war began to be exhibited against the Mexicans, Judge Burnet was in the opposi-
tion, and continued quiet on his little farm. Hut when the news arrived that Santa
Anna had assumed dictatorial powers, and abolished the state governments, he took
a decided stand in favor of resistance. In 1836, he was elected by the convention
that declared independence, president ad interim of the incipient republic. He
was afterward chosen vice president. Since this period he has lived in retirement
on his farm, near and in sight of the battle field of San Jacinto.
Mirabeau B. Lamar, the third president of Texas, was born in Jefferson county,
Georgia, in 1798. His ancestors were French Huguenots, who fled from persecu-
tion in their native land, and settled in the southern states. He came to Texas in
1835, to aid the people in their resistance against the arbitrary power of Santa
Anna. He opposed all timid counsels, and boldly advocated a declaration of inde-
pendence, like that of July 4, 1776, and it is stated that his speech, delivered in
the town of Washington, was the first open advocacy of that policy. He first dis-
tinguished himself as a soldier in the cavalry action previous to the battle of San
Ja<;into. After this victory he was placed by President Burnet at the head of the
war department. He was subsequently elected the first vice president under the
TEXAS. 697
Constitutional Republic, and two years afterward to the presidency. When he
came into this office the republic had but very little credit or money, but by his
wise and judicious administration, he secured all the advantages of a good govern-
ment. Gen. Lamar retired from office in 1841, but on the breaking out of the war
between Mexico and the United States, he accompanied the Texan forces to the
theater of conflict, and acquired fresh laurels at the battle of Monterey.
THE FREEBOOTER LAFITTE.
Jean Lafitte was born in Bordeaux, France, and in youth ran away from home
and shipped on board an English man-of-war. Eventually he found his way to
South America and the West Indies, and engaged in privateering and smuggling.
In 180$, when the United States laid an embargo on foreign commerce, he engaged
in illicit trade to New Orleans. About the year 1810 or 1811, the island of Grand
Terre, afterward known as Barrataria, about 60 miles from the delta of the Mis-
sissippi, became a notorious resort of privateers. Among the chieftains there La-
fitte became in power almost absolute. He had two brothers in New Orleans, and
through them interested many of the principal merchants and traders in that city
in his smuggling and privateering schemes, much to the damage of the honest
traders there, and to the disgrace of the state and corruption of public morals. In
March, 1813, Gov. Claiborne issued a proclamation ordering the Barratarians to
disperse ; failing in which, he offered a reward of $500 for the head of Lafitte.
The latter in turn offered $15,000 for the head of his excellency! Next the gov-
ernor sent a company of militia to break up Barrataria. Its commander happened
to have been one of Lafitte's old captains. Lafitte surrounded them, took them
prisoners, and then sent them home loaded with presents.
Early in 1*814, President Madison sent Commodore Patterson, of the United
States navy, to destroy the establishment :
"Accordingly on tbe llth of June, 1814, the commodore left New Orleans, accompanied
by Col. Ross and seventy-one picked men of the 44th regiment United States infantry. He
took with him the schooner Caroline and the United States gunboats at the Balize. On the
morning of the 16th he reached Barrataria. The town consisted of about forty houses, of
different sizes, badly constructed, and thatched with palmetto. The vessels of the free-
booters consisted of six fine schooners and one felucca, as cruisers, and one armed schooner
under Carthagenian colors. The rovers came out to meet the commodore, and formed their
vessels into line of battle, having mounted on them twenty pieces of cannon, and exhibit-
ing a force of eight hundred or a thousand men. But when they saw the commodore de-
termined, and still advancing, they abandoned the place and fled, concealing themselves in
the numerous morasses of the surrounding country. The commodore returned to New Or-
leans on the 23d of June, bearing with him the vessels and spoil of Barrntaria.
This expedition so crippled the freebooters, that they could only operate afterward with
great secrecy. The war between the United States and Great Britain prevented further at-
tempts against them. They were, however, approached by the British in a different man-
ner. On the 3d of September, 1814, Capt. Lockyer, commander of his majesty's man-of-
war Sophia, put in to the shore fit Barrataria, and offered Lafitte the rank of post-captain
in the British navy, the command of a frigate, and thirty thousand pounds sterling, to join
his majesty's forces. Lafitte asked two weeks' time to consider the proposal, giving the
captain some hope, however, that he would accept it.
The next day, Lafitte inclosed the written propositions to Gov. Claiborne, writing him
also a polite letter, tendering his services to the United States, on condition that he and
his adherents should be protected from further interruption. The offer was accepted; and
Lafitte and his men, stationed at the guns near the levee, on 8th of January, 1815, did such
service as to call forth a general pardon from the president of the United States."
Lafitte was unable, from the vigilance of the United States authorities, to again
establish himself at Barrataria. He finally occupied the island of Go,lveston, as
related in the preceding pages, and for years became closely identified with the
history of Texas.
Hon. J. Pinckney Henderson was born in Lincoln Co., North Carolina, March 31,
1808. He received a liberal education, and adopted the law as a profession. He
emigrated to Texas in 1836, and his first civil office was that of attorney-general
698 TEXAS.
of the Republic of Texas, having been appointed, by President Houston, in 1836;
in 1837, he was appointed secretary of state of the Republic; soon afterward min-
ister plenipotentiary to England and France, clothed with the additional powers
of commissioner to solicit the recognition of the independence of Texas; in 1838,
he made a commercial arrangement with England, and in 1839 a commercial treaty
with France; in 1844, he was appointed a special minister to the United States,
which mission resulted in the annexation of Texas; in 1845, he was a member of
the convention which framed the constitution of the state of Texas; in Nov., of
the same year, was elected governor of the state ; and when the Mexican war
broke out, in 1846. as governor of the state, and by permission 'of the legislature,
he took command, in person, of the volunteer troops called for by General Taylor,
served six months as major-general, and distinguished himself at the battle of
Monterey, subsequently receiving from congress, for his services, a vote of thanks
and a sword valued at fifteen hundred dollars. He was elected a senator, in con-
gress, in 1857, but owing to ill-health, did not take an active part in its proceed-
ings, and he died in Washington City, June 4, 1858, deeply lamented by all who
knew him. — Dictionary of Congress.
11 Gen. Samuel Houston was born," says the Dictionary of Congress, "in Rock-
bridge county, Virginia, March 2, 1793. He lost his father when quite young, and
his mother removed with her family to the banks of the Tennessee, at that time
the limit of civilization. Here he received but a scanty education ; lie passed sev-
eral years among the Cherokee Indians, and in fact, through all his life he seems
to have held opinions with Rousseau, and retained a predilection for life in the wil-
derness. After having served for a time as clerk to a country trader, and kept a
school, in 1813 he enlisted in the army, and served under Gen. Jackson in the war
with the Creek Indians. He distinguished himself on several occasions, and at
the conclusion of the war he had risen to the rank of lieutenant, but Soon resigned
bis commission and commenced the study of law at Nashville. It was about this
time that he began his political life. After holding several minor offices in Ten-
nessee, he was, in 1823, elected to Congress, and continued a member of that body
until, in 1827, he became governor of the state of Tennessee. In 1829, before the
expiration of his gubernatorial term, he resigned his office, and went to take up
his abode among the Cherokees in Arkansas. During his residence among the In-
dians, he became acquainted with the frauds practiced upon them by the govern-
ment agents, and undertook a mission to Washington for the purpose of exposing
them. In the execution of this project, he met with but little success ; he became
involved in lawsuits, and returned to his Indian friends. During a visit to Texas,
he was requested to allow his name to be used in the canvass for a convention which
was to meet to form a constitution for Texas, prior to its admission into the Mexi-
can union. He consented, and was unanimously elected. The constitution drawn
up by the convention was rejected by Santa Anna, at that time in power, and the
disaffection of the Texans caused thereby was still further hightened by a demand
upon them to give up their arms. They determined upon a resistance; a militia
was organized, and Austin, the founder of the colony, was elected cominander-in-
chief, in which office hr was shortly after succeeded by Gen. Houston. He con-
ducted the war with vigor, and finally brought it to a successful termination by the
battle of San Jacinto, which was fought in April, 1836. In May, 1836, he signed
a treaty, acknowledging the independence of Texas, and in October of the same
year he was inaugurated the first president of the Republic. At the end of his
term of office, as the .same person could not constitutionally be elected president
twice in succession, he became a member of the Texan congress. In 1841, 'how-
ever, he was again elevated to the presidential chair. During the whole time that
he held thatoffice it was his favorite policy to effect the annexation of Texas to the
United States, but he retired from office before he saw the consummation of his
wishes. In 1844, Texas became one of the states of the Union, and Gen. Hous-
ton was elected to the senate. He has since been governor of the state."
Hon. Thomas Jefferson Rusk " was born in South Carolina; studied law, and
practiced" with success inGeoisgia. In the early part of 1835, he removed to Texas,
and was a prominent actor in all the important events in the history of the repub-
TEXAS. G99
lie and state of Texas. He was a member of the convention that declared Texas
an independent republic, in March, 1836; was the first secretary of war; partici-
pated in the battle of San Jacinto, and took command of the army after General
Houston was wounded. He continued in command of the army until the organi-
zation of the constitutional government, in October, 1836, when he was again ap-
pointed secretary of war, and resigned after a few months. He afterward com-
manded several expeditions against the Indians; served as a member of the house
of representatives, and as chief justice of the supreme court, which last office he
resigned early in 1842. In 1845, he was president of the convention that consum-
mated the annexation of Texas to the United States. Upon the admission of Texas
into the Union he was elected one of the senators in the congress of the United
States, in which office he served two terms, and was elected for the third term.
He was chairman of the committee on the post-office. He took a deep interest in
the wagon-road to the Pacific, and the overland mail. At the time of his death,
which occurred in Nacogdoches, Texas, July 29, 1856, he was president, pro tern.,
of the senate. In a moment of insanity, caused by overwhelming grief at the
death of his wife, he took his own life, aged fifty-four. — Dictionary of Congress.
Gen. Sidney Sherman was born in Maryborough, Massachusetts, in 1805. In the
midst of a snow stonn, December, 1835, he embarked on a steamer at Cincinnati,
at the head of a volunteer company of Kentuckians he had raised, to battle for the
independence of Texas. He was a colonel at San Jacinto, where he greatly dis-
tinguished himself. He there first sounded the war cry — Remember the Alamo!
Goliad and the Alamo ! In 1846, he conceived the idea of rebuilding the town of
Harrisburg, which had been destroyed. From thence he built a railroad westward,
the first in Texas, and the locomotive the " Gen. Sherman," was the first that ap-
peared west of the Sabine.
Col. Benj. R. Milam, " the hero of Bexar," was born in Kentucky, and bred to
the hatter's business in Lexington in that state. In 1826 he was one of the heroic
band of three hundred Americans who went to Mexico, and joined the republican
standard of Victoria, and in different actions routed three and four times their own
number. His military life there was full of vicissitude. After the taking of Go-
liad, in Sept., 1835, by a mere handful of Texans, Milain thus told the story of his
experience there, in a spirited address of five lines. Said he — "I assisted Mexico
to gain her independence. I have spent more than twenty years of my life in that
country. I have endured heat and cold, hunger and thirst; but the events of this
night have fully compensated me for all my losses and all my sufferings." In less
than two months after "old Ben Milam" met a soldier's death at the storming of
Bexar.
Col. James Bowie, the inventor of the bowie knife, was a son of Rezin Bowie, and
was born in Burke county, Georgia. " Of his parents, it is said they were from
Maryland. The father was a man of strong mind and sound judgment The
mother was a pious and excellent lady, and from her it was thought that the children
inherited their remarkable energy of character. They had five children, viz :
David, James, Rezin P., John J, and Stephen, who were all large, muscular men.
In 1802, the family removed to Chatahoula parish, Louisiana. On the 19th of Sep-
tember, 1827, James Bowie was engaged, on a bar of the Mississippi, in a duel
with Norris Wright and others — one of the bloodiest renconters of this class on
record — in which he was wounded, and two men were killed. Shortly after this
he came to Texas, as did also his brother Rezin P. Bowie. James Bowie was about
six feet high, of fair complexion, with small blue eyes, not fleshy, but well pro-
portioned; he stood quite erect, and had a rather fierce look; was not quarrelsome,
but mild and quiet, even at the moment of action. He was quite sociable, and
somewhat disposed to intemperance, but never drunk. He had a wonderful art in
winning people te him, and was extremely prodigal of his money. His muscular
power was as great as his daring; his brother says he has been known to rope and
ride alligators ! His great speculation was in purchasing negroes from Lah'tte.and
smuggling them into Louisiana. This is the most unpleasant feature in his his-
tory !" He fell at the Alamo." — YoakunLs Texas.
700 TEXAS.
STOCK RAISING IN TEXAS.
In south-western Texas, the chief occupation of the rural population is stock-
raising. As late as the year 1838, and for years after the prairies of this region
were covered with immense herds of wild cattle, the offspring of those belonging
to the inhabitants prior to the border wars. Expeditions were, at that period,
formed in Texas to hunt up and collect these animals, and when they were ex-
hausted, the "Cow Boys," as they were called, pushed their expeditions to the Rio
Grande, and drove off the gentle cattle of the Mexicans. On these forays severe
conflicts often took place between the hostile parties, in which the " Cow Boys "
were almost sure to be successful.
For a few years after "annexation," the price of cattle was low; but with the
improved means of transportation, prices have gone up, and now immense droves
are taken to the north-west and to the eastern market. A writer in the Texas
Almanac,* for 1861, gives interesting details upon this business, from which we
make some extracts:
From the natural increase, and the large droves of cattle driven to the west from middle
and eastern Texas and the western part of Louisiana, on account of the superior pasturage
in this section, stocks have become large and numerous, and many think this part of the
country is becoming overstocked. Be that as it may, the number of cattle is very great,
and it has become a much more laborious task to attend to a stock of cattle than when they
were less numerous.
As the cattle are permitted to range indiscriminately over a large surface of country,
thirty, forty, and even fifty miles in extent from north to south and east to west, and cattle
from several hundred stocks get mixed together, it is no easy task to hunt up and mark and
brand the calves of a large stock ; still it is dono, and with tolerable accuracy.
The principal brandings take place twice in the year — in the spring and fall. For this
purpose the men of each neighborhood form themselves into companies, called, in local
phrase, a " crowd," to the number of ten, twelve, or fifteen men, each man having one, two,
or three spare horses, according to circumstances, with pack-horses to carry provisions,
blankets, etc., for the " crowd" (company.) Thus provided fora " hunt" of several weeks,
they sally forth, each man with lasso at saddle-bow, and armed with an excellent six-
shooter and formidable bowie-knife. They traverse a wide extent of country, driving into
close herds large numbers of cattle at places most convenient to a pen. They then "cut
out" (select from the herd) such cattle as belong to the men who compose the " crowd," and
those for whom they brand; drive them into the pen, and mark, brand, and alter the calves.
Persons not acquainted with this mode of managing stock will naturally ask how each man
can tell his own calves. This is easily told by observing what cow the calf follows and
sucks. But some few calves amongst so large a number of cattle escape the " branding."
These calves, when afterward discovered, if they have ceased to suck their mothers, and
can not be identified, are accounted common property, and are divided, pro rata, amongst
the stock-owners of the neighborhood.
"Cattle-hunting" is quite a laborious business; and especially is it so in a crowded pen
in warm weather: to "rope," throw down and tie the strong and active calves of six, eight
or twelve months old, and often grown cattle; in dry weather in a cloud of dust, and in
wet, in mud, sometimes ankle-deep. This is both disagreeable and fatiguing, in addition
to which there is considerable risk from vicious cattle, which keeps the hands constantly on
the alert to avoid being " hooked." There is also much exposure to the heat of the noon-
day sun, and the damp, chilly midnight winds that blow fresh over the extensive prairies.
But the proper time to do this is late in the fall, when the men are frequently exposed to
cold rains and northers.
But this wild life has also its attractions and exciting pleasures, especially for the young
and adventurous ; as it is not devoid of risk, and affords to the aspiring mind of youth an
opportunity of a display of courage and prowess that is not found in any other department
of rural life. The young men that follow this " Cow Boy" life, notwithstanding its bard-
ships and exposures, generally become attached to it. For a camp life, they live well, car-
rying out with them plenty of coffee and sugar, hard bread (pilot bread), bacon, etc., and
when on a "hunt," never want for fresh meat, as the unbranded yearlings afford a plenty
of the most delicious, and are pretty freely used, as they belong to no particular person.
13ter, prairie-hens or grouse, and other game being also plenty, they fare sumptuously ; at
least, so it appears to men blessed with excellent appetites. Whisky is pretty generally ex-
cluded, as it is found rather dangerous in companionship with six-shooters.
APPENDIX.
CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES AT DIFFERENT PERIODS.
OFFICIAL CENSUS TABLE,
SHOWING THE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES AND TERRITORIES, ACCORDING TO TH1
SEVENTH CENSUS (1850), AND THE EIGHTH CENSUS (1860), RESPECTIVELY.
CENSUS OF 1850.
States.
Free.
Slave.
Total.
A 1 V.«TV»«
- 428 779
342 844
mfi93
Arkansas,
162,797
«J^*ijOT^
47,100
|VXO
209,897
California, -
92,597
—
92,597
Connecticut,
370,792
—
370,792
Delaware, -
89,242
2,290
91,532
Florida, -
48,135
39,310
87,445
Georgia,
524,503
381,682
906,185
Illinois, ...
851,470
—
851,470
Indiana, . . .
988,416
—
988,416
Iowa, ...
192,214
—
192,214
Kansas, ...
—
—
—
Kentucky,
771,424
210,981
982,405
Louisiana, -
272,953
244,809
517,762
Maine, ...
583,169
—
583,169
Maryland, ...
492,666
90,368
583,034
Massachusetts,
994,514
—
994,514
Mississippi, ...
Missouri,
296,648
594,622
309,878
87,422
606,526
682,044
Michigan, ...
397,654
—
397,654
Minnesota,
6,077
—
6,077
New Hampshire,
, <n7Q7fi
—
317.976
New Jersey,
489,319
236
489,555
New York, ...
3,097,394
—
3,097,394
North Carolina,
- - - - - 580,491
288,548
869,039
Ohio, ....
1,980,329
—
1,980,329
Oregon, ...
13,294
—
13,294
Pennsylvania,
2,311,786
—
2,311,786
Rhode Island, -
147,545
—
147,545
South Carolina, -
283.523
384,984
668,507
rri a*\*v
763 258
OQQ4<iQ
1 OO> 7 1 7
Texas, -
154,431
»-»> i7,T»^ y
58,161
J. .''•' — , Ill
212,592
Virginia, ...
949,133
472,528
1,421,661
Vermont, ...
314.120
—
314,120
Wisconsin,
305,391
—
305,391
19,866,662
3,200,600 23,067,262
701
702
APPENDIX
Territories.
New Mexico,
Utah,
District of Columbia,
Free.
Slave,
Total.
—
61,547
11,354
26
11,380
bia, 48,000
3,687
51,687
19,987,563 3,204,313 23,191,876
CENSUS OF 1860.
States.
Free.
Slave.
Total.
Alabama, -
529,164
435,132
964,296
Arkansas,
324,323
111,104
435,427
California, -
380,015
—
380.015
Connecticut,
460,151
—
460,151
Delaware, -
110,420
1,798
112,218
Florida, -
78,686
61,753
140,439
Georgia, -
- - - 595,097
462,230
1,057,327
Illinois, -
1,711,753
— ••
1,711,753
Indiana, ...
1,350,479
—
1,350,479
Iowa, -
674,948
—
674,948
Kansas, ...
107,110
—
107,110
Kentucky,
930,223
225,490
1,155,713
Louisiana, -
376,913
332,520
709.433
Maine, -
628,276
—
628,276
Maryland, - - -
599,846
87,188
687,034
Massachusetts, -
1,231,065
—
1,231,065
Mississippi,
354,699
436,696
791,395
Missouri, -
1,058,352
114,965
1,173,317
Michigan, ...
- - - - 749,112
—
749.112
Minnesota,
162,022
—
162,022
New Hampshire,
326,072
—
326,072
New Jersey,
672,031
—
672,031
New York, ...
3,887,542
—
3,887,542
North Carolina,
661,586
331,081
992,667
Ohio, -..-
2,339,599
—
2,339,599
Oregon, ...
52,466
—
52,466
Pennsylvania,
2,906,370
—
2,906,370
Rhode Island, -
174,631
—
174,631
South Carolina, -
301,271
402,541
703,812
Tennessee,
834,063
275,784
1,109,847
Texas, - ...
420,651
180,388
601,039
Virginia, -
1,105,196
490,887
1,596,083
Vermont, -
315,116
—
315,116
Wisconsin,
775,873
—
775,873
27,185,109
3,949,557
31,134,666
Territories.
Free.
Slave.
Total.
P" 1 A
34 197
34197
Dakotah, ...
4,839
—
4^839
Nebraska, ...
28,832
10
28.842
Nevada, ...
6,857
—
6,857
New Mexico,
93.517
24
93,541
Utah,
40,266
29
40,295
Washington,
11,578
—
11,578
District of Columbia,
71,895
3,181
75,076
27,477,000 3,952,801 31,429,891
APPENDIX.
703
The following table shows the number of members of Congress apportioned to
each State in 1850 and in 1860. In 1860, the ratio of representation was 127,216.
1850. 1860.
1850. 1860.
Maine, - - - -
6 5
Mississippi,
5 5
New Hampshire,
3 3
Louisiana, -
- - 4 4
Vermont, ...
3 3
Arkansas, - *
2 3
Massachusetts, ...
11 10
Texas, ...
2 4
Rhode Island,
2 1
Tennessee,
- - 10 8
Connecticut, ...
4 4
Kentucky, -
- 10 8
New York, -
- 33 30
Ohio,
21 19
New Jersey, ...
5 5
Indiana,
- 11 11
Pennsylvania,
- 25 23
Illinois,
9 13
Delaware, •
1 1
Missouri, -
7 9
Maryland, ...
6 6
Michigan, -
4 6
Virginia, - ...
13 11
Wisconsin,
- - 3 6
North Carolina, -
8 7
Iowa, -
2 5
South Carolina,
6 4
Minnesota,
2 1
Georgia, ...
8 7
Oregon,
1 1
Florida, - -
1 1
California,
2 3
Alabama, - - ^ -
7 6
Total, - -
For 1850, 237.
For 1860, 233.
The following tables show the increase of population in
1860, in the different
States, over the population
of 1850:
FREE STATES.
SLAVE
STATES.
Increase.
Increase.
Maine, ....
- 36,780
Delaware,
- 20,821
New Hampshire, -
8,096
Maryland,
- 148,531
Vermont, - - - -
- 1,707
Virginia, -
- 171,538
Massachusetts, -
236,980
North Carolina, -
- 139,303
1 Rhode Island, ...
- 27,079
South Carolina,
- 46,864
Connecticut, - - -
89,098
Georgia,
- 176,642
New York, -
- 754,169
Florida, -
- 58,249
Pennsylvania,
- 604,232
Alabama,
- 184,294
New Jersey, -
- 186,479
Mississippi,
- 280,132
Ohio, ....
- 397,588
Louisiana,
- 148,669
Indiana, - ...
- 362,386
Arkansas. -
- 230,878
Illinois, ...
- 839,768
Texas, -
- 438,363
Michigan, ...
- 356,737
Tennessee,
- 133,973
Wisconsin, -
• 458,094
Kentucky, -
- 168,152
Iowa, -
- 489,788
Missouri, -
- 519,170
Minnesota, -
'- 166,719
Oregon, - ...
- 39,272
Total, -
- 2,820,539
California, -
- 292,173
Total, - - - 5,347,651
The following tables show the Free and the Slave population at each decennial
period since the first census was taken :
SLAVE POPULATION OP THE UNITED STATES.
1790, -
1800,
1810,-
1820,
1830, -
1840,
697,897
893,041
1,191,364
1,538,064
2,009,031
2,487,355
1850, 3,204,313
I860, 3999,353
Increase.
195,144, or 29 per cent
298.323, or 33
347,700, or 30
470,967, or 30
478.324, or 24
716,958, or 29
795,040, or 25
704 APPENDIX.
FREE POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES
1790, 3,231,075 Increase.
1800, 4,412,911 1,1 80,036, or 36 per cent
1810, - - 6,048,450 1,635,530, or 37
1820, ....... 8,100,067 2,051,517, or 33
1830, 10,357,880 2,757,822, or 33
1840, 14,575,998 3,718,109, or 33
1850,- - 19,991,645 5,415,616, or 37
1860, 27,642,624 7,550,680, or 38
The following table shows the total population of the United States at each de-
cennial period:
1790, 3,929,827
1800, .... 5,305,925
1810, 7,239,814
1820, .... 9,638,131
1830, - - ' - - - 12,886,020
1840, - - - - 17,069,453
1850, 23,191,876
1860, - - - - 31,429,891
The increase of the free population of the United States has averaged, at each
decade, for the last half century, about 35 per cent; the increase of the slave popu-
lation about 27 per cent Estimating the increase of each kind of population at
these figures for the half century to come, the results at each decade in round
numbers, are as follows :
Free. Slave. Total.
1870, 37,000,000 5,000,000 42,000,000
1880, 50,000,000 6,500,000 56,500,000
1890, 68,000,000 8,000,000 76,000,000
1900, 92,000,000 10,000,000 102,000,000
1910, - • • - - - 123,000,000 12,500,000 135,500,000
KUSSIAN AMERICA;
IN the summer of 1741, Vitus Behring, a decendant of the Danish
Vikings, who roamed the seas in the search of strange lands to pil-
lage or conquer, set sail from the Kamchatka coast on a similar
mission in the service of the Russian Empire. Leaving Awatska
Bay, the present site of Petropaulovski, he sailed to the southeast as
far as the latitude of 46° N., when finding no land, he turned to the
northeast. On the 18th of July he sighted a rocky range of coast —
behind which towered lofty mountains, their summits white with
perpetual snows — and thus caught the first glimpse of what is now
known as Russian America. The point where Behring first saw land
is supposed to have been lat. 58J° N., and the lofty mountains were
probably Mount Fairweather and its neighboring peaks.
Sailing north, the coast was soon found to take a westerly direc-
tion, and Behring skirted it for miles without stopping to explore the
shores. His ship was badly damaged during the long cruise, his crew
sick and dispirited; so, instead of pushing through the passage that
was eventually found, he sailed homeward, skirting the long chain
of islands that lie like stepping-stones between the two continents,
and at last finding, with his fellow-sailors, a grave on one of the
islands nearest the Kamchatka coast. He had accomplished his task
of adding a new territory to the Russian Empire.
In 1775, the Spanish Captain De la Bodega, cruising up the Pacific
coast of America to add new lands to the American possessions of
the Spanish crown, reached lat. 58° N., probably in the neighborhood
of Sitka. In accordance with its policy in regard to American dis-
coveries, the voyage of De la Bodega was kept secret by the Spanish
Government, and only became known when the title to the coast was
diputed in after years.
Three years later the adventurous British navigator, Captain Cook,
having passed around the southernmost point of the American Con-
tinent, undertook to return to England by passing around its north-
ern extremity, thus solving the question of a northwest passage by
sailing to the northeast. Following the coast closely, he discovered
a deep indentation, known now as Cook's Inlet, which he hoped might
prove to be the long-sought passage. Having discovered his mistake,
*This article upon Russian America is original to the Atlantic Monthly — the
engraving to Harpers' Weekly.
708 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
he sailed in the track of Behring along the Aliaska peninsula, passed
through the island chain, and coasted up to Behring's Strait, through
which he passed, and skirted the northern shore of the continent
until, at 161° 46' \V., he was stopped by an impenetrable barrier of
ice stretching northward from Icy Cape. This was on the 18th of
August. For eleven days he vainly sought a channel through the
ice-field, and then reluctantly turned back, to meet his death, like his
Danish predecessor, on the return voyage.
In 1826, Captain Beechey, sent out by the British Government to
meet Sir John Franklin, sailed through Behring's Strait, and reached
Point Barrow, one hundred and twenty-six miles northeast of the
farthest point reached by Cook, and there was stopped by ice. At
the same time Sir John Franklin, traveling westward from the Mac-
kenzie River, reached long. 148° 52' W., or about seven and a half
degrees from the point reached by Beechey from the westward.
In 1837, Dease and Simpson, two servants of the Hudson's Bay
Company, reached Point Barrow from the east, and thus completed
the coast exploration of Russian America. Just after Dease and
Simpson had turned back from Point Barrow an expedition sent out
by the Russian America!* Fur Company reached the same point from
the west, and found the natives assembling in great numbers to kill
the English explorers, who, by turning back, had escaped the dangers
of which they were ignorant. The Russians, being few in number,
beat a hasty retreat; and thus Point Barrow remained the ultima
Thule of exploration on ttie northern coast.
From the first discovery of the coast the Russians were active in
its exploration. The government encouraged expeditions in search
of a northeast passage to the Atlantic, while mercantile adventurers
examined the coast, and the numerous islands that masked it. In
1783 a commercial expedition followed the line of the Aleutian Islands
and the coast down to the sixteenth parallel, finding the rocky shores
swarming with the sea otter, and the land beyond full of foxes. A
settlement was made on the island of Kodiak, and a fur-trade opened
with the Asiatic continent. Other explorations were made north
and south, with the same result of finding valuable hunting grounds
for the fur-bearing animals. In 1799, the Emperor Paul gave per-
mission to these several companies to organize in one, under the
name of the Russian American Fur Company, and granted the power
to occupy and subject to Russia all territory north of 55° not already
occupied or claimed by any other nation, with the exclusive privilege
of hunting and trading in all such territory. In this way a chain of
trading posts and forts was formed, stretching from Dixon's Entrance
to Norton Sound. The headquarters of the company were in time
removed from Kodiak Island to the island of Sitka, seventeen de-
grees further east, where a considerable settlement of Russians, Aleu-
tians, and natives was formed.
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 709
The operations of the fur-traders were confined chiefly to the
islands skirting the coast, and to the immediate shores of the main
land. A lofty range of mountains slopes down to the sea from Dixon's
Entrance to Cape Spencer, and beyond this the Russians did not
penetrate. The country behind was hunted by the Hudson's Bay
Company, and it was an unsettled question how far the rights of each
company extended. By the treaties of 1824 and 1H25, the Russians
were confirmed in possession of the whole northwestern peninsula
west of 141° W., and a narrow strip of coast down to Observatory
Inlet, with all the islands of the coast. A lease of the coast from
Cape Spencer to the southern limit was granted to the Hudson's Bay
Company for hunting and trading purposes.
The successive exploring and commercial expeditions along the
coast had made its general configuration and characteristics well
known, even the lonely shores of Behring's Sea having become
familiar to the Russian navigator and fur-trader. Of the interior of
the great peninsula which formed the chief possession of Russia on
the American main land little or nothing was known. Vague rumors
came to the traders at Kodiak, in the early days of the Fur Company,
of a great river that rose in the Rocky Mountains, and, after flowing
through a vast unknown territory, poured its waters into Behring's
Sea. In 1819, the Russian Government obtained a description of
Bristol Bay, where a trading post had been established at the mouth
of the Nushagak River, and of Behring's Sea from the bay north-
ward to Cape Romanzoff, and thus learned the existence of a large
river, the Kuskokvirn, which entered the sea midway between the
head of Bristol Bay and Cape Romanzoff. In 1829 Lieutenant
Nasilef explored the Kuskokvirn a short distance, with the purpose
of discovering what connection existed between that river and the
Nushagak. The result of this exploration was the establishment of
a trading post, Fort Kolmakoff, on the Kuskokvim, about one hun-
dred and fifty miles from its mouth. Between this post and Fort
Alexander, on Bristol Bay, communication was kept up by a chain
of rivers, lakes, and portages.
In 1833, Governor Wrangel selected the island of St. Michael, on
Norton Sound, as the site of a fort and trading post. Communica-
tion was opened with the natives of the main land, and more definite
information obtained of the existence of the large river Kvihpak, of
which so many obscure reports had been received. It was a mighty
river, of the source of which the natives knew nothing, except that
it was far in the interior. It came from the east until within about
a hundred miles of the coast, when it turned sharply southward,
running about two hundred miles more, and then resumed it west-
ward course, entering the sea by several mouths, below Norton Sound.
It flowed somewhere through a heavily timbered country, for the
shores below its mouths were always lined with driftwood, which sup-
710 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
plied the natives of the const with building materials and fuel. Sev-
eral expeditions were sent down from Fort St. Michael to explore the
mouths of the Kvihpak. hut the shall own ess of the water on the
coast, and other difficulties, prevented the accomplishment of the
object. Attempts were made at the same time to open communica-
tion by land routes between Fort St. Michael and the basins of the
Kvihpak and Kuskokvim, and trading-posts were with much difficulty
established at a few points, the natives of the interior, different in
character from those on the coast, continuing to manifest a decided
hostility to the white intruders.
In 1841, the Russian Government dispatched Lieutenant Zagoyskin
and six assistants, with instructions to spend two years in exploring
the basins of the Kvihpak and Kuskokvim Rivers. In August of the
following year they set out from St. Michael in seal-skin canoes, and
coasted up Norton Sound to the north, about sixty miles, to the river
Unalakleat, exploring the shores on the way. The season was so far
advanced that no progress could be made into the interior by boat,
and the adventurers returned to Fort St. Michael, where they busied
themselves in preparing for a winter journey into the interior. On
the 4th of December they again set out. with five sledges and twenty-
seven dogs. After seven days' journeying through heavy snow
storms, they reached the village at the mouth of the Unalakleat, and
ascended that river, with the purpose of crossing the mountains to
the Kvihpak by the route usually taken by the natives. The con-
tinuance of heavy snow storms frustrated their purpose, and they
were compelled to turn back. The Unalakleat enters Norton Sound
from the east. Its course is very crooked, but its length in a straight
line is probably from sixty-five to seventy miles. A mile and a half
from its mouth begins a forest, extending back from the banks about
two thousand feet on either side, of alder, poplar and fir. For six
or seven miles the coast range of mountains runs nearly parallel
with the river, the cliffs on the right bank being much higher than
those on the left. The width of the stream at its lower part varies
from a hundred and forty to five hundred and twenty-five feet.
On the 29th of December, sufficient snow having fallen, the party
again set out on snow-shoes and sledges, and succeeded in reaching
the Kvihpak in about lat. 64° 20' N., about three hundred and fifty
miles above its mouth. Here they found a river about a mile and a
half wide, frozen over, on which they continued their course north-
east to the native village of Nulato, in lat. 64° 42' N., long. 157° 58'
W., the highest point that had been reached by the Russian traders.
From Nulato, after a month's rest, they started on the 25th of
February, 1843, up the Nulato River, traveling northeast seven days,
cutting off the frequent bends of the stream by crossing marshy
plains, and in one instance transversing a forest. Reaching the
point from which a native road ran to Kotzebue Sound, Lieutenant
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 713
Zagoyskin endeavored to persuade the natives to guide him to that
place, but without success. They excused themselves on the plea
that the time had come for reindeer-hunting, and, unless they set
out at once, the village would starve. The party set out alone,
finding the route marked by sticks, but, after five days' travel,
were compelled to turn back for want of provisions, when they had
reached lat. 65° 36' N. By this route, it was ascertained, an exten-
sive trade was carried on between the natives of the coast and those
on the Nulato and the higher Kvihpak. The latter brought their furs
and received in exchange the iron, tobacco, beads, and other com-
modities obtained by the coast natives from the Russian traders, from
speculative whalers who ran up above the Russian posts to do an
illicit trade in furs, or from the Asiatic natives who kept up a com-
mercial intercourse with their brethren across Behr ing's Straits.
On the 3d of June, Lieutenant Zagoyskin with six men and a
native interpreter, carrying povisions for three months, set out from
Nulato in a large seal-skin canoe, with the intention of reaching the
mountains which divided Russian from British America, and estab-
lishing the connection between the Kvihpak of the Pacific coast and
the Yukon of British America, which had been erroneously described
on the maps (and still is on most maps published in the United
States) as flowing into the Icy Sea through the river Colville, between
the Mackenzie River and Point Barrow. On leaving Nulato, the
Kvihpak, for about twelve miles, was found to be about a mile and a
half wide, filled with long, narrow islands connected by sand-bars
which at low water are dry. Above the junction with the Nulato, the
course of the river lay for many miles through a level plain covered
with small lakes abounding in fish. Numerous streams entered from
either side, and the banks were well covered with willow, alder, aspen,
birch, poplar and large firs. The woods did not extend a great dis-
tance from the river, marshy plains stretching behind them to the
foot of the hilly ranges that divided the affluents of the Kvihpak from
those of rivers of smaller size on either side of it. Some of these
hills reach heights varying from five hundred to fifteen hundred feet,
and one range, which approaches close to the Kvihpak, terminates in
a round volcano, called by the natives Natagash.
Nearly two hundred miles above Nulato the expedition met with a
serious obstacle to their further progress. A sand bank stretched
across the stream, over which the natives had been accustomed to-
carry their canoes, but which was now covered with water. The
current was strong, and the party worked in vain with the oars ta
stern it. Not only the current, but the difficult nature of the chan-
nel, interposed obstacles that proved to be insurmountable. Too
shallow in some places to be crossed, in others the deeper channels
were filled with rocks and drift-wood. For hours they labored in
vain to push or pull their canoe through the obstacles and against
714 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
the rapid current, and then abandoned it in despair. To carry their
canoe around the obstacle would have rendered necessary the cutting
of a road three and a half miles long through an impenetrable
forest — a work which it was beyond the power of the expedition to
accomplish. Reluctantly they turned their faces homeward, and
rapidly descended the river, reaching Nulato in seven days. The
width of the Kvihpak, through the distance explored, was found to
average about a mile.
In the autumn of 1843, the expedition descended the Kvihpak to Ikagmut a
trading-post about two hundred miles below Nulato. The river was found to be
navigable for canoes the whole distance between those points, the water muddy,
and the current strong in many places. The average width was a mile and a
half, the depth varying from one fathom to over ten fathoms. The left bank was
low, with scattered hills in the distance; the right bank high, frequently rising
almost into mountains. The country was well wooded. Zagoyskin says: "Fifteen
miles from Anvika the soil on the right bank changes from sand to clay. In one
place it cracks. I have seen pure clean earth of different bright colors — red,
yellow, straw-color, and white, with all their various shades. This, I think, con-
tains lead." At one point the river sweeps around the base of a group of conical
mountains, two thousand feet in height, near which rises an isolated volcano of
about the same height. Nearly all the tributary rivers enter from the left bank,
and many of them abound with beaver.
On the 5th of November, the Kvihpak was closed with ice. A few days later
the natives flocked to the river to c;itch a small, greasy lamprey found in great
numbers as soon as the river was frozen over, and remained about two weeks.
To the dwellers on the Kvihpak this fish is as the white-bait is to the Londoner
or the first shad to the New Yorker.
As soon as the ice was strong, Lieutenant Zagoyskin and his party left Ikag-
mut and ascended the river on sledges, passing sometimes over bare ice and at
other times over snow, to the village of Paymut, intending to cross the mountains
to the river Kuskokvim, which near the 160th meridian approaches the Kvihpak
before the latter bends to the north and the former to the east. Ascending the
river Nallik, a stream three hundred and fifty feet wide, which enters the Kvihpak
from the southeast, they soon struck southward along a road that crossed a
marshy plain to the mountain Tamatulit, twenty-five hundred feet high, towering
above the right bank of the Kuskokvim. Leaving the mountain on one side, the
road crossed a lake, entered a marsh covered with shrubbery and traversed by
many small creeks, and passed through higher land to the river bank. The ex-
pedition followed the course of the Kuskokvim up to Fort Kolmakoff, a fortified
trading-post in lat. 61° 34' N., long. 158° 37' W.
The Kuskokvim is smaller than the Kvihpak, and, for a hundred and fifty or
two hundred miles from its mouth, varies from seven hundred to eighteen hun-
dred feet in width. The bends, filled with islands, gave the river a more pic-
turesque appearance than the Kvihpak, the scenery of which is somewhat
monotonous. The rocks on the right bank differed from those on the right
bank of the Kvihpak, and in many places Lieutenant Zagoyskin found mica.
The left bank is clothed with heavy fir-trees; and parallel with the course of
the river, at a distance of twenty miles, runs a range of mountains, two thousand
feet high, which divides the waters of the Kuskokvim from those of the Nasha-
gak, which flows into Bristol Bay. Between Fort KolmakofF and Fort Alexan-
der, on Bristol Bay, communication is kept up by a chain of rivers, lakes, and
portages.
The winter wag spent in exploring the country between the Kuskokvim and the
Kvihpak, which was found to be full of small rivers, and in tracing the lower
portion of the Chageluk, one of the largest affluents of the Kvihpak, which runs
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 715
nearly parallel with that river for some distance, and enters it near lat. 62° N.,
long. 160° W. On the 1st of May, 1844, the ice in the Kuskokvim began to move,
and by the 9th the expedition started up the river in seal-skin canoes. The Kus-
kokvim was found to be from seven hundred to twenty-one hundred feet wide above
Fort Kolmakoff, with occasional sand-bars, some of them a mile and a half wide.
For nearly a hundred miles it runs between rooky cliffs, from three hundred to
five hundred feet in height, covered with a dense forest; the channel is clear, and
the current not so strong as that of the Kvihpak. At this point the river Hulit-
nak enters from the south (lat. 61° 42' N., long. 156° 5CK W.); it is two hundred
feet wide at its mouth, and guarded at its entrance on the left bank by rocky
cliffs from two hundred to four hundred feet high. From this point, far in the
interior, could be seen a conical mountain whose top was covered with snow. A
few miles up the Hulitnak the hills on the left bank give way to a marshy plain,
while on the right side runs a chain of hills five hundred feet high.
Twenty miles higher up the Kuskokvim, breaking through the hills that line
the left bank of that river above the Hulitnak, comes in the Shulkak, which,
the natives say, takes its rise in a lake among the Chigmit Mountains, some of
the nearest peaks of which could be seen by the expedition about fifty miles to
the southward. A short distance above the Shulkak comes in the Chigvanateel,
also from the south. At this point were met six canoes filled with natives.
To keep on good terms with the natives, and prevent misunderstanding — for they
could conceive of no reason for the presence of a white man in those regions
except to trade — a few pounds of tobacco and some old clothes were exchanged
for a large heap of beaver, otter, reindeer, and black-bear skins. The natives
coveted a certain coat without sleeves which struck their fancy, but the pile of
nearly two hundred valuable furs which comprised their stock was not consid-
ered an equivalent, and they were obliged to content themselves with tobacco
and less prized articles of Icothing.
Above these streams the Kuskokvim narrowed to about seven hundred feet,
the current was slower, and the water of a dull yellowish white. The river
wound around a cape two hundred or three hundred feet high on the right bank,
the left bank being about eighteen feet high, and covered with a dense forest; be-
yond which, in the distance, rose a chain of mountains. Higher up, a spur of the
mountain chain terminated on the left bank of the river in a rocky ridge, beyond
which the forest gave place to a flat meadow, or marshy plain. At the mouth of
the river Sochotno, in lat. 62° 58' N., long. 155° 6' W., the expedition stopped,
having reached about one hundred and eighty miles above Fort Kolmakoff, and
about three hundred and fifty miles above the mouth of the river. At this point
the natives spoke of a beautiful inland sea in the interior, somewhere between
the Kuskokvim and the Kvihpak. The same story was repeated by the natives
at other points on the Kuskokvim and also on the Kvihpak. It was described
as a large and beautiful lake, abounding in fish, and supporting a numerous peo-
ple on its banks. It was the opinion of Lieutenant Zagoyskin that the location
of this lake was somewhere between lat. 63° and 65° N. and long. 150° and 154°
W., and that it probably found an outlet for it waters by the river Haggaya into
the Kvihpak.
It was the intention of Lieutenant Zagoyskin to explore the Kuskokvim to its
source; but the men he had taken with him from Fort Kolmakoff were obliged
to return, that they might be ready to transport goods across to Fort Alexander,
on Bristol Bay. He was, therefore, reluctantly compelled to turn back, reaching
Fort Kolmakoff on the 5th of June. A few days later be crossed to the Kvihpak
by a chain of lakes and rivers different from that he had traversed in the winter,
and then descended the Lower Kvihpak to the divergence of its several channels
to the sea. The hills and forests disappeared, and at one point a chain of lakes
in a flat country stretched away to the right as far as the eye could reach. The
soil at this part of the river contained a layer of organic matter from the forest,
about three feet deep, beneath which was wet clay. Lieutenant Zagoyskin
716 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
records no observation ol -nis own in regard to the depth of wafer in the lower
branches of the Kvihpak, but says that in 1833 a servant of the Fur Company
ascended the Aphuna, or northern mouth of the Kvihpak with ease, and de-
scended about thirty miles of another channel, but found the water too shallow
to enable him to reach the sea. On reaching the sea, Zagoyskin sailed up the
coast in his canoe, keeping about a half a mile from the shore, as sand-banks
and rocks further out made navigation dangerous, and reached Fort St. Michael
on the 21st of June, after two years of difficult and perilous exploration.
In the winter of 1860, Robert Kennicutt, a young American natu-
ralist of fine promise and of undaunted resolution, though of delicate
frame, entered the Russian American territory from the British line,
above the Yukon. He had come, the last part of the route alone,
from the head of Lake Superior, by the way of the chain of lakes and
the Mackenzie River, through the vast wilds that lie between Lake
Superior and the Arctic Sea. On his way he had collected specimens
in every department of natural science, and these specimens, num-
bering thousands, and weighing tons in the aggregate, were taken at
each trading post by the Hudson's Bay Company, and transported
free to Canada, where they were again taken, without pay, by the
express companies, and delivered to the Smithsonian Institute, under
whose auspices he was traveling. The Hudson's Bay Company had
poached on the manor of the Russian Fur Company, and about sixty
miles beyond the boundary, just at the fork of the Porcupine and
Yukon Rivers, Kennicott found a trading-post, Fort Yukon, in charge
of an old Scotchman, who, Avith his wife and a jovial Roman Catholic
priest, together with some voyageurs and Esquimaux, formed the settle-
ment. Here Kennicott remained all winter, gathering hundreds of
specimens, and gaining all the information possible from the natives
in regard to the course of the Yukon, about which uncertain reports
existed at the fort. Among the important discoveries was that of
the breeding-place of the canvas-back duck — the eggs of which, never
before seen by naturalist, literally covered acres. Here, too, he
founds the nests and eggs of the beautiful Bohemian wax-wing — the
only place where its eggs have ever been found. In the spring he
set out on his homeward journey, still gathering specimens as he
went ; and on his return commenced reducing the results of his
observations to writing, when he was interrupted by another call to
the field of duty.
In pursuance of a design to connect the American and European
continents by telegraph line through Northern Asia, the wires of the
Western Union Telegraph Company were extended northward through
Oregon and Washington Territories to Vancouver's island, and thence
it was proposed to carry them northward through British and Rus-
sian territory to. Behring's Strait. Carried by cable through the
Strait, or some .'JJ&ft'of the Kamchatka Sea, it was designed to then
push the line through Siberia to meet the Russian Government lines
coming eastward from St. Petersburg. The route through the British
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 717
possessions above British Columbia, and the whole interior of Russian
America, was entirely unknown. It was determined to make the
survey by two parties, one keeping northward from Vancouver's
Island, and the other proceeding by sea to the vicinity of Behring's
Strait, and then going eastward and southward, to meet the party
coming north. The information obtained in regard to the "great
river" of Russian America, led to the hope that the party could
ascend it from Behring's Sea to Fort Yukon, and then follow its
course southward through British territory — the party coming north
keeping the same route to the place of meeting. A small steamei',
the "Lizzie Homer," was purchased in San Francisco, and put on
board one of the vessels of the expedition, with the design of ascend-
ing the Kvihpak in her as far as possible. The services of Major
Kennicott had been secured for the command of the expedition by
way of Behring's Sea, his previous visit to Russian America, and
his profound scientific knowledge, peculiarly fitting him for the task.
On the 10th day of July, 1865, the expedition left San Francisco in the bark
"Golden Gate," accompanied by the engineer-in-chief of the company, Colonel
Bulkley, in the propeller "Or. S. Wright." In a month they reached Sitka, the
head-quarters of the Russian American Fur Company, where they remained
about two weeks, completing their arrangements and receiving the lavished cour-
tesies of the Russian officials. On the 2lM of August the expedition sailed again,
steering for the outer point of the Aliaska peninsula. The islands that line the
southern front of this remarkable projection were reached about long. 160° W.,
ami at one of them, Ounga, a short stop was made. The principal features of
this island were similar to most of the others in the group. Originally of vol-
canic origin, it lias a steep front about six hundred feet in height, beyond which
the land is rolling. The elevations are covered with moss interspersed with
flowers, and in the depressions is a little coarse grass with small bushes. A bed
of coal (lignite) sixteen inches thick was found on this island, and the Russians
worked it for a short time, but ultimately abandoned it as of little value. Here,
as on several other islands, a few Russians supported themselves by fishing. In
running along the coast, a volcano was seen, in full activity ; and others, that had
at no very distant period been in eruption, were seen on the peninsula and islands.
Codfish were plentiful along the route through "the islands. The entrance to
Behring's Sea was made through the Ounimak passage, in long. 165° W., lat. 54£°
N., the depth of water at the entrance being two hundred and forty feet, and the
current very strong. On the 13th of September, the expedition entered Norton
Sound and rounded-to at St. Michael. Kennicott and his party were landed and
the vessels left, with Colonel Bulkley, for Kamchatka.
The island of St. Michael lies on the south side of Norton Sound, and is divided
by a narrow channel from the main-land, and by a wider channel from Stuart's
Island. It is about twelve miles across in either direction, of volcanic origin,
but of no great height, the greatest elevation being three hundred feet. A good
harbor affords protection against all but the northerly winds. At this point is a
fort of logs and earth, mounting six four-pounders, and garrisoned by twenty Rus-
sians under Factor Stephanoff. (.'lose to the fort is an Esquimau or Malirneet
village, of ten huts — partly burrows in the side of the hill, and partly buildings
of drill-logs. A chain of similar villages extends along the coast of Norton Sound.
The temperature at .^t. Michael is milder than at any other point on that part of
the coast, a fact accounted for by its being surrounded by water, and by the cur-
rent coming from the south. In summer there is a healthy, though scanty vege-
tation.
718 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
It was the intention of Kennicott to go down the coast in the small steamer
"Lizzie Horner," to be commanded by Lieutenant Charles Pease, to the lower,
and deepest, mouth of the Kvihpak, or Yukon, and in her to traverse the whole
length of the river as far as navigation was possible, making surveys at the proper
points. Unfortunately, that project had to be abandoned. The engineer en-
gaged at San Francisco was grossly incompetent, and the machinery of the
steamer was found to be radically defective. Fruitless attempts were made to
remedy the deficiencies, and she was at length abandoned. This was a serious
blow to the usefulness of the expedition. Major Kennieott changed his plan,
and adopted the ordinary route of the Russian traders as high up as they went,
being that taken by Zagoyskin twenty-three years before. From Nulato he pro-
posed to travel in the winter by dog teams up the river to Fort Yukon.
On the 27th of September, the party, numbering twelve persons, crossed Norton
Sound in an open barge to the village of Unalakleat, at the mouth of the river
of that name, the voyage being rendered unpleasant by a violent snow storm, the
first of the season. At Unalakleat the Russians had built a log fort, occupied by
six men, and defended by two four-pounder guns. Cold weather set in rapidly,
and the first work of the party was to build a fort of drift-logs, banked up with
sods and gravel, and the logs chinked with moss. The luxury of a chimney was
added, the morter of which was made with mud and boiling water.
October 21st, Pease, Ketchum, and Adams, accompanied by five Esquimaux,
each of whom carried eighty pounds of baggage strapped to his back, went up
the Unalakleat. The thermometer marked two degrees below zero, but the river
was not frozen hard enough to walk on. On the third day they reached Ulucook,
a winter village of the Ingalik tribe, forty miles above Unalakleat. Here they
stopped a month, buying fish and preparing it for the winter's provision of the
party.
The Ingaliken are part of an Indian race occupying a middle position between
the Esquimaux, or Malimeets, of the coast, and the Indians of the interior. They
are the traders, roaming from the Yukon to the coast, and bartering the skins of
the Indians for the traders' goods and the Esquimau supplies. At one time they
were a powerful race; but a succession of wars with the Esquimaux and the in- >
terior Indians has thinned their numbers. In their habits and customs they have
become more Esquimau than Indian, building their huts partly under ground,
like the former, instead of on the surface as does the latter. The winter hut of I
the Norton Sound Esquimau is built of spruce logs, split and set on edge, and
is roofed in the same manner, with a square hole in the top, and the whole, ex-
cept the opening in the roof, is covered with sods and earth until it is like a low
dome. About half the height of the interior is below the surface of the ground.
The entrance is by a tunnel or covered gallery, about twenty feet long, communi-
cating with a square stockade closed with a door. Inside the stockade is a cir-
cular opening to descend into the tunnel. The hut is about sixteen feet square,
with logs at the sides for seats. The fire burns in the center, directly under the
hole in the roof. The furniture and kitchen utensils of the hut are composed of
kettles bought of the whalers, earthen pots, like flower-pots, made by the natives,
for various purposes, and a lamp— a saucer of dried mud, filled with blubber, and
with dried moss for wicking, the root of a tree serving for a chandelier. When
night comes, the occupants of the hut let the fire die down, stretch dried skins
across the opening in the roof, the circular entrance in the stockade, and at the
doorway leading from the hut to the tunnel, thus cutting off every current of air.
Then, stretching themselves with their heads to the fire, resting on logs for pillows,
they sleep in an atmosphere as hot and dense as that of a slow oven.
In the center of every village is the Kadgim, or great meeting-house. Here
their work is carried on, feasts held, visitors received, and here the men sleep.
Built on the same plan as the other huts, it is much larger and higher, and has
a raised seat carried around its sides. It was at the Kadgim in Ulucook that
Lieutenant Zagoyskin witnessed the performance of their traditionary custom of
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 719
"drowning little bladders in tlie sea," performed in honor of the sea spirit Ugiak.
When Zagoy.«kin entered the Kadgiin lie found it occupied by about fifty men,
who hail just been washing themselves in a reeking liquid which can not be more
particularly named. The stench was overpowering and the heat suffocating, but
there was no help for it. The festival then began. On a strip of moose-skin
stretched across one end of the apartment were suspended about a hundred fan-
tastically painted bladders, taken from animals killed with arrows only. At one
end of the line hung a carved representation of a man's head, and a gull; at the
other end, two partridges Threads fastened to this line were drawn over the
cross-beam, and these threads were jerked so as to set the figures in motion. A
stick, six feet high, bound around with straw, stood under the line. A native ad-
vanced from the group, danced solemnly before the bladders, and then, pulling
some straw from the stick, lighted it, and passed it under bladders and images so
as to smoke them. The stick and straw were carried outside, and all the occu-
pants ol'Kadgim indulged in a dance which lasted throughout the greater part of
the day. They stripped to the waist before dancing, and, by their frantic contor-
tions to the monotonous beat of the tambourine, kept every muscle in motion. At
frequent intervals the women brought in frozen fish and strips of deer-meat, which
the dancers devoured ravenously, and then resumed the dance. After eating and
dancing all day in the poisonous atmosphere, they huddled on the floor at night,
every man with his head to the fire, and slept till morning. Unlike the natives
of Kamchatka, who have a horribly nauseating method of intoxication, the Mali-
meets of the American coast of Behring's Sea have no stimulating drink. Their
method of getting intoxicated is to smoke tobacco and take the smoke into their
lungs, which produces partial stupefaction. In one of the grand feasts some
members of Kennicott's party were treated by the natives to a dish, which was
accepted as the hyperborean substitute for ice-cream and strawberries, and eaten
without aversion, if not with much relish. The disgust of those who indulged in
the luxury may be imagined on their discovering the delectable compound to be
reindeer fat, chewed to a paste by the old women, then mixed with snow and
flavored with berries.
The natives on the Lower Kuskokvim have peculiar funeral observances.
When a member of the family dies, his relatives eat nothing but sour or year-old
food, and do not go to the river for twenty days. They spend their time seated
in one corner of the room with their backs to the door. Every five days they
wash themselves, else all the relatives of the deceased would die. Hefore the
funeral the body is carried into the Kadgim, it is placed in a sitting posture with
the feet drawn up, in a corner opposite to the door. The inhabitants of the vil-
lage bring in votive offerings of skin dresses, in one of which the corpse is dressed,
while the others are placed in a box with the body. The box is carried to the
burying-ground and placed on four posts, near which is raised a large board
painted with the figure of that object of which the deceased was most fond. In
front of the board are set some articles belonging to the deceased, and his remain-
ing effects are divided in the Kadgim. The interior natives burn their dead ; and
if one dies in the winter, his relatives carry the body with them, using it instead
of a log as a pillow at night, and burning it when warm weather comes.
The Kugkokvim natives have also a peculiar usage — suggestive of the Christ-
mas customs of American children — of hiding articles for some time, and at a
particular feast presenting them to the members of their families.
On the 8th of November, the Unalakleat River froze so that it could be
traversed with dog teams. The cold rapidly increased, the thermometer marking
2U° below zero on' the 8th of November, reaching to 32° on the 19th, and on the
1st of January getting down to 40° below zero — the lowest point noted — with a
fierce norther blowing. The dog teams were got ready, and the provisions pre-
pared por packing, when Kennicott returned from Nulato with the discouraging
information that it would be impossible to go up the Yukon during the winter.
He had himself made a ten days' journey above Nulato, and found but few na-
720 KUS.SIAX AMERICA.
tivcp, most oftliern liaving gone north ward to hunt the reindeer. He ascertained
that tin-re was no prospect of getting food for his dog.*, and without an assurance
that this could he obtained, it would he madness to attempt the journey. The
winter was therefore spent at Fort St. Michael, in making preparations for the
summer's work.
On the 3d day of April the weather moderated, and indications of
the coming spring were visible. A portion of the party set out for
Grantley Harbor, with instructions to join the main body at Nulato.
Ten days afterward Lieutenants Ketchum and Pease, and Mike Le-
barge, a Canadian voyageur attached to the party, started for Nulato.
The ice was five feet thick, and the ground covered with snow, but
on the bay the ice was rapidly softening, so that the party had to
keep close to. the shore, and sometimes found six inches of water on
the surface. Next day they reached Unalakleat, rested a da}7, and
then set out for Ulucook, walking the forty miles behind a dog-sled
loaded with three bags of flour. Continuing their journey, on the
19th they struck the Yukon, about thirty miles below Nulato. On
the 22d they reached Nulato, having traveled all the way upon the
river, and next day were joined the party from Grantley Harbor.
Nulato is a small native village, in which a Russian trading-post
has been established, with three white men and a four-pounder iron
cannon as its sole defense. During the winter two skin boats had been
brought over from St. Michael for the voyage up the Yukon. The
largest was thirty-five feet long and six feet wide, made of seal-skin
stretched over a light framework of wood fastened with sinews. A
square sail, spreading twenty yards of canvas, could be rigged. The
other boat was a "baidark," or light skin canoe, with a covering of
skin that fitted tightly to the skin tunic worn by the occupant of the
boat, so as to be perfectly water-proof. A baidark has holes for three
passengers, and in this differs from a kyak, which only admits one
occupant. The baidark was intended for Major Kennicott and two
of his party, while the larger boat would carry the others, together
with the provisions.
Everything was ready for the departure, and the members of the
expedition were anxiously awaiting the breaking-up of the ice, when
a sad calamity put an end to the arrangements. Major Kennicott
had for several days complained of dizziness, and a strange sensation
in his head. The succession of disappointments he had experienced
since his landing weighed heavily on his mind, and, combined with
the effects of the arduous labors of the previous six years, had broken
down both his spii'it and his constitution. On the morning of May
13th he was absent from breakfast, and the Indian sent in search re-
turned without finding him. Lieutenant Pease became alarmed, and
started with Lebarge to find him. About twenty rods from the fort
they came on him, lying on his back, dead. An open compass was
lying by his side, and it is supposed that, after taking some observa-
tions and making calculations by tracing figures in the sand, he
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 723
straightened himself up and fell instantly dead, probably from hoart
disease.
The death of the commander of the expedition frustrated all the
plans that had been formed. Lieutenant Ketchum, as the oldest of
the party, took command, and appointed Lieutenant Pease as his
second. It was decided that Ketchum, with the voyageur Lebarge,
and a half-breed Lewis Kean, should go up to Fort Yukon in the
baidark, while Lieutenant Pease and some others of the party should
take the remains of Major Kennicott in the seal-skin boat to Fort St.
Michael, by going down the river to the coast. Pease and the half-
breed Kean set to work on a coffin made of boards torn from the
sides of the fort, calked with candle-wick, and pitched with turpentine
gum. The lining was made of some green baize found in the fort,
and tacked with brads cut with shears from a strip of copper that
had formed part of the sheathing of a ship's bottom. Dressed in full
uniform and shrouded in the American flag, the body of Major Ken-
nicott lay for three days open to the sorrowful gaze of those who had
shared his later labors (one of these had been his friend and compan-
ion in past years), and then the face of one of whom science had
great hope was hid from view. Had Major Kennicott lived to carry
out his plans, completed his explorations of the extreme Northern
country, and reduced his observations to writing, the scientific world
would have been a great gainer by his knowledge. Unfortunately,
during the six or seven years before his death he was more a worker
than a writer, and the hurried notes he committed to paper will throw
but little light on what he had discovered, compared with what died
with him, unregistered.
On the 23d of May the ice broke up, and on the morning of the
25th, Ketchum, Lebarge and Kean started up the river in the baidark,
while Pease, taking with him Smith, Adams, and Dyer, and a crew
of three Esquimaux, started down the river in the seal-skin boat,
having with them the remains of Major Kennicott. A few miles be-
low Nulato the ice and drift-wood were overtaken in a rapid current,
and a landing was made on an island to escape swamping. The voy-
age /was continued, the party sometimes making thirteen or fourteen
miles, and at others going at a more rapid rate, at one time making
seventy-seven miles in a day's run. At night they found a welcome
in an Indian village, or camped out on an island. On the 1st of June
they took an Indian on board as a guide, but soon became suspicious
that he was trying to mislead them. Following his directions, Pease
steered into a wide channel which proved to be a lateral connection
with the Chageluk River, and entered that river a short distance
above its confluence with the Yukon, or Kvihpak. Here they came
Suddenly on a village inhabited by a tribe hostile to those above, and
bearing a bad reputation among the Russians. As soon as the boat
came in sight, it was surrounded with canoes filled with Indians,
724 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
whose conduct was far from reassuring. Preserving his self-posses-
sion, Lieutenant Pease opened a conversation with the chief, and
made him presents of tobacco and calico, and finally of a knife, which
completely won his good-will. He expressed his gratification at
meeting with the first white men who had ever reached his village.
When the boat was about to leave, the Indians drew up in a body to
fire a salute. As Pease was not quite sure of the intentions'of his
professed friends, he commenced the salute by hitting a mark at
long range with his rifle, and directing one of his party to keep up a
continuous fire with revolvers. This exhibition of rapid firing and
length of range put an end to any idea of attack on the part of the
Indians, if such a purpose had been meditated.
Stopping one night at the Russian post known as "The Mission," — the Ikag-
mut of Zagoyskin's narrative — containing several houses and a church, their
voyage was continued the next day, until the northern mouth of the river was
reached. On the way they saw several islands covered with geese and swans, and
found on one island the nest of a goose with three eggs in it. On the 5th of June,
after passing through a herd of seals, the boat left the main channel for one
taking a more northerly course, and ending in a narrow canal leading into the
Past >lic River, which enters Norton Sound several miles above the northern
month of the Yukon. The sea-coast was reached on the morning of June 6th,
twelve days after leaving Nulato. The voyage up the coast was long and tedious,
owing to baffling winds and the dangers of the reefs, the fort at St. Michael not
being reached until June loth.
Not long afterward Ketchum and his party returned to Fort St. Michael, hav-
ing successfully made the passage to Fort Yukon and back. The country from
Nulato eastward was found to be similar to that lower down the river, the banks,
varying in height, but most of the near elevations being on 'the northern side; the
etreams from the north were small, and those from the south much larger." The
character of the timber improved, the spruce ranging from twenty-live to one
hundred feet in height. There were no more serious obstructions to navigation
than occur in most western rivers, the sand-bars having, during their passage, a
fair depth of water, and the rapids below Fort Yukon offering no insurmountable
obstacle to a good steamer. The current was found to be very strong. The
proper steamers to navigate the Yukon are stern wheelers with very powerful
engines. At Fort Yukon a new fort had been built, about a mile and a half
from the old fort, and the Roman Catholic priest who had spiritual charge dur
ing Kennicott's visit had given place to an Episcopal minister.
Late in the autumn the long expected ship from San Francisco arrived at St.
Michael, with Colonel Bulkley on board. A reorganization of the party was
made. Lieutenant Pease, as the attached friend of the late Major Ken nicott, was
sent home with his remains, and the remainder of the party, under Lieutenant
Ketchum, were ordered to retrace their steps into the interior, and carefully sur-
vey the upper Yukon, following it, if possible, to its source, or until meeting an
exploring party advancing north from British Columbia. From that party
nothing has since been heard on the Atlantic side. So far as the general public
is concerned, its principal work, however, was done. The Yukon had been ex-
plored from Hehring's Sea to above its junction with the Porcupine. Beyond
that point its course had been traced by the servants of the Hudson's Bay Com-
pany. The abandonment of the Russian American Telegraph enterprise, owing
to the success of the Atlantic Cable line, has put a stop to further exploration in
the interest of the Telegraph Company.
The coast line of Russian America is of two distinct characters,
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 725
the line of division being the Aliaska peninsula. At the boundary
line, on the Icy Sea, the coast is low, and formed of frozen mud-
banks, keeping this character coming west until Point Barrow is
reached, the most northern point, a long low spit of gravel and loose
sand. Going southwest, the low coast is intersected with narrow
lakes, and covered with swampy moss, to the neighborhood of Cape
Lisburne, a mass of limestone rocks eight hundred and fifty feet
high. From this point to and around Kotzebue Sound, the coast is
low and swampy, with occasional hills. Cape Prince of Wales, which
forms the eastern side of the gateway of Behring's Strait, is pre-
cipitous and rocky, and is indented by Port Clarence, which h.is a
good entrance, with ten fathoms of water, and a rnud bottom. Open-
ing also into the eastern side of the Cape is Grantley Harbor, smaller
and completely land-locked, offering a perfectly secure anchorage.
Below this point, the country near the sea is rolling, and the coast
low and inaccessible except in certain portions of Norton and Bristol
Sounds, while the sea is shallow, owing to the alluvium poured into
it by the rivers and dammed back into Behring's Sea by the barrier
of the Aliaska peninsula. The shore is covered with a heavy growth
of moss, thrown up by the frost into large bunchy masses.
Below the Aliaska peninsula the formation of the coast is totally
different. A lofty mountain range occupies the coast from Observa-
tory Inlet to Cook's Inlet, and then sweeps around toward the Asiatic
side along the peninsula. On this side the cliffs are rocky and pre-
cipitous, and descend abruptly into the Pacific, with deep soundings
close .to the shore. Along the greater part of the Pacific coast line
of the territory extends a group, or several groups, of islands, some
of large size, fifty to a hundred miles in length. The narrow strip
of coast belonging to Russian America from Cross Sound to Observ-
atory Inlet, and the coast below to Puget Sound, is masked by a
series of islands so situated as to leave between them and the main
land an unbroken line of inland navigation, the most extraordinary
in the world. Sir George Simpson, who passed through it twice in
1841, says it is admirably adapted for steam navigation, affording a
safe passage in every condition of the weather except fogs. Beyond
the Copper River is another group of islands; and stretching from
the mouth of Cook's Inlet to the end of the peninsula is still another
group, to which the largest, Kodiak, gives its name. All these
islands are of volcanic character, and in some of them along the
Aliaska peninsula, as also on the main land, volcanoes are still active.
Traces of volcanic action are also found on the few islands along the
coast of Behring's Sea.
The whole main-land coast up to Cook's Inlet is heavily wooded,
and many of the islands also have a good supply of trees. Beyond
the mountain range, near and beyond the boundary line, up to Cook's
Inlet, stretches a comparatively level country, covered with grass.
726 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
The islands of the Pacific coast are hilly, the rocks covered with moss,
while in the valleys is good land, with grass and shrubs.
The rivers of Russian America are numerous and important.
Going north from the boundary line of British Columbia, the first
river of consequence is the Stikine, or Francis River, in lat. 56° N.,
which forms the principal gateway to the valuable British territory
beyond and which passes through a country rich in gold. The Stikine
has two mouths, its greatest width at the principal outlet being about
half a mile. It is navigable for steamers of light draught, for four
months in the year, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles; and
the steamer "Flying Dutchmnn" made several trips up it to Shakes-
ville, a mining town one hundred and forty miles from its mouth.
Twenty miles above Shakesville the Grand Canon commences, and
above that point canoe navigation is practicable for a considerable
distance. The Stikine previous to entering the mountain range at
the Grand Canon drains an undulating country covered with luxu-
riant grass, then passes through a rich mining region, and finally
enters the sea between steep banks clothed with dense forests of pine
and cypress. Small rive-rs enter the natural canals and inlets of the
coast up to lat. 60° N., long. 144° W., where the Copper River enters.
By this river the natives have communication with the Yukon in
nearly the same longitude, the two rivers and their affluents approach-
ing each other so closely that but short portages are made. Cook's
Inlet, which cuts a deep gash in the coast line, also has its tributary
streams, by which communication is kept up by the coast natives
with the interior.
Above the Aliaska peninsula the first stream is the Nashagak, in
Bristol Bay, reported by the natives to connect by lakes and marshes
with Cook's Inlet on one side, and with the Kuskokvim on the other.
The Kuskokvira, entering Behring's Sea above Cape Newenham, has
been explored by Russians and natives for about six hundred miles.
Its course from the mouth up is generally northeast, but, like all the
rivers of the region, it is very crooked. The Kuskokvim is naviga-
ble for light draught steamers for a great portion of its length. Its
current is moderately rapid.
But the great river of British America is the Yukon, or Kvihpak, which had
long be»n a mystery to British and American hydrographers, and which was
never fully explored by white men until the summer of 1866. It is the Missis-
sippi of the Northwest. The Yukon rises in the mountainous region of Prlly
Banks, in British America, ami runs northwest until it enters Russian America
in about lat. 64° N. It continues its northwesterly direction until it receives the
waters of the Porcupine from the northeast. About seventy miles above the
junction with that river it threads- its way through a pass in the Big Beaver
Mountains, then traverses a flat country for about a hundred miles, when it
ngain cuts a spur of the Big Beaver Mountains, and enters the system of the great
northern peninsula. From this point it runs a little south of east until oppo-
eite the head of Norton Sound, when it bends abruptly to the south to lat. 02° N.,
whero it again turns to the west and flows into Behring's Sea. From the junction
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 727
with the Porcupine to its outlet in Behring's Sea, this river is navigable for steam-
boats, having a deptli varying from one to ten fathoms, and a width varying from a
mile to a mile and a half. Its course is very tortuous. There are four known mouths,
the most northern of which is obstructed by a bar on which is a depth of four feet
of water, the south channel having ten feet of water at the entrance. There are
other streams of less importance entering Norton's Sound and Kotzebue Bay; and
the Colville, which enters the Icy Sea and was long supposed to be the mouth of
the Yukon, is said by the natives to be navigable for a considerable distance.
The course of nearly all the rivers is generally a little south of west. The
mountain ranges from the south cease before reaching the Icy Sea, and the great
peninsula above Cook's Inlet is traversed by a number of low mountain ranges
running in a southwesterly direction. In the intervening spaces between those
ranges the principal rivers find their way. As a general rule the rivers wash the
base of the hills on the right side, the left banks being low, and at a distance from
the river frequently swampy. The southern tier of hills is, however, nearly
always in sight, and spurs from it occasionally jut out on the left bank. A
peculiar 'feature of the country is the manner in which the affluents of the great
rivers interlock, or are connected by lakes; so that, while the peninsula can be
traversed from east to west by following the line of the principal rivers, it can
also be traversed from south to north by short passes through the mountains, or
by ascending the smaller streams that come through the gaps in the rocky banks
on the right of the rivers, and then passing by lakes and short portages to the
numerous rivers flowing north into the large rivers. In this way the natives and
the traders pass from the Copper Kiver to Fort Yukon, and from Cook's Inlet to
Kotzebue Sound. *
The interior of the upper peninsula is well timbered to within about a hundred
miles of the coast, on the line of the Kvihpak, or Yukon, and still nearer on some
of the smaller streams. The prevailing timber and the most useful is the
spruce, which is frequently of considerable diameter, and from seventy to a hun-
dred feet high. Birch grows, but not.in great quantity, as far north as the line of
the Kvihpak. Poplar, alder, and willow are found along all the rivers in consid-
erable quantity. On the Pacific coast the main land and many of the islands
are covered with dense forests of pine — the most useful of all trees — which reach
the water's edge; and in the neighborhood of the Stikine, Sir George Simpson
says, is a species of cypress, which, from its durability and lightness, is almost un-
equaled for boat-building. The Kussians have neglected to turn this immense
fund of wealth to account, being fearful lest their monopoly of fur-trading would
be affected by the opening of a timber trade. The pine is of the largest size and
finest quality, equaling in value the famous forests of Norway. Bongard reports
pines and spruces on the coast having a diameter of seven feet and a height of
one hundred and sixty feet.
Kussian America teems with animal life. Its seas afford the finest fisheries in
the world, its rivers are filled with fish, and its woods, hills, valleys, and plains
support vast quantities of fur-bearing animals and valuable birds. The waters
of the North Pacific, along the whole coast from Dixon's Strait to the end of the
Aleutian Islands, swarin with cod and halibut of the largest size. In 1865,
Acting-Surveyor Giddings, of Washington Territory, called the attention of the
Secretary of the Interior to this fact. After describing the value of the fisheries
in the Strait of Fuca, he said : " Further north, along the coast, between Cape
Flattery and Sitka, in the Russian possessions, both cod and halibut are very
plenty, and of a much larger size than those taken at the Cape, or further up the
straits and sound. No one who knows those facts for a moment doubts that, if
vessels similar to those used by the Bank fishermen that sail from Massachusetts
and Maine were fitted out here, and were to fish on the various banks along this
coast, it would even now be a most lucrative business The cod and
halibut on this coast, up near Sitka, are fully equal to the largest taken in the
Eastern watere."
728 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
The Legislature of Washington Territory, by formal resolution,
called the attention of the general government to the great value of
the fisheries of the Russian American coast, and petitioned for
the adoption of such measures as would obtain for Americans the
right to fish in those waters. Lieutenant Pease reports that, on the
passage up, the sea near the Kodiak group of islands was found to
be full of cod, a barrel of which was caught with a line as the vessel
sailed through. No attempt has been made to utilize those treasures
of the deep, except by the Russians on the islands and coast, who
fish for their own support and that of the Indians dependent on
them. Whales are numerous in the North Pacific, and also in
Behring's Sea, the whalers following them up to Behring's Strait.
The rivers, from the Stikine to the highest known on the great
peninsula, swarm with fish, especially with the different varieties of
salmon. In the Stikine the salmon and salmon trout are plentiful.
The red salmon, or "squoggan" of the natives, weighing about four
pounds, is taken in July and August, and the sea salmon — the native
"kase," weighing sometimes thirty pounds — is taken from the com-
mencement of the fishing season until late in the autumn. The rivers
of the upper peninsula abound in salmon of the largest size, white-
fish in immense quantities, sturgeon, pike, and mountain trout. The
natives catch pike, salmon, and white-fish by spearing them, using a
long-shafted spear with a loose head attached to the shaft by a short
line. They launch this spear with great dexterity, and the head,
Avhen buried in the fish, is detached from the shaft by the shock, the
short line allowing play to the fish, which can not then twist itself
free. Lieutenant Pease reports spearing salmon weighing forty
pounds, and pike six feet in length. The natives dry the fish in
strips, which, with dried reindeer meet, form their winter provisions.
The islands on the Pacific coast have been favorite haunts of the
fur seal and the sea otter, and it was from this source that the Rus-
sian Fur Company obtained the greater part of their supplies. In
spite of eighty years of war waged upon them by the hunters for
this company, the numbers of the seal and the otter have not been
seriously diminished. Above the Aliaska peninsula, where they have
been almost exempt from molestation, they are found in immense
numbers. On the island of St. Paul are large numbers of fur seal,
and seal of different varieties with herds of walrus swarm along the
coast of Behring's Sea.
The animal life along the Yukon and its tributaries is reported by
Lieutenant Pease and the late Major Kennicott to be in astonishing
quantity and great variety, and the Russian explorers of the Kus-
kokvim and other rivers of the continent give similar report?.
Among the fur-bearing animals that are found in great numbers may
be enumerated the otter, beaver, mink, ermine, sable, martin, black
and Arctic foxes, with some other varieties, large and small marmots,
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 729
squirrels — a red variety with very handsome fur being particularly
noticeable — lynx, wolverine, wolves, black, grizzly, and Arctic bears,
muskrats — of a different species from those found in the lower lati-
tudes— reindeer, and, north of the Yukon, the moose.
But, great as are the numbers and variety of these animals, the
feathered life of the country is still more remarkable. The region
which lies between the Rocky Mountains and Behring's Sea is the
breeding-place of myriads of birds that visit the lower latitudes dur-
ing a portion of the year. The winged column that comes up tlrj
eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains from the Atlantic coast and
the Gulf of Mexico, and the column that comes up its western face
and the Sierra Nevada from the lower latitudes of the Pacific Ocean,
meet on this spot, feast on the berries that cover the ground in pro-
fusion, raise their broods of young, and start at the end of summer
on their southern tour.
The food of the flocks of geese, ducks, and other birds that make
this their breeding-place is chiefly the small Alpine cranberry, a
fruit smaller than the common cranberry, and not so palatable until
touched by the frost, when it becomes delicious ; the bog-bilberry, a
favorite food for bears and geese, which grows in greater perfection
here than in more southern latitudes ; the empetrum ; the salmon
berry, resembling a large yellow raspberry, but of insipid flavor; and
a blue moss-berry, growing in great quantities on a small evergreen
moss.
About the middle of April the feathered visitors begin to arrive.
The snow birds come first, followed by the ospreys, gerfalcons, eagles,
and gulls. Then come the geese of every variety, the ducks, and
the swans. The white and black geese keep on their course until
they reach the Arctic Sea, and the others settle on the rivers and
marshes of the interior. As summer advances, other birds arrive,
and proceed at once to the work of nesting and raising their broods.
Finches of various kinds, the American robin, the yellow poll, black
and yellow warblers, the tree-bunting, and other small birds of nu-
merous species, enliven the woods during the summer months, and
become the prey of an endless variety of hawks. Swallows come
in great numbers, stay a short time, and leave early in August. Our
cherished acquaintance, the snow-bird, on its arrival from the south,
puts on gayer plumage, and sings melodiously the whole season
through, although utterly innocent of musical execution when with
us. We have before mentioned the discovery by Major Kennicott,
in the vicinity of Fort Yukon, of the breeding-places of the canvas-
back duck, previously a mystery to naturalists. On the margin of a
marshy hike, having a depth of from fifteen to twenty inches of water,
they had spread platforms of sedge, and on these deposited their
eggs. Major Kennicott saw acres literally covered with these eggs.
Lieutenant Pease rays the natives reported that the marshes along
730 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
the Yukon for hundreds of miles afforded breeding-places for these
ducks.
All the birds fatten rapidly on the juicy berries so plentiful in the
interior. The geese especially become so fat, that during the moult-
ing season they are scarcely able to fly, and are knocked down with
sticks by the Indian children, who speedily fatten, as well as the
§eese. It is a season of feasting from the Rocky Mountains to the
trait, from the North Pacific to the Icy Sea.
With the first indication of coming winter the summer birds take
their flight, the birds of the Atlantic and of the Pacific slopes each
taking the right direction with unerring instinct, leaving the ptarmi-
gan, the spruce-birds, chickadees, and red-birds to keep each other
company in the long winter months. With the first snows come the
winter visitors, the Arctic owls, and a large white hawk, seeking
refuge from the more intense cold of the polar region.
While animal and bird life abound there is no dearth of insects. Mosquitoes
are more plentiful than pleasant, and afford food for the swallows and other small
birds that flock thither to prey upon them. Hard-winged insects, beetles of
several kinds, are numerous, and several varieties of butterfly were seen by Lieu-
tenant Pease and by Major Kennicott hovering over the flowers that abound
among the long grass and on the river banks. Neither snakes nor frogs have
been reported on the line of the Yukon.
There is little doubt that the mineral wealth of Russian America is enormous.
The coast range of mountains that form the territory occupied from lat. 54° 40'
to lat. 60° is a continuation of the Sierra Nevada chain, in which lie the gold
and silver mines of Nevada and California and of British Columbia. On the
Stikine River gold has already been discovered, and miners are at work. The
same formation reaches across toward Asia by the Aliaska peninsula, and sends
a branch toward the Icy Sea. Indications of gold have also been found in the
streams of the upper peninsula. Copper is known to exist in a virgin state,
similar to that of Lake Superior, on the Copper River and at points along the
Pacific coast. Lieutenant Pease found a copper-bearing rock at Cape Romanzoft',
in Behring's Sea. Indications of lead were discovered by Lieutenant Zagoyskin
in the lower part of the Kvihpak or Yukon. Iron has been found in several
E laces on the Pacific coast, and worked by the Russians. Coal is known to lie in
irge beds on the northern coast The native report it in different parts of the
interior. On the voyage down the Kvihpak, when two days' sail below Nulato,
the natives pointed out a hill on the right, and told Lieutenant Pease that coal
was found there, and that it had been worked to a small extent for native use.
At Ounga Island, west of the Kodiak group, a bed of coal of inferior quality
about sixteen inches thick, is exposed on the hillside, and has been worked to a
limited extent by the Russians. In the Kodiak group coal of better quality has
been found, and worked successfully.
The climate of the Pacific coast is much more temperate than that
of the same latitudes on the coast of the Atlantic. The observations
of Baron Wrangell at Sitka, for a period ten years, gave a yearly
mean of 46.4°. This, in lat. 57° 3' N., is a mean temperature four
degrees wanner than that of Portland, Maine, in lat. 43° 40' N., and
six degrees warmer than that of Quebec, in lat. 46° 49' N. Iluluk,
on the Aliaska peninsula, in lat. 53° 52' N., has a mean temperature
of 39.7°, the same as that of Williamstown, Vt., in lat. 44° 7' N.,
RUSSIAN AMERICA. 731
and four degrees warmer than that of Copper Harbor, Lake Superior.
At Sitka, it is said to rain nearly, if not quite, every day in the year.
The harbor is always open, and there is not sufficient ice for the use
of the inhabitants. Along the Aliaska peninsula, solid and clear ice
is obtained for the supply of the markets of the Pacific coast. On
Sitka and the islands of that group the valleys afford abundant grass
for animals, and the settlers keep some cows and horses. Vegetables,
such as potatoes, turnips, cabbages, and radishes, are raised with
ease, and come to perfection. Potatoes are raised also at Cook's
Inlet, in lat. 61° N., though they will not ripen at Kamchatka, ten
degrees further south, thus showing the great difference in tempera-
ture between the east and west coasts. At St. Michael, in Norton
Sound, lat. 63° 28' N., the occupants of the post cultivate a small
garden, and raise turnips and radishes. The experiment has not been
tried in the interior, but success would not be improbable, as the
country abounds in edible roots. The temperature falls as the dis-
tance from the coast is increased. The yearly mean at Ikagmut, on
the Lower Yukon or Kvihpak, in lat. 61° 47' N., long. 161° 14' W.f
about one hundred and fifty miles from the coast, was 24.57°. At
Fort Yukon, about six hundred miles in a straight line from Behring's
Sea, the yearly mean was 16.92°, in lat. 64° N. At Ikagmut mer-
cury froze in February and March on several years. As the mean
of ten years' observation, ice forms on the Kvihpak, November 4th,
and breaks up May 23d, the river being free of ice about June 2d.
The average period during which the river remains closed is two
hundred days.
In many places, if not throughout the main-land, "ground ice " ia
found at a varying depth. In winter the soil freezes solid, and in
summer thaws out to a depth varying from a few inches to several
feet, below which lies the permanently frozen subsoil to the depth of
several feet. Zagoyskin relates that, in digging a well at St. Michael,
alternate layers of ground ice and a fatty clay were passed through ;
and Lieutenant Pease reports having dug at St. Michael, in August,
to the depth of thirty inches, when ground ice was reached. At
Ikagmut, Zagoyskin reports the soil thawed to the depth of seven
inches only. In exploring a route for the Russian American Tele-
graph line in lat. 55° N., long. 126° W., Major Pope reports that
ground ice can be found at any time of the year at a depth of six or
eight feet below the surface, and the surface soil usually freezes to
the depth of two feet in the winter, leaving an intervening stratum
of unfrozen soil from four to six feet thick. The "ground ice" does
not prevent the growth of vegetation. The roots of trees do not
penetrate it, but spread as on the surface of a flat rock. In the
frozen soil of Kotzebue Sound, in the mouths of the Kvihpak, and in
Bristol Bay, are found large deposits of fossil ivory, similar to that
732 RUSSIAN AMERICA.
found in Siberia, and a considerable trade has been carried on in this
article of commerce.
The inhabitants of Russian America are estimated at five or six
thousand Russians, mostly settled on the islands of the Pacific coast,
and about fifty or sixty thousand Esquimaux and Indians. The
natives are divided into numerous tribes, varying greatly in their
habits and traditions. The Esquimaux occupy the coast and the
lower part of the rivers having their outlet in Behring's Sea. Dif-
fering greatly from each other in many of their characteristics, they
differ still more as a whole from the Esquimaux of the Arctic regions
to the eastward of Russian America. They live by fishing, and hunt-
ing the reindeer. The natives of the interior, classed by Richardson
as the Kutchins, and known to the coast natives as Koh-Yukons, and
by other names, are of a totally different race, dressing more like
the Indians of the lower latitudes, with an outer dress of furs for
winter wear; adorning themselves with beads, which constitute their
wealth ; and building their winter houses on the surface, instead of
partly under ground, as do the Esquimaux. They live by the chase,
and trade occasionally with the British factor at 'Fort Yukon, and, by
means of the Ingaliken, with the coast natives and the Russians.
They have an enmity toward the Russians, and have several times
surprised their posts and slaughtered the occupants. For this rea-
son the Russians have not penetrated far into the interior. The
Americans attached to the telegraph expedition, found no difficulty in
dealing with them, and Lieutenant Pease says he has left many friends
among both Esquimaux and Indians.
On the Pacific coast and islands there are other tribes, those
belonging to the Kodiak and Aleutian groups being allied to the
Esquimaux of Behring's Sea, and the natives of the Sitka group and
coast, the Tchilkats, being evidently related by language and habits
to the tribes of the Upper Yukon. By long contact with the Avhite
settlers and the sailors visiting the coast, they have become degraded
and debauched. The men are semi-slaves to the Russians, working
for the nominal wages of twenty cents per day. The women are
very dissolate.
By treaty made during the present year, the whole of the Russian
possessions in North America are ceded to the United States, in con-
sideration of the payment of seven million two hundred thousand
dollars in gold, the cession including the islands in Behring's Sea, as
also the whole of the Aleutian Islands, leaving to Russia only Behr-
ing's Island and Copper Island, off the coast of Kamchatka. By the
terms of the treaty, all tfie franchises and leases granted to corporate,
bodies of individuals, of whatever nation, terminate on the transfer
of the territory. The known wealth of the territory in fish, fur, and
timber, and its probable mineral wealth, have already been set forth.
To what has already been said may be added the opinion expressed
RUSSIAN AMERICA. Too
in Bloclgett's Climatology of the Northwestern Districts : "It is most
surprising that so little is known of the great islands, and the long line
of coast from Puget's Sound to Sitka, ample as it resources must be
even for recruiting the transient commerce of the Pacific, independent
of its immense intrinsic value. To the region bordering the North-
ern Pacific the finest maritime positions belong throughout its entire
extent; and no part of the west of Europe exceeds it in the advan-
tages of equable climate, fertile soil, and commercial accessibility of
the coast. The western slope of the Rocky Mountain system may
be included as a part of this maritime region, embracing an immense
area from the forty-fifth to the sixtieth parallel, and five degrees of
longitude in width. The cultivable surface of this district can not be
much less than three hundred thousand square miles."
The greater part of this valuable territory, on the main-land, be-
longs to Great Britain ; but only about four hundred miles of the
British possessions front on the coast. An outlet for the remainder
was provided by the leasing from the Russians of the strip of main-
land up to Cross Sound. Sir George Simpson, who, as Governor-in-
chief of the Hudson's Bay Company's territories, visited the coast
up to that point, mentions the lease with great satisfaction, adding,
that "this strip, in the absence of such an arrangement as has just
been mentioned, renders the interior comparatively useless to England."
The Russo-American treaty of 1867 puts an end to the "arrange-
ment."
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